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The Retailers’ Last Minute Guide to
Holiday Advertising on Facebook
4 Savvy Strategies and 8 Quick Tips
For Performance Marketing Success
The Retailers’ Last Minute Guide to Holiday Advertising on Facebook
4 Savvy Strategies and 8 Quick Tips For Performance Marketing Success
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
03
Four Facebook Advertising Strategies for Retailers this Holiday Season
03
Conclusion
08
About Marin Software
09
Copyright © 2014 Marin Software Inc. All rights reserved.
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The Retailers’ Last Minute Guide to Holiday Advertising on Facebook
4 Savvy Strategies and 8 Quick Tips For Performance Marketing Success
INTRODUCTION
For most retailers, the holiday season is the most important time of the year, a time
that can make or break their annual sales objectives. This year in particular, online
advertisers have plenty to be excited about as they finalize their holiday advertising
strategies and begin to nail down the final stages of their execution plans. According
to eMarketer, holiday spending is expected to increase by 16.6% in 2014 vs. 20131.
However, the lure of additional sales revenue this holiday season is also predicted to
attract fiercer levels of competition. eMarketer also reports that retailer advertising
spend will increase by a proportionately higher rate of 20.2%. With so much riding on
the brief but critical two-month holiday shopping season, it becomes more important
than ever for retail advertisers to ensure they are investing their time, resources, and
budgets in the channels that can provide the best possible ROI.
It is no secret that Facebook has officially become one of these critically important
channels for retail advertisers. Across Marin’s spectrum of Facebook advertisers,
retailers increased spend in the channel by 67% over the 2013 holiday season vs.
2012, a testament to the efficacy of Facebook to reach highly targeted, highly engaged
audiences across all stages of the purchase cycle. Retailers are increasingly turning to
Facebook to engage with their customers, share promotions, introduce new products,
drive traffic to their websites and encourage shoppers to visit their physical store
locations. With annual shopping activity peaking during the months of November and
December, retailers will again embrace Facebook as a primary channel for building
awareness of holiday promotions and driving conversion.
FOUR FACEBOOK ADVERTISING STRATEGIES FOR RETAILERS
THIS HOLIDAY SEASON
To prepare for the inevitable influx of shopping activity, below are four strategies for
getting the most out of your Facebook advertising dollars during the holiday season:
1. Build a Budgeting Strategy Based on Facebook User Behavior – Every retailer understands
the importance of Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) and Cyber Monday (the
Monday after Thanksgiving) as key dates for online shopping. In fact, according to
ComScore, in 2013, more online revenue was driven on Black Friday and Cyber Monday
than any other day in the holiday shopping season2. Compared to Black Friday, 42% more
revenue was driven from online purchases in 2013 than Cyber Monday. Most retailers plan
their advertising budgets around these dates and increase their advertising spend just
before Thanksgiving and continue to increase their spend incrementally, past Christmas
until the end of December. Because Facebook as an advertising channel and is still in its
relative infancy, many retail advertisers assume because overall holiday sales are highest
on these two days that sales on Facebook will also be highest on these two days. Based
on this information many Facebook retailers increase their daily campaign budgets and
spend in accordance to expected consumer behavior. The below chart depicts Facebook
advertiser spend over the course of the 2012 and 2013 holiday periods. As expected,
Facebook advertising spend begins to increase in mid-November, registers a temporary lift
around Thanksgiving, and then significantly increases around Christmas only to level off
1 http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Beacons-Land-on-Retailers-Holiday-Wish-Lists/1011184
2 https://www.comscore.com/Insights/Press-Releases/2013/12/Green-Monday-Jumps-10-Percent-to-14-Billion-in-Desktop-Sales-to-Rank-as3rd-Heaviest-Day-of-the-Holiday-SeasontoDate
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The Retailers’ Last Minute Guide to Holiday Advertising on Facebook
4 Savvy Strategies and 8 Quick Tips For Performance Marketing Success
in mid-January. Facebook advertisers have exhibited similar holiday spending tendencies
over the past two years, with the key difference being that advertisers began increasing
their spend approximately one week earlier in December.
