As we navigate the uncharted economic waters of 2020, consumer behaviors and purchasing patterns have undergone a significant transformation since the onset of COVID-19. In August, eMarketer reported projected a roughly 11% decline in total retail sales within the United States this year, attributed to ongoing social distancing measures. However, they also anticipate ecommerce experiencing a substantial surge, potentially reaching 18% growth by year’s end.
These projections, coupled with observations from our own ecommerce social media advertising accounts, underscore the critical importance for brands to harness the power of social media during the upcoming holiday shopping season.
Image via Facebook This article will delve into eight actionable tips, best practices, and strategies designed to empower you to achieve maximum success with your holiday ecommerce advertising this year. We’ll place a particular emphasis on two exceptional social media advertising tools tailored for ecommerce: Facebook Shops and Instagram Checkout.
Social Media’s Role in Ecommerce Holiday Advertising Success: The Data
The assertion that social media will reign supreme as the most effective channel for engaging customers during the 2020 holiday season isn’t limited to paid social experts. A confluence of ecommerce forecasts and findings from recent research substantiates this claim.
Anticipated Social Media Purchasing Trends
Salesforce, in a recent post focused on holiday 2020 predictions, proclaimed that “Social media will emerge as the leading platform for connecting with consumers.” Their data-driven predictions include:
- Digital channels are projected to account for up to 30% of global retail sales this holiday season.
- Social media channels are expected to capture 10% of all mobile orders.
- Peak shopping days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday could witness up to 15% of mobile orders originating from social media.
Existing Social Media Purchasing Patterns
Current consumer behavior further reinforces the case for prioritizing ecommerce advertising on social media during this holiday season. Salesforce’s Snapshot Research Series data reveals that 73% of Gen Z consumers have made purchases through social media platforms since the pandemic’s start.
Image source Echoing Salesforce’s predictions, Radial, an omnichannel commerce technology provider, conducted a study earlier this summer, surveying 1,000 US consumers about their holiday shopping intentions for 2020. The results were compelling: 66% indicated they would increase their online purchases this year, while 60% planned to reduce their in-store holiday shopping. Notably, the majority of respondents expressed their intention to maintain their holiday gift spending at levels comparable to the previous year.
A significant 66% of consumers plan to increase their online purchases this year, with 60% intending to curtail their in-store holiday shopping. These findings instill confidence in directing ecommerce advertising investments towards social media. In the words of Salesforce, “brands need to dismantle the traditional barriers that separate inspiration from purchase.”
Maximizing Holiday Advertising Success with Paid Social: A Guide for Ecommerce
While these insights provide valuable guidance for strategizing and launching holiday shopping campaigns, the precise spending patterns and magnitude of consumer expenditure this season will remain unknown until it unfolds. However, we can proactively prepare: ensure adequate inventory, develop a holistic seasonal strategy, guarantee the seamless functionality of websites and apps, and leverage social media to amplify our reach, drive purchase volume, and boost revenue.
So, how can paid social be effectively employed to elevate your holiday advertising success? Ecommerce businesses are in a favorable position, as both Facebook and Instagram have introduced new features this year to empower advertisers in maximizing their respective ecommerce capabilities. Facebook offers Shops, while Instagram presents Checkout. These innovative tools allow small businesses and big brands to craft frictionless online buying experiences, capitalizing on the reach of Facebook and Instagram audiences. This section will explore best practices, valuable tips, and these novel tools, equipping you to drive increased online sales throughout the holiday season.
1. Mobile-First Strategies: A Top Priority
Facebook’s Holiday Package report highlights a noteworthy trend since the pandemic’s onset: an average of 72% of Gen Xers and 50% of Baby Boomers are dedicating more time to mobile devices, driven by quarantines, shelter-in-place orders, and social distancing measures. This, coupled with Salesforce’s aforementioned projection that up to 15% of mobile orders this holiday season will originate from social media channels, signals a growing dependence on mobile-first ecommerce across various demographics.
2. Optimizing User Experience: Preventing Frustrated Mobile Shopper Abandonment
The Facebook Holiday Insights Report on holiday trends from the previous year revealed a concerning statistic: 82% of global shoppers encountered user experience issues while shopping online during the holiday season. Notably, 32% of Baby Boomers found font sizes on mobile devices to be too small, 25% of Millennials experienced content exceeding their screen size, and over 25% of all consumers reported unclear images. As advertisers, it’s imperative to optimize Facebook and Instagram campaigns to deliver mobile experiences that align with how users consume our branded content.
