Does it seem like the Facebook advertising world is all wonky right now? Well, you're right...IT IS. Watch the video above or read on to learn what exactly is going on behind the scenes that is causing the instability in your ad campaign and what you can proactively do to ride out this precarious time. 
First, keep in mind that every year there's usually an ecommerce pre-holiday slump in the fall. Before the BIG end of year sales, such as Black Friday/Cyber Monday, most ad campaigns will see a dip in performance in October and the beginning of November due to consumers waiting to spend their dollars on bigger discounts (and with the help of holiday/end of year bonuses). 
So, what's different about this year that is making it especially fickle for FB advertisers? Aside from having the typical pre-holiday slump going on, it's also an election year, and an especially heated election year to say the least! That means EVERY political advertiser is running ads on Facebook right now. This means that there's a significantly larger amount of competition currently and will remain that way until the 2020 election is over. This is a huge factor into why ad costs are through the roof at the moment.
What else? Facebook is cracking down considerably on advertisers because of all the heat they've been getting in the media. While them cracking down should exclusively pertain to those who are actually breaking the Facebook ad policy and causing problems, the algorithm unfortunately isn't perfect and fully compliant ad accounts are also being shut down left and right at the moment. This throws yet another wrench into the already salty mix.
So, what can you do to ride out this volatile time in the FB advertising space?
1) Make sure you're following the Facebook ad policy in its entirety. Now is not the time to take risks!
2) Even if you're not breaking any Facebook ad rules (which you obviously shouldn't anyway), make sure you have a solid and safe backup plan if your account gets temporarily disabled. This entails ensuring you have other admins associated with your ad account in case you get accidentally restricted. Make sure you also have double authentication set up. When you have multiple admins, even if one person gets restricted, you can still access the ads.
3) Contrary to what you may be thinking, you don't necessarily need to scale back on ad spend significantly, instead try pivoting your current ecommerce Facebook advertising strategy until post-election. We suggest less of a focus on conversion optimization and more of a focus on engagement optimization to build up some awesome and ready-to-buy audiences once the election is over. Yes, that does mean your ROAS likely will still be on the low end right now, but that’s not the end of the world. If you do this right, your ROAS in all of Q4 can be the highest to date, so don’t look at the end of October as a death sentence for your ROAS if it’s temporarily low. Long-term trends and the right strategy are way more important.
4) Start planning for an EARLY holiday sale with an incredibly intriguing deal. Once the election ends, political advertisers will drop off like flies and we'll be thrust right into the holiday season. A major perk for digital advertisers is that this year’s holiday season will be almost exclusively online due to the pandemic. If you're not prepared and you don't have a plan, it will be very challenging to make Q4 the most profitable time of year for your Shopify store. 
Instead of getting stressed out by the current Facebook advertising climate, “adapt and overcome.” Be proactive and do this right, and your return on your ad campaign can actually end up being significantly higher than you’d expect when you look at the last 3 months of the year as a whole (October/November/December). Don't think of this insane ad climate currently during the end of October and early November as a doomsday prediction for ecommerce; it's only temporary. If you do things right, you're in store for potentially exponential growth as a business.
Want more information on how you need to prepare your FB ad campaign for your Shopify store right now during the end of 2020? Looking for the best Q4 EVER? Fill out this form to get a FREE ad account review by our expert team!
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