Facebook Holiday Advertising Spend by Day: 2012 vs. 2013
Normalized to November 1
1800
1600
1400
1200
2012
2013
1000
800
600
400
200
0
8-Nov
1-Nov
15-Nov
22-Nov
29-Nov
6-Dec
13-Dec
20-Dec
27-Dec
3-Jan
10-Jan
17-Jan
24-Jan
31-Jan
Source: Marin’s $6 billion global social advertiser index, segmented for retailers
However, when examining Facebook user behavior during the holiday period it becomes
apparent that retail advertisers may be missing the mark with their holiday advertising
budgets from a timing perspective. While overall eCommerce spending trends suggest
that retailers should be investing heavily around the Thanksgiving and Christmas
holidays, Facebook ad engagement trends suggest the inverse: that Facebook retail
advertisers may want to invest more before and after the holidays. In 2013, CTRs for
retail advertisers on Facebook were relatively high two weeks before Thanksgiving and
then tapered off during the holiday week. While CTR’s increased for a short period right
before Christmas, they did not fully revive until after New Year’s Day.
Facebook Advertising CTR by Day: November 2013 – January 2014
Normalized to November 1
2.50%
2.00%
1.50%
1.00%
0.50%
28-Jan
26-Jan
30-Jan
24-Jan
20-Jan
22-Jan
16-Jan
18-Jan
12-Jan
14-Jan
10-Jan
4-Jan
8-Jan
6-Jan
2-Jan
31-Dec
27-Dec
29-Dec
25-Dec
21-Dec
19-Dec
23-Dec
15-Dec
17-Dec
13-Dec
11-Dec
5-Dec
9-Dec
3-Dec
7-Dec
1-Dec
29-Nov
25-Nov
27-Nov
21-Nov
23-Nov
15-Nov
19-Nov
17-Nov
13-Nov
11-Nov
7-Nov
9-Nov
5-Nov
3-Nov
1-Nov
0.00%
Source: Marin’s $6 billion global social advertiser index, segmented for retailers
Copyright © 2014 Marin Software Inc. All rights reserved.
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The Retailers’ Last Minute Guide to Holiday Advertising on Facebook
4 Savvy Strategies and 8 Quick Tips For Performance Marketing Success
Similarly, retail advertisers experienced the highest volume of Facebook clicks not
during the holiday period, but just after. While advertisers did experience a rapid
increase in Facebook clicks for the three days leading up to Christmas, only after New
Year’s Day did Facebook advertising clicks begin to gradually increase. In general, the
highest volumes of post-holiday advertising clicks occurred in spurts over between
Thursdays and Mondays in January. These trends suggest a clear gap between the
assumptions retail advertisers make about Facebook usage over the holiday season and
how Facebook users actually use the platform during this critical time period. Rather
than investing heavily on days when competition is high and Facebook usage is low,
retail advertisers should instead consider investing more before and after the
Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Trends suggest that Facebook usage takes a
sharp dip on holidays, when users are likely spending time with their friends and
family. However, retail advertisers still have the opportunity to reach users in early
November before they shift into holiday mode and build awareness for their products
and services, which they could potentially buy on other channels. Also, retailers should
consider targeting Facebook users throughout January when people generally have
holiday gift cards to spend.
Facebook Advertising Clicks by Day:
November 2013 – January 2014
900
Normalized to November 1
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
30-Jan
28-Jan
22-Jan
26-Jan
24-Jan
18-Jan
16-Jan
20-Jan
10-Jan
14-Jan
12-Jan
4-Jan
8-Jan
6-Jan
2-Jan
27-Dec
31-Dec
25-Dec
29-Dec
19-Dec
23-Dec
21-Dec
17-Dec
11-Dec
15-Dec
13-Dec
5-Dec
9-Dec
7-Dec
1-Dec
3-Dec
29-Nov
27-Nov
21-Nov
25-Nov
23-Nov
17-Nov
19-Nov
13-Nov
15-Nov
7-Nov
9-Nov
11-Nov
3-Nov
5-Nov
1-Nov
0
Source: Marin global social advertiser index, segmented for retailers
2. Start Early and Sequence Messaging – With the back-to-school season winding down, it’s
about that time of year for shoppers to look forward to the winter holidays. And while it
may seem premature to preempt Halloween with the holiday discussion, according to
Google a whopping 30% of consumers will begin their shopping prior to Halloween3.
