Savvy advertisers are taking advantage of this less competitive period and quieter ad auctions to engage customers more cost-effectively. 

“Many advertisers, particularly in retail, pause their campaigns after the peak holiday season when gift buying has concluded,” said Jake Bailey, head of industry, specialty and disruptor at Meta. “However, many consumers are still in the buying mindset, and conversion rates remain high. This creates favorable market dynamics for those who continue advertising.” 

Continuing the holiday momentum in Q5

Even with the holiday rush over, there are sales to be made and leads to be captured.

A 2024 holiday shopping study by YouGov, commissioned by Meta, found that 74% of consumers say their shopping continues beyond the holidays. