7 Easy Ways to Drive Conversions During the Holidays

The holiday season might be all about festive good cheer and culinary overindulgence, but it’s also an incredibly high-spending time for shoppers worldwide.

(In the U.S., the average shopper parts with a whopping $430 during Black Friday alone!)

How can you ensure your product is front of mind for potential customers when they begin to feel frivolous? We’ve put together some easy-to-implement strategies to answer exactly this question — and help you boost conversions during one of the busiest, most profitable times of the year.

1. Dive Into Video & Movement

In a world where static, flat media has traditionally reigned supreme, don’t be afraid to play around with rich media (namely video, which does especially well with younger audiences). Video is powerful because it catches our attention, conveys messages in an engaging way, and is ideal for on-the-go smartphone users embarking upon the discovery phase of the purchasing journey. Importantly, it allows marketers to extend their campaigns to social channels like Facebook and Instagram to boost conversions.

2. Use Strong Horizontal Imagery Where You Can

While it may sound surprising, horizontal imagery can help boost conversion rates for online ads. This is because most digital ad space is horizontal — except for certain social media platforms, such as vertical Instagram Stories or all ads on Pinterest. 

While you shouldn’t completely ignore vertical imagery, consider stitching together a few vertical images to create a horizontal look if that’s all you have.

3. Keep Product Feeds Updated to Maximize Dynamic Ad Performance Copy

Dynamic ads offer marketers the ability to feature multiple products in a single ad, making them pivotal to the success of digital marketing campaigns. In fact, these ads can see up to a 2.5x increase in click-through rates (CTRs) and an average cost per acquisition (CPA) 50% lower than regular static ads, according to our data. 

4. Use A/B Testing to Increase Conversion Rates

A/B test different sets of ads to understand which ones resonate with your target audience. Beyond just improving the performance of your campaigns, beginning your A/B testing early will ensure you understand which ads are performing the best throughout the weeks leading up to the holiday season and beyond.

5. Use Short, Scroll-Stopping Copy

The majority of your copy should be as short as possible. Only the important information should make the cut. Additionally, all titles should be less than 50 characters — think skimmable.

As mentioned, it’s important that your ad copy is eye-catching. Your target audience will scroll past a ton of ads this holiday season. Grab their attention with your promotional text featured within or below your ad imagery. Highlight deals and common problems or even feature a witty statement.

6. Optimize Your CTAs

A strong call to action (CTA) is your lifeline to getting a prospect to engage with your online ads. When considering how to format your CTA, make sure it’s prominently placed and features a contrasting color to your ad imagery. Make your CTAs large enough to read but not so large they’re distracting.

>>Your guide to writing conversion-worthy CTAs is here.

7. Learn From Years Past

If you’re unsure where to begin the creation of your holiday ads, the best thing to do is look to previous years’ performances for inspiration. Comb through the ads you served in the past few years to see which copy and imagery influenced the most conversions on your site. While this data doesn’t always ring 100% true from year to year, it often helps marketers conjure fresh ideas for new campaigns.

Bonus: Launch a Campaign Today

Implement these seven ways to increase conversions and start your campaign now! By connecting with your potential customers again and again over time, you'll build a long-term loyal customer base for months to come. It's never too early to offer value to your customers.

Want more holiday advertising tips, tricks, strategies, and more? Explore our entire holiday marketing guide below.

Last updated on September 29th, 2022.