Every year, the holiday season seems to come out of nowhere. All of a sudden, you’re met with a flurry of media plan requests and added pressure of meeting your end-of-year sales goal.
To help get you into the holiday spirit, we’re sharing some of Facebook’s latest consumer-inspired products.
Facebook’s Augmented Reality Ads
It’s official! Facebook is testing augmented reality ads in its Newsfeed. Integrating camera effects directly into ads, these ads offer users a chance to experience a product before they make the purchase. No longer will potential buyers need to hum and haw, wondering if the product is a right fit for them. Karen can now virtually wear that reappearing scarf in her Facebook newsfeed and feel confident that it compliments her pale complexion.
Companies such as Wayfair have already added this to their marketing strategy and find AR “a great way to move the customer through the funnel when deciding between a few different things.”
Shopping on Instagram
Shopping has expanded beyond Instagram’s Newsfeed to Instagram Stories. Stories are now the daily destination for more than 400 million accounts globally. And, one-third of the most viewed stories are from businesses.
Currently limited to your organic page, this placement transports the user to a full-screen visual storefront, explorable with a product sticker.
Swiping through your stories you come across a beautiful table setting, holiday vibes on point, gold-plated dishes, greenery, pine cones, floating cranberries in sparkling water. Wait, pine cones? You’re hosting your family for the holidays this year and you need pine cones. Luckily, the image has product stickers, allowing you to access product information (like must-have pine cones) and shop seamlessly. Simply add or tag a product and improve consideration.
Collections on Instagram
It’s no Christmas miracle that Instagram continues to adapt to additional shoppable experiences. Sheryl Sandberg stated, “Instagram is a business’s visual shop on mobile, and we’re seeing more people seek out businesses there.”
We already know and love collections on Facebook. Now you can create a seamless shopping experience for more than 800 million people across Instagram.
Tip: For set-up try a cross-platform optimization strategy: selecting both Facebook and Instagram and allow the algorithm to optimize based on performance. This will allocate spend to placements driving the best results.
Spruce up your Dynamic Ad Creative
Want to take your Dynamic Ads to the next level? Entice taps or clicks to your ad by adding unique creative elements to help inform and inspire purchases.
While this was previously rolled out, Facebook has recently added a few more visual elements. Add overlays to show prices and discounts over each product in the ad. You can even add a frame: an artistic border or your logo, with the ability to adjust opacity, size, and position.
Conclusion
Shopping habits are changing, and digital platforms are attempting to refine the shopping experience. Shopper’s major pain points during the holiday season leads us to believe that most will be avoiding long lines and crowds. Help your consumer avoid the hustle and bustle by making their online purchases as easy as pecan pie. They want convenience with omnichannel experiences through their favorite holiday accessory – their mobile device.
If you’re looking for more tips on planning this season, check out our latest on Facebook’s 2018 Holiday Planning Guide.