3. Enhanced Quality Assurance: Ensuring Engagement
These challenges are easily preventable. Proactive detection and resolution, along with meticulous planning this season, particularly before peak shopping days, are crucial. When introducing new Facebook and Instagram campaigns, dedicate time with your teams or clients to conduct thorough quality checks on ad creatives and landing pages, especially on mobile devices. The smallest details can make or break effective and engaging social media ads. Prioritize an optimal mobile experience to avoid leaving potential revenue on the table for competitors to seize.
Optimizing Facebook and Instagram campaigns for mobile devices is essential, ensuring that the user experience aligns with how consumers engage with our branded content.
4. Expanding Ecommerce Horizons with Facebook Shops
In a timely response to the economic impact of COVID-19 on small businesses, Facebook unveiled Facebook Shops in May, an innovative ecommerce storefront. Shops empower small businesses to seamlessly transition towards increased online selling, making it easier for their target audiences to discover and purchase their products.
Image via Facebook Facebook Shops provides brands with the ability to establish a mobile-first online store, seamlessly integrated into their Facebook Business Page and Instagram profile, and accessible to users across both platforms. This feature allows businesses to upload their product catalogs, enabling Facebook and Instagram users to effortlessly browse, save, or purchase products directly within the app.
5. Exploring Design Layouts with Facebook Shops
In July, Facebook further enhanced Shops by introducing new design layouts, providing brands with the ability to showcase individual products or product groupings. This update also incorporated new insights accessible via Facebook’s Commerce Manager, empowering brands to track the performance of their Facebook Shops.
Image via Facebook
6. Early Testing for Holiday Readiness: Experimenting with Facebook Shops
With the holiday season rapidly approaching, brands are encouraged to experiment with Facebook Shops in advance to gain a comprehensive understanding of its functionality. This will enable them to effectively feature popular products that people may want to purchase for holiday gifts during the crucial shopping period. Such proactive measures will enhance product visibility across Facebook and Instagram, creating more readily available online shopping opportunities for target audiences.
7. Driving Conversions with Instagram Checkout
Launched over a year ago to a select group of brand accounts, Instagram Checkout has been gradually rolled out to a wider audience, establishing itself as a potent strategy for ecommerce advertisers. Checkout empowers users to purchase products directly within the Instagram app, providing a streamlined and secure in-app payment option. Recognizing the pandemic’s substantial impact on businesses, Facebook made a well-timed announcement in August, extending Instagram Checkout availability to all eligible US-based businesses and creator accounts with a Shops integration. This move effectively bridges the Shops experience with Checkout’s in-app purchasing capabilities.
Image via Instagram For those yet to explore its potential, Instagram Checkout presents a valuable opportunity to boost Instagram sales this holiday season. Setting up a Shop with Checkout on Instagram can be accomplished through their Commerce Manager. Alternatively, businesses already utilizing third-party platforms like Shopify can easily integrate it with their accounts.
According to their own blog post on Checkout, enabling Checkout offers several advantages:
- A smoother, less complicated path to purchase
- The ability to tag products in other creators’ posts
- Access to a wider range of ad products and signals
- Streamlined product launch announcements
- Enabling live shopping experiences for customers RELATED: [78 [Not Overused!] Holiday & Christmas Instagram Captions]
8. Capitalizing on Instagram’s Waived Selling Fees
Furthering their support for brands, particularly small businesses, Instagram is also waiving its selling fees through the end of 2020 in recent months, enabling more businesses to leverage the in-app purchasing feature. The waived fee presents a significant benefit for brands operating in the direct-to-consumer (DTC) space, offering a valuable opportunity this holiday season to create a seamless customer journey from product discovery to purchase with minimal implementation costs.
Seeking inspiration for Checkout strategies or real-world examples? Navigate to the Discover tab within your Instagram app and click the Shop link.
Prepare for the anticipated surge in online sales this holiday season by optimizing your ads to deliver a seamless buying experience for your shoppers, bridging the gap between browsing and purchasing your products online. Facebook and Instagram provide the tools to make this achievable.