Facebook Announces New Shopping Audiences, Test Shops Discounts And Instagram Product Tag Ads

Christmas is nearing, and every ardent shopper must be looking for shopping opportunities with discounts and different offers. Taking this as an opportunity and expanding its shopping capabilities, Facebook advertising services have launched new shopping audiences, Instagram product tag ads, and test shop discounts.

Facebook is rolling out several new features for e-commerce marketers and brands in this holiday season to enhance shopper’s experience. Besides, Facebook is also launching promotional support for training and software discounts for small businesses and Black-owned businesses.

Instagram Product Tag ads

The first launch is the Instagram Product Tag ads. The Instagram marketing services have been testing the product tags for organic shopping posts for a while now. With this, the marketers can promote these posts as ads and will create ads with product tags directly in the Ads manager account without the need for opting for the organic post route first. Facebook explains,

“Over the last year, advertisers have been testing the ability to turn organic shopping posts with product tags into ads on Instagram. Today, we’re launching a new way to create ads with product tags from scratch in Ads Manager.- This gives businesses the option to use more commercial creatives and copy compared to traditional organic posts. The available formats for ads with product tags include photos, videos, and carousels.”

Also, Read – Facebook All Set To Launch Facebook Business Suit For SMBs

The Custom audience option

Facebook is also looking forward to a distinct type of audience targeting that aims at helping marketers. It focuses on reaching people who have already shown interest in their product or brand by initiating a purchase, saving a product, or viewing a shop. Below is what Facebook said about the newly added Custom audience option,

“With Shopping Engagement Custom Audiences, businesses now have the ability to reach people who’ve already shown interest in their product or brand by doing things like saving a product, viewing a shop, or initiating a purchase. And with Shopping Lookalike Audiences, you can grow your customer base by reaching shoppers who have similar interests to your existing customers on Facebook and Instagram.”

Shopping lookalike customer audiences

Digital marketing services have evolved with time, and shopping lookalike customer audiences is a new feather in the cap. Now, advertisers can boost their reach by targeting shoppers with similar interests as the existing customers on Instagram and Facebook. Besides, it is also launching a new Season of Support initiative to help Small Businesses get holiday-ready that will include free marketing training, resources, and more. Regarding SMBs, Facebook stated,

“You’ll hear from business experts and celebrities like Tan France, star of the Facebook Watch series Boost My Business. Tan will host a discussion about getting into the holiday season with one of the small business guests from Season 2 of his show which launched this week.”

Promotional and long-existing discounts in shops

Now, brands with their own shops will be able to promote sales and discounts with the aid of the ‘Promotion’ tab in the Commerce Manager. However, this launch is being tested in the US only. Facebook has explained,

“You’ll be able to put individual products on sale, create offers that can be automatically applied – like “Spend $50 and get 10% off each eligible item” – or offer a discount on an item by letting customers apply a promo code. To make sure customers know of the discount options available to them and pique their interest, you can get creative by adding a banner to your shop.”

SMB Training and #BuyBlack Friday

The pandemic has hit many small and big organizations worldwide, and Black-owned businesses are no different. According to Facebook, 41% of US Black-owned businesses have to shut down during the pandemic. From November 27th, every Friday’s Facebook would be promoting #BuyBlackFriday on its platform and will be publishing a gift guide and a business directory of Black-owned businesses.

“From October 30 to November 27, 2020, we’re supporting Black businesses by making every Friday #BuyBlack Friday, and we invite your business to join us. A staggering 41% of US Black-owned businesses have shut down due to COVID-19,2 so we’re looking to help in ways that are meaningful. Buy from Black-owned businesses and join the celebration on Facebook.”

Time to wrap up: The new ad tools are definitely something to look forward to. These are some essential tools and initiatives that will enhance the eCommerce market to a great extent. The brands can also maximize their holiday promotions and perhaps can squeeze a little bit more out of their end of the season drive or sales.