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How to Make the Most of Social Ads During the Holidays

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The most wonderful time of the year is here, and for those of you putting the finishing touches on your holiday marketing plans, focusing some of your efforts on social media ads can help build your brand and sell more stuff.

If you’re wondering why you should advertise on social, consider this: Each month, 2 billion people use Facebook and 500 million people use Instagram.

As eMarketer notes, social media ad spend will continue to rise worldwide this year and next.

Moreover, 80% of respondents to a small business poll said they used Facebook for marketing purposes, and more than a third said it was their most successful marketing channel. As for Instagram, more than 2 million advertisers worldwide use the app to share their stories and drive business.

That means your competition is finding customers—maybe even your customers—on social.

But before you get all Grinch-y, we’ve put together some social media tips that will ensure you have a successful holiday season. And if you’re wondering about cost, you don’t necessarily have to shell out big bucks to add social media to your marketing plan—even a small budget can be successful.

As you’re creating your social ads, consider the tips below. You can even create and publish Facebook and Instagram ads through Mailchimp, keeping all of your marketing in one place.

1. Consider your goal.

Take a moment to think about what you’re trying to accomplish. Would you like to introduce your brand to new people? Are you informing them about a current sale or new products? Or would you like them to visit your online store? Knowing your goal will help you to develop a message with a strong call to action. For more tips, check out our recent post about social media content best practices.

2. Think about targeting.

Once you know your goal and have the right message, consider who you’re sending it to. Targeting is crucial to ensure you reach the right people at the right time. Here’s how you can target using Mailchimp:

  • Your list contacts: A great option, since you know they already love your brand.
  • People similar to your list contacts: This can help you find friends of friends with similar interests who might also love what you do.
  • People with interests you define: This is best if you’re looking to find new people outside of your current list.

We also give you the option to narrow your audience by gender, location, and age range. For example, if you’re a women’s apparel shop in Chicago and want to find new potential customers, you could target women who have expressed interest in seeing content about “Women’s Clothing” or “Women’s Fashion” in the Windy City. This will ensure you reach the right folks and that you’re not wasting your time and money promoting your ad to people who aren’t interested.

3. Track reporting.

Here’s the fun part: Our reporting tool tracks how your ads are performing. “Test, learn, repeat” is a motto on our social team. If an ad isn’t performing as well as you’d hoped, refine the audience or the content. Every brand is unique and has to find what works for them, so monitor your ad and learn from your efforts.

Make sense? Go out there and find your people on social this holiday season. We’re rooting for you! If you need additional tips or ideas try these resources:

And if you need additional encouragement, consider these stats:

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