Retail advertisers should embrace this consumer trend and begin to plan and implement
their holiday focused campaigns earlier this year. In addition to getting an early start on
the competition, retailers will have the opportunity to execute a phased approach to
advertising and serve high value prospective customers with tailored creatives based on
their stage in the buying cycle.
3 http://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/articles/five-holiday-shopping-trends-marketers-should-watch.html
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The Retailers’ Last Minute Guide to Holiday Advertising on Facebook
4 Savvy Strategies and 8 Quick Tips For Performance Marketing Success
This approach, commonly referred to as sequential messaging, involves selecting specific
audience segments (i.e. “existing customers”) and targeting them over a finite amount of
time (i.e. October 15 – January 15) with “sequenced” messages that change frequently
with the goal of pushing prospective customers further along the buying cycle. For
example, a retailer advertiser looking to begin their sequenced messaging campaign in
mid-October could first target customer lookalikes with an attention grabbing video page
post that depicts customers using the product. In early November, the retailer could target
the same audience with a consideration stage message that features the benefits of the
product vs. the competition. Then, in late November when customer purchase intent is
high, the retailer could switch to bottom of the funnel messaging with a compelling call to
action and price incentives designed to drive conversion.
3. Target Based on Buying Intent – With so many advertisers vying for the attention of
Facebook users during the holidays, it will be critical for retailers to ensure their ads catch
the attention and interest of users who are most likely to purchase their products. One way
to accomplish this is to target users who have the demographic characteristics of those
who are likely to buy or from those who have exhibited behaviors that are characteristic of
those who typically buy. Retailers have numerous ways to target holiday shoppers on
Facebook based on their buying intentions:
a. Search intent based targeting – Keyword search history reveals a wealth of information
about the products that shoppers are likely to buy and can be a very effective basis for
reaching potential buyers on Facebook. For example, a retailer like Macys.com can
mine their product portfolio to determine the products that drove the highest ROI
during the last holiday season. They then can create Facebook Custom Audiences that
target users who have previously searched for these high ROI products in Google or
Bing.
b. Behavioral targeting – As holiday consumers begin to shop for products in the coming
month, it is likely that your website will receive a healthy uptick in traffic. That’s the
good news. The bad news is that an average of 98% of website traffic doesn’t convert
on the first visit. Retailers should use a retargeting platform that buys on the Facebook
Exchange (FBX) to re-engage with website visitors on Facebook based on their stage in
the buying cycle. Retargeting platforms like Marin have the ability to use product feed
data to dynamically serve creative to Facebook users based on the product that was
last viewed. As a first step, retailers should use the coming month building FBX
retargeting lists like “all visitors,” “product page viewers” and “shopping cart
abandoners.”
c. Demographic based targeting – From an advertising standpoint Facebook is considered
to be one of the most effective channels for reaching users based on demographic
characteristics like age, gender, education, income and interests. However, advertisers
many times base their demographic targeting on Facebook on assumptions about their
target rather than real buyer data. As a first step, retail advertisers should mine their
customer databases and determine the demographic characteristics of last year’s
holiday buyers. Use this information as a starting point for building out your
campaigns. In addition, retailers can use DMP’s like BlueKai and Aggregate Knowledge
to determine high LTV audiences based on data that goes outside of Facebook’s
“walled garden” of Facebook-only data.
d. CRM based targeting – Most retailers will agree that in general, your most loyal
customers are your most profitable customers. In fact, according to the US Census
Copyright © 2014 Marin Software Inc. All rights reserved.
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The Retailers’ Last Minute Guide to Holiday Advertising on Facebook
4 Savvy Strategies and 8 Quick Tips For Performance Marketing Success
Bureau, on average repeat shoppers have a 23% higher gross margin than first time
buyers and spend an average of 9% more4. With this data in mind, it seems logical
that retail advertisers should first and foremost focus on reaching last year’s holiday
season customers. Fortunately, Facebook makes it quite easy for retail advertisers to
reach previous customers on their platform. Simply create a Custom Audience based
on you 2013 holiday season customer list, which you can upload from your CRM in
minutes. If possible, segment your Custom Audiences based on the average value of
last year’s customers. Target last year’s top purchasers with a tailored message that
encourages them to purchase again this season. After the holidays, you can also build
lookalikes off of these user groups to expand reach Use Custom Audiences to target gift
cardholders and inspire them to shop as well.
