As the holiday season approaches, businesses are preparing for a crucial sales period, and Meta has responded with new ad tools and features designed to boost sales both online and in-store.

These updates, which are particularly geared towards increasing customer engagement and conversion, offer advertisers creative new ways to reach potential customers. By incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into ad campaigns and expanding options for in-store promotions, these new tools help businesses reach customers at the right moment and with the right message.

Enhanced Promotion Tools: Driving Engagement with Discount Codes

One of the key updates from Meta is the ability for advertisers to highlight discount codes more effectively. Meta has introduced new promo code tools that make it easier for customers to apply discounts.

Now, discount codes can be more prominently featured on ads, and customers can activate them at checkout without the need for manual entry. This simplification helps remove barriers to purchasing and could significantly increase conversion rates.

Meta is also testing first purchase offers and personalised discounts, which aim to drive more engagement from users. These discounts will now appear in ad overlays on platforms like Instagram Reels, making the offer both visible and actionable.

Given that discounts are a major incentive during holiday shopping, these new tools provide a valuable way for businesses to entice first-time buyers or offer tailored deals to repeat customers.

Optimised Reminder Ads: Keeping Your Offers Top of Mind

Meta’s updated reminder ads are designed to keep potential customers engaged by notifying them of key sales events, launches, or time-limited offers. These reminder ads now come with overlays that appear directly in-feed, helping to keep promotions top of mind.

Additionally, Meta has increased the frequency of reminder notifications, ensuring that businesses can sustain interest in their seasonal offers throughout the sales period.

For businesses that want to drive in-app purchases, reminder ads are now even more useful. Meta’s updates allow these ads to direct customers straight to a mobile app, offering a seamless experience from discovery to purchase.

By notifying users more frequently and directly linking them to the purchase point, brands can generate higher engagement and increase sales, especially for holiday-specific promotions.

Multi-Option Site Links: Personalising the User Journey

Another important update is the introduction of site links, which allow advertisers to add multiple landing pages to a single image or video ad on the Facebook Feed. This tool helps customers navigate more efficiently to the content that interests them most.

For example, a beauty brand can link to different landing pages for skincare, makeup, fragrances, and holiday-specific products, all from one ad. With just one click, potential customers can go directly to the section of a brand’s website that appeals to them, helping to improve conversion rates.

This feature offers businesses the chance to create a more personalised shopping experience for customers. By allowing multiple landing pages, brands can reduce friction in the customer journey and guide them directly to their product of interest. During the busy holiday shopping season, this can be a significant advantage, helping businesses improve both their click-through rates and sales.

Driving In-Store Traffic: Leveraging Omnichannel Shopping

The holidays are not just about online shopping; in-store purchases remain a crucial part of the sales mix. To address this, Meta is introducing a new feature that helps businesses target customers who are more likely to shop in physical stores. Advertisers can now display ads to people who have previously engaged with the business or are located nearby.

The ability to highlight store locations and encourage in-person visits offers brands a valuable omnichannel option.

For instance, if someone is browsing holiday content and engaging with local shopping recommendations, they could see ads that encourage them to visit a nearby store. This is especially important for brick-and-mortar businesses looking to boost foot traffic during the holiday rush.

Targeting Tourists and Holiday Shoppers: Capturing Seasonal Visitors

Holiday travel picks up during the festive season, which presents another opportunity for businesses to reach new customers. Meta’s new ad feature allows brands to target tourists and visitors who are engaging with holiday-related content in a specific region.

For example, if someone is planning a trip and searching for things to do in a particular city, they could be shown ads from businesses in that area.

This targeted approach enables businesses in tourist hotspots or shopping districts to capture the attention of visitors, offering them relevant promotions and experiences that align with their holiday plans.

The potential for businesses to increase their regional sales through targeted, location-based ads makes this an exciting development for the 2024 holiday season.

AI-Enhanced Campaigns: Greater Reach and Efficiency

Advertisers can now integrate Meta’s AI-enabled Advantage+ shopping campaigns with these new ad formats, allowing for even greater optimisation and performance.

By automating elements such as audience targeting and ad placements, businesses can streamline their campaigns and increase efficiency, while also reaching new audiences.

For example, AI can help advertisers determine the best times to display ads or suggest ways to diversify creative elements to capture a broader audience.

Combined with the new tools for in-store and online promotions, this AI-driven approach can help businesses meet their sales objectives during the holiday season.