In 2014, consumers spent an average of more than $800 on holiday shopping, making the holiday season the most important time of the year for many retailers. Today’s consumers are savvy comparison shoppers – with mobile apps, social media and online review sites at their fingertips.

E-tailers are increasingly turning to Facebook to take advantage of the social network’s 1billion+ active users, engagement and targeting.

Check out these 5 Facebook Ad tools to help e-tailers drive traffic and sales this holiday season:

1. Page Post Engagement (News feed) Ads – Ideal for increasing engagement as well as promoting events and special offers, these ads appear on the desktop or mobile news feed just like regular status posts, and they can include links, photos, videos, offers, events and more. Be sure to include high quality product images and a compelling call to action to make the most of this ad unit.

1. Mobile Ads – With 894 million users regularly connecting via mobile, Facebook offers a massive audience for e-tailers. And, with a projected 121 million U.S. consumers making purchases via their mobile devices this holiday season, Facebook mobile ads are a must. According to research by Marin Software, mobile-only news feed ads outperform desktop ads by significant margins, so be sure to focus on mobile as its own unit (not mobile and desktop combined). For best results, offer a discount or percentage off retail products within a specific time frame.

1. Custom Audiences – Sometimes the most valuable audience you can reach is one that you already have a connection to. Upload your email or phone lists into Facebook to create a targeted audience based on existing contacts. To re-engage existing customers, upload a list of inactive customers and create holiday ads/ promotions to bring them back. To acquire new customers, exclude custom audience lists from your ads so that you don’t pay for unwanted impressions or clicks on existing customers.
2. Lookalike Audiences – Facebook will look at all the profile data of the people in your custom audience lists and create a new list of Facebook users that share similar interests and demographics. This allows you to expand your target market while still ensuring that you are reaching the right demographic. Further qualify your lookalike audience by layering additional targeting like location, interests, lifestyle, etc. So, for example, if you are promoting iPhone cases, you’ll want to target users who are on iOS devices or are interested in mobile technology.
3. Conversion Tracking (Facebook Retargeting) – According to a study conducted by Fireclick, an industry leading provider of website analytics services, the average conversion rate for websites (worldwide) is just a hair over 2%. If you currently sell products from a website (not a marketplace like eBay or Amazon), conversion tracking or Facebook Retargeting is a tool designed to help you send highly targeted advertising to the right people at the right phase of the purchase funnel. It’s also recommended to rotate your ad images regularly (every 2-3 days).

A well executed Facebook advertising strategy allows retailers to engage their audience and generate tangible results in ways that traditional and online media channels cannot. New to Facebook advertising? Check out BufferSocial’s Complete Guide to Getting Started with Facebook Ads.

For more information on how to plan, build and execute your entire marketplace seller strategy, download the Marketplace Sellers Guide.

What are you doing this holiday season to increase your sales? What other approaches do you take? Let us know your opinions and tactics in the comments section below.

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