Christmas Marketing Strategy: How to Run Meta Ads During the Holiday Season

The festive season is approaching, and if you're an ambitious business owner, you might be wondering how to maintain momentum without sacrificing precious family time.

Between wobbly gingerbread houses, school nativity plays, and wreath-making workshops, December can feel like five to six weeks of beautiful chaos. For impatiently ambitious women who know they want to scale their business but also want to be present during the holidays, this balancing act can feel particularly challenging.

In this blog, we'll explore:

• How to set up your Meta ads to keep growing your audience and nurturing potential clients, all while enjoying your mince pies

• Three powerful ad strategies that will keep your business thriving through the holiday season

• Exactly how to maintain quality connection with your audience (even when you're knee-deep in Christmas preparations)

• How to leverage the quieter periods for maximum impact

• Setting yourself up for a flying start in January

Why Your Christmas Marketing Strategy Matters

Let me share a story that completely changed how I approach business automation and connection.

Back in 2015-2016, I managed British Airways' premium customer experience at Heathrow, leading a team of 350 people responsible for business class, first class, and even royalty and celebrity experiences.

Our challenge?

Creating consistent, premium experiences when customers rarely saw the same staff member twice. The solution we developed taught me something crucial about business scaling: you never have to choose between automation and connection. The key is mastering both.

We implemented iPads that allowed staff to instantly access crucial customer information - previous experiences, upgrade authorisations, and special requirements. This system enabled us to deliver personalised service at scale, creating moments that would surprise and delight our customers without requiring the same staff member to be present each time.

Understanding the Christmas Ad Landscape

First, let's address the elephant in the room: we're entering peak ad season for product businesses.

However, this doesn't mean your ads won't work, they'll be significantly more expensive, or that you should turn them off. In fact, from around December 20th (once the big e-commerce spending drops off), service businesses often see incredible opportunities with remarkably low ad costs.

What we've seen in recent years, particularly between Christmas and New Year, is that lead costs can drop significantly. While you might think people are too busy to be online, the reality is quite different. Many people have more downtime during this period and are actively thinking about their goals for the coming year.

Three Essential Meta Ad Campaigns for Your Christmas Marketing Strategy

1. Easy Engagement Ads

These ads target your existing followers, maintaining connection and visibility when you're not actively posting. They're absolutely brilliant for staying visible without daily posting, building social proof, and maintaining momentum with minimal effort.

To implement these effectively, you'll want to budget around £3 per day. The key is creating content that builds relationships and scheduling it before your holiday break. Using power posts and social proof content will ensure your audience stays engaged even when you're offline.

2. Instagram Growth Ads

These ads focus on reaching new potential clients and growing your following. They're crucial because they continue building your audience during downtime and create a strong foundation for January.

The brilliant thing about these ads is that once someone follows you, they automatically become part of your warm audience for engagement ads - creating a perfect ecosystem of nurture and growth.

For these ads, I recommend maintaining a budget of £3 per day. This investment means you'll come back in January to a larger, more engaged audience ready to hear about your offerings.

3. Email List Growth Ads

This is where the magic really happens during the holiday season, especially if you're planning a January launch. These ads are powerful because they capture leads when costs are lower and build your email list with qualified prospects who are ready to engage with your offerings in the new year.

For these to work effectively, you need:

• A lead magnet that speaks directly to your ideal client's needs

• Compelling ad copy that addresses specific pain points

• A welcome sequence that guides new subscribers to valuable content

• Clear next steps that lead to your core offerings

Making Your Christmas Marketing Strategy Work

The key to implementing these campaigns effectively lies in preparation.

You'll want to create your content in advance, set up your campaigns before the holiday rush, and ensure all your automation sequences are ready to go. This means you can truly step away from your business during the festivities while knowing everything is working smoothly in the background.

The Perfect Time for Lead Generation

The period between Christmas and New Year presents a unique opportunity.

People have more downtime and are already thinking about their goals for the new year. Whether they're considering business growth, health improvements, or mindset shifts, they're more open to new opportunities and solutions.

Moving Forward

By implementing these strategies, you can maintain business momentum while fully enjoying the festive season. You'll come back in January to an engaged audience, fresh leads in your pipeline, and momentum ready to build upon.

Remember, you don't need to choose between having a thriving business and taking time off. With the right Christmas marketing strategy in place, you can have both. Whether you're building slightly wobbly gingerbread houses or sipping mulled wine at a wreath-making workshop, your business can continue growing through well-planned automation that maintains genuine connection with your audience.

If you're feeling ready to implement these strategies but want someone to guide you through the process, my Audience Builder Course is the perfect place to start. I'll walk you step by step through these three key Facebook & Instagram ad campaigns to allow you to grow your email list AND Instagram followers - for as little as £3/day. This means you can truly enjoy your Christmas break knowing your business is still growing, still nurturing relationships, and still building momentum for an incredible start to the new year.

Click here for all the info & to sign up.

What next?

If you’ve found this blog post useful, here are some ways you can be a part of my world:

1) Love an Instagram story? Good, me too! Come say hi & access plenty more of my free tips over on: @sophiegriffithsco

2) Listen to my podcast! It’s all about taking big, bold moves in your marketing with strategic, practical advice and loads of inspiration too! Click here to find out more and listen!

3) Interested in working with me? To check out the client services I offer here click here

Listen to the full podcast episode for additional insights and tips here.