Facebook advertising during the summer holidays

Which means while we are out seeking #summervibes, mobile devices take on a greater significance. Whether we are searching, sharing or socialising, it is our essential tool for wringing every last drop out of the longer, brighter, busier days.

Sunnier outlooks

How to have a beach body?

1. Have a body.

2. Go to the beach.

We are becoming more holistic in our attitudes towards health, with a greater emphasis on mental health and wellbeing.

Crash diets are no longer our essential pre-summer prep. A recent survey by wellness brand Mindful Chef found 39% of respondents believe improving their mental health is part of getting fit, compared to 33% that only focus on getting into that summer wardrobe.

This shift in mindset is playing out on social media through the rise of body positivity communities, such as BBC BodyPositive and Bodyposipanda on Facebook, and @selfloveclubb on Instagram.

These diverse and inclusive communities seek to support people looking to top up their self-confidence as they navigate the self-consciousness we all feel, especially at the beginning of summer.

Activation

• Body positive communities speak to a broad spectrum of people; join the conversation using relevant hashtags.

• Promote progressive and inclusive notions such as self-love, eschewing the promotion of superficial habits such as crash dieting.

• Resonate with people through “real life” stories using Facebook media partners to dynamically service advertising to show local faces to local people.

Wellness escapes

This holistic view of health is creeping into our summer getaways too, where we are also seeking opportunities for self-reflection and self-care. Social media channels are key to both capturing these experiences, but also as a means of discovery.

Wellness tourism is already worth $639bn, and, according to The Guardian, it is growing at twice the rate of mainstream travel. This can also be seen across Instagram, where the #wellnessretreat has amassed 135k mentions, and #healthholiday has received 95k.

Whether it is a wellness festival or an authentic Azerbaijani oil bath, we are looking to document these transformative holidays in new ways through social and video. With Instagram seeing 500 million daily active users posting on Stories, people are creating narrative-driven content to reflect these deeply personal experiences.

Activation

• Think ahead and create conversations before bank holidays, events and festivals to engage people and leverage excitement and positive sentiment.
• Geo-target audience attending events with specific at-event messages.
• Drive discovery of experiences through ambassadors and influencers.
• Tell a story or showcase highlights of festivals and events using Facebook Carousel Ads to encourage early booking.

Home sweet home

With consumer confidence at a five year low, according to YouGov, and the ongoing uncertainty around Brexit, it is no surprise many holiday-makers are opting to stay closer to home.

Traditional seaside towns have seen a surge in popularity in recent years, with a resurgent Margate seeing a 164% increase in bookings in 2018, and train bookings to Southend-on-Sea up by 210%.

When you consider that 90% of us holidayed close to home as kids, according to Sykes Cottage Staycation Index, and 45% of those surveyed found domestic breaks less stressful than going abroad, staying in the UK offers a welcome mix of nostalgia and reassurance.

Mobile devices come into their own for navigating around issues such as unpredictable weather forecasts, and for making quick alternative plans. Busier roads also mean live traffic updates are essential for ensuring a swift journey.

Activation

• Flexibility is key to staycations. Aid your marketing planning by working with Facebook media partners to implement dynamic feeds, such as weather input or traffic signals, to trigger contextually relevant messages for your products and services.
• Use Facebook Store Traffic ads to drive local store visits. Using geo targeted online engagement and a simple store locator you can help tourists discover their favourite retailers more easily.

Health indulgence

Summer opens up new opportunities for eating and drinking like no other season, but just as we are more holistic in our attitudes to health generally, our approach to healthy eating is diversifying too.

According to a report from Comparethemarket.com, 3.5 million people now identify as vegan, while a consumer trends report in The Grocer found that more than half of 25 to 34 year olds want to reduce alcohol consumption in 2019.

These are powerful trends as we can see in social media, with #plantbased racking up over 22m mentions on Instagram, and #mocktails over 460k.

Being healthier does not mean we are looking to cut out indulgences, though, on the contrary, we are on the hunt for fresh ideas for indulging ourselves, and social plays an integral role in these foodie moments.

With conversations about barbecues up by 342% year-on-year and with people eating out more, social is an essential source of new food inspiration.

Activation

Encourage people to explore your brand by highlighting variety via Facebook Collection ads, which make it easier for people to discover, browse and purchase via mobile.

Share content, such as recipes, using Instant Experiences, which allows people to get a full screen experience after they interact with your advert on a mobile device.

Encourage interactivity and get in-time feedback on new products via the Poll Sticker feature within Instagram Stories Ads.

Outdoor socialising

As soon as summer hits, socialising moves outside. From gym classes, to exhibitions and film screenings, summer offers plenty of opportunities to socialise in all sorts of different settings.

The UK has fully embraced these outdoor communal experiences, with ticket sales, for example, outdoor cinema, for example, viewing tripling in three years.

These experiences are more than just hanging out, however, with two in five 16-24 year olds in UK saying they feel lonely often. Very often, these opportunities to socialise may be more beneficial than many realise.

Communal events help us all to feel part of something bigger, and bring people together over common interests. The gatherings find new life on social platforms through memories and communities.

We are also sharing collective experiences on social, such as watching Wimbledon. According to Facebook, 66% of conversations that happen on the platform about Wimbledon are via mobile.

Activation

• Consider how people spend time as a group. Think about how best to target messages to groups, whether it’s content created for group interaction, or tapping into the length of time people spend together.
• Geo-targeting around communal events and places can help to reach large audiences with timely, clear messages around summer time and socialising.