As 2023 comes to a close, it’s time to start thinking about your Facebook advertising plans for 2024 Q1. Well, not quite… Results of a YouGov survey show that “41% of holiday shoppers surveyed say their shopping continues past the holidays into January”. Known as Q5, this is a period with frequently untapped potential when it comes to marketing.

Meta has released a best practice guide for Q5, and we’ve selected some of our favourite tips and insights to help you get the most out of this post-festive period.

1. Minimise Campaign Changes

It is best practice to avoid sending your ad sets back into the learning phase where you can. This especially applies with Q5, where you have a relatively narrow window in which to maximise sales.

Meta recommends using the new budget scheduling feature that allows you to schedule budget spikes for specific times and dates. This will help you take advantage of days when more people are likely to spend. You can adjust the budget by an exact amount or percentage and set the dates for your budget to increase. With the ability to run up to 50 different budgeting schedules within a single ad set, there’s plenty of flexibility to fine-tune your spend.

The best part of budget scheduling is that it won’t put your ad sets back into learning, so you can make those adjustments without worrying about spooking the algorithm.

2. Utilise Automation & AI tools For Facebook Advertising

Meta has been channelling a lot of focus into their AI-powered advertising tools in the last year, especially Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns. With new updates and features having rolled out recently, there are more ways than ever before to maximise the automation of your ad delivery in Q5.

Specifically for Q5, Meta suggests using the ad scheduling function to set specific times for individual ads to turn on and off. This is helpful for limited-time offers and sales. It is also a good time to test out some new audiences. This can be assisted by Advantage+ audience to deliver your ads to those outside your set audience, using AI to find potential customers you may not have considered.

3. Diversify creative

Meta gives some examples of messaging you can try in Q5 to “meet people where they are”. With New Year’s goals and post-Christmas blues, your potential customers are likely searching for something different than at any other time of year.

Sales and Discounts: it will be expected that businesses are trying to shift leftover stock to make way for new collections. Emphasising those big savings will lure in the bargain hunters.

Self-gifting: January can be a bleak time of year, so try presenting products as being a pick-me-up treat. You could also explore the angle of “didn’t get what you wanted for Christmas? Treat yourself to what you really want”.

New Year resolutions: even beyond fitness and wellness businesses, there’s scope to pitch your products as part of somebody’s ‘new year, new me’ mission. This might be suggesting a new skill or hobby, establishing a different or elevated sense of style, or prioritising self-care.

Gratitude: this can relate to the previous messaging of New Year’s Resolutions, as people may be looking for ways to make a difference in their community in 2024. Partnering with creators could be an avenue for promoting to an audience with shared values.

Still not sure if you’re maximising your potential on Meta in Q5 and beyond? We are a marketing agency that specialises in Facebook advertising. We’d love to have a chat and make that happen for you. Get in touch with us today.