5 Tips for Running Paid Social Ads During the Holiday Season
8/25/2025
Holiday weekends are prime time for advertisers. More people are online shopping, more brands are competing for attention, and costs to advertise—especially CPMs (cost per thousand impressions)—almost always increase.
For companies managing paid social budgets, this creates an important question: should you lean into the holiday hype, or save your spend for less competitive times?
Here are five simple tips to help you make smarter decisions about running paid social ads during the holiday season.
1. Understand Why CPMs Rise During the Holidays
More Competition = Higher Costs
During holidays, every brand wants to get in front of shoppers. That surge in competition drives up the cost to reach audiences. Even if you don’t change your targeting or creative, you’ll likely see your CPMs rise compared to normal weeks.
Planning Ahead Matters
If you’re managing budgets at a higher level, factor this seasonal inflation into your planning. A $5,000 social budget in September won’t go as far on Labor Day weekend as it will two weeks later.
2. Decide if Running Ads Is Worth It for Your Brand
When to Lean In
For brands that sell giftable products, seasonal promotions, or items tied to holiday sales, paying the premium CPMs is often worth it. The audience is primed to shop, so even with higher costs, conversion rates can justify the spend.
When to Hold Back
Not every business benefits from holiday traffic. If your product isn’t something people buy impulsively or seasonally, you may get better results saving budget for less competitive weeks when your CPMs are lower.
3. Budget Strategically (Don’t Just Spend More)
Shift Budgets to High-Intent Audiences
Instead of trying to reach everyone, focus on the audiences most likely to convert—such as website visitors, past customers, or people who abandoned carts. Retargeting campaigns are usually more cost-efficient than broad prospecting during expensive weekends.
Test Smaller Campaigns
If you’re unsure how your audience will respond, consider testing smaller campaigns during the holiday. That way, you’ll gather data without overcommitting budget in an expensive ad environment.
4. Adjust Creative & Messaging for the Holiday
Tap Into the Holiday Mindset
Holiday weekends come with built-in themes: sales, limited-time offers, long-weekend energy. Tailor your creative so it feels relevant to the moment—whether it’s “Labor Day Sale,” “Back-to-School Special,” or “End of Summer Savings.”
Keep the Message Simple
Competition is fierce and people scroll fast. Your ads should deliver the value proposition in a clear, punchy way. Focus on one message and make sure your offer is front and center.
5. Track Performance Closely & Be Ready to Pivot
Watch CPMs and CPCs Daily
During holiday weekends, ad performance can shift quickly. Monitor your metrics—especially CPMs, CPCs (cost per click), and conversion rates—on a daily basis.
React Quickly
If ads are underperforming, pause them. If one campaign is working better, reallocate budget quickly. Flexibility is key during these competitive weekends.
How FanIQ One Simplifies Holiday Advertising
Managing ads during peak seasons isn’t just about higher CPMs—it’s also about navigating constant platform changes, shifting eligibility rules, and evolving targeting formats. For many teams, this creates extra layers of work right when speed and accuracy matter most.
FanIQ One helps remove that complexity by:
Streamlining campaign setup so you’re never caught off guard by changing platform rules.
Keeping targeting options current—automatically applying updates in the background without requiring manual fixes.
Enabling faster adoption of new features, letting you take advantage of new platform opportunities as soon as they’re available.
Centralizing cross-platform management so you can coordinate campaigns across multiple channels from one place.
The result: less time troubleshooting, fewer wasted impressions, and more confidence that your campaigns will run smoothly—even during competitive holiday weekends.
Conclusion: Spend Smarter, Not More
Holiday weekends can be powerful opportunities to reach new customers and drive sales—but they come at a premium. For companies trying to maximize their Q5 performances, it's extremely important to be on top of best practices during the season. By understanding why CPMs rise, making smart budget decisions, tailoring your creative, and staying flexible, you can get the most out of your paid social spend without wasting dollars.
The bottom line: don’t just spend more—spend smarter.
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