4. Embrace Mobile – According to a 2013 research study from Deloitte, 68% of shoppers
were forecasted to use smartphones last holiday season, and 63% of tablet owners
planned to do the same5. As the data suggests, mobile and tablet devices are increasingly
being used by consumers to research, compare and purchase products during the holiday
shopping season – From searching for products during their work commute, to comparing
products while at physical store locations, to purchasing products while “on the go.” More
than ever, retailers must ensure that their holiday campaigns are reaching customers on
mobile and tablet devices throughout the purchase cycle. With 50% of its 1.3 billion user
base accessing the platform via mobile devices every day6, Facebook presents arguably
the best opportunity for retailers to engage with mobile shoppers during the holiday
season.
Facebook offers retailers two primary means for reaching advertisers on mobile devices
over the holiday season: Mobile App ads and mobile-formatted Page Post ads. Both
creative formats look fairly similar to Facebook users. Both creative types blend into
Facebook’s native mobile newsfeed experience, feature large images, and customized call
to action buttons. The primary difference between the two is the landing page experiences
the ads present to holiday shoppers. However, with Mobile app ads, retailers can drive
customers deep into the mobile app experience while Page Post ads drive the user to the
mobile website. Retailers should analyze their customer’s buying tendencies (i.e. do most
customers purchase on mobile devices or mobile web pages?) and select the creative that
is most appropriate. Regardless of the creative type selected, there are some common
mobile advertising best practices that retailers should keep in mind over the holidays:
e. CTA Buttons: Customize call to action buttons based on what user activity you’re
encouraging (downloads, purchases, gameplays, etc.)
f. Deep Linking: Direct users to a specific section or product page of your app that is
most tailored to the creative and audience buying intentions
g. Image Selection: Avoid stock photos if you can. Mobile users expect mobile Facebook
ads to appear “native” to their social experience and should appear as if they belong
alongside other posts from family and friends.
h. Video: Leverage video assets during the awareness phase of your campaign to catch the
attention of users. When using video-based creatives, make sure to target WIFI-only
users.
4 http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/61531-Ecommerce-Profitability-The-Critical-Second-Sale
5 http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevecooper/2013/11/14/studies-predict-a-mobile-2013-shopping-season/
6 http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/AMDA-NJ5DZ/3461874457x0x770377/abc6b6d4-df03-44e1-bb4d7877f01c41e0/FB%20Q2%2714%20Earnings%20Slides%2020140722%2012p.pdf
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The Retailers’ Last Minute Guide to Holiday Advertising on Facebook
4 Savvy Strategies and 8 Quick Tips For Performance Marketing Success
CONCLUSION
Preliminary forecasts for the 2014 holiday shopping season suggest while consumer
spending is expected to increase this holiday season, advertising spend is expected to
increase by a proportionately higher rate. In other words, this year retail advertisers will
need to focus more closely than ever on making every advertising dollar count through
strategic, well-calculated audience targeting. As an advertising channel, Facebook
presents a tremendous opportunity for retailers to reach an expansive pool of 1.4
billion+ highly engaged potential buyers. To be successful this holiday season, retailcentric Facebook advertisers should consider launching their holiday-themed
campaigns earlier than last year, pay attention to key dates between November and
January, embrace mobile advertising and use an advertising platform like Marin
Software that can reach potential customers based on their purchase intentions using
data collected across multiple channels, platforms and devices.
Copyright © 2014 Marin Software Inc. All rights reserved.
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The Retailers’ Last Minute Guide to Holiday Advertising on Facebook
4 Savvy Strategies and 8 Quick Tips For Performance Marketing Success
ABOUT MARIN SOFTWARE
Marin Software Incorporated (NYSE:MRIN) provides a leading cross-channel advertising
cloud for performance marketers to measure, manage and optimize more than $6 billion in
annualized ad spend across the web and mobile devices. Offering an integrated SaaS
platform for search, display and social advertising, Marin helps digital marketers improve
financial performance, save time, and make better decisions. Advertisers use Marin to
create, target, and convert precise audiences based on recent buying signals from users’
search, social and display interactions. Headquartered in San Francisco, with offices
worldwide, Marin's technology powers marketing campaigns in more than 160 countries.
For more information about Marin's products, please visit:
http://www.marinsoftware.com/solutions/overview.
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