⚠️ This triple whammy could wreck your Q4

Estimated read time: 3 min, 53 sec

In this week’s letter 📨:

• ​​​​​​​​​​​​❌ Don’t know your Q4 target? Start now

• ​​​​🗝️ The key to retaining your first-time buyers

• 😟 Bid caps not spending? Here’s why

• 👝 ​​​​#FeaturedAd - Advene

• 🏑 #BrandedCatalog Spotlight - Bench Clearers

• 🆕 New Ads @Socioh

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It’s Time To Prepare for Holidays 2024. Yes, Already!

We know. 

May is only just ending — why the hurry?

We hate being alarmist but this year is a triple whammy. 

It’s an election year, inflation is at an all-time high, and higher CPMs show no signs of letting up.

Plus, with Meta’s algorithm changes affecting most stores’ Q1 and Q2 projections, it’s better to be prepared. 

Here’s our cheat sheet to help you crush Q4: 

1. Assess your Q4 performance in 2023 and work backwards to draw insights such as;

   1. The % of new vs returning shoppers that shopped your Holiday sales. 

   2. How far back did you acquire these customers — was it in Q1, Q2, Q3, or further back?

   3. The window between their previous purchase and their Q4 purchase.

   4. Is there a correlation between when they started buying from you & what offers they chose?

2. Look at your Q1 and Q2 performance in 2024 to set realistic expectations viz. ad costs and returns.

3. Go to your finance team and set up a forecast for Q4 performance. Use this easy forecasting post by @heyitsalexP (you’re welcome!)

4. Craft holiday-specific offers & merchandise and send them to your VIP/loyal customers before your sales start. This gives your top customers the chance to shop multiple times from your holiday sale.
   TIP: Think high AOV offers or non-discount incentives for your best customers — gifting bundles, holiday merch, etc. that drive sales without giving away margin.
   Check out our featured ad section for an example of a holiday offer done right!

5. Finally, put in the work of filling up your funnel — start NOW! 🏋️‍♀️

BONUS: Want a super-easy way to test your offers/messaging and drive learnings on Meta? Optimize your catalog ads without losing a campaign or catalog learnings. It’s so scalable and so easy, you’ll be shocked you didn’t start earlier.

Bid Caps Not Spending? Use This Troubleshooting Checklist

Testing bid caps in your account? 

Frustrated because your ads are now not spending enough? 

Here’s a super helpful 7-point checklist by @andrewjfaris to get you unstuck:

Thanks, Andrew! 

TIP. Want to start testing Meta’s caps but bid caps proving too tricky? We recommend you start with cost caps instead. 

The First Thing (You Need To Know) About Retention 

Don’t know where to start with retention?

This single action is all you need to start: 

Thank you, Feras! 

Of course, the more data you can use for insights you can use to target the right products to the right customer, the better. 

Here are some easy insights you can draw using order data from your existing customers: 

• What did your repeat customers buy first and what was their second purchase? Are there trends in this data at the product or category level?

• Is there a certain AOV that your most loyal customers spent on their first and second purchases? If yes, can you drive that with bundling and upsells? 

• Did discounts or exclusive offers help drive purchase behavior? If yes, which offers incentivized repeat purchases while being profitable for you? 

Do this and you will be well on your way to getting retention right.

#FeaturedAd - Advene

Brand: Advene
Category: Accessories (Handbags) 
Format: Video (Feed & Story)

WHY IT WORKS:

How can you offer value and create FOMO without compromising on your margins? 

This ad by Advene is a great example of a holiday offer done right. 

In addition to showcasing one of their most popular styles, the ad also offers free embossing during their holiday sales.

Let’s take a closer look at the ad: 

• The 19-second-long video ad is beautifully produced, with tasteful cuts of product/model shots.

• Bold text on a neutral background interrupts the shots, highlighting the brand’s values.

• The last 5 seconds of the ad offer free personalization for holiday purchases.

• By adding a date for the customization offer (2-31 Dec), the brand creates FOMO and incentivizes purchase.

What we think: This offer would work very well as an advance/VIP offer sent to your most loyal customers. 

Want more ideas? See this ad and 1000s of others in Socioh’s ad library.

#BrandedCatalog Spotlight - Bench Clearers

Brand: Bench Clearers
Category: Sports Apparel
Template type:  Discounted price with coupon code

DESIGN HIGHLIGHTS:

• The eye-catching and sporty template showcases the brand’s vertical lifestyle photos without white bars.

• Discount messaging shows before-after prices using the coupon code.

• The NHL license adds authenticity, while the hockey teams’ logos are mapped to help fans quickly spot their team’s merch.

Create collection-based rules to customize your dynamic ads with Socioh’s Branded Catalogs.

New Ads @Socioh

New ads this week — Hally, Swoveralls, Timbuk2, and more. Find these ads and tons of inspiration in Socioh’s ad library.

P.S. We update our library with new ads every week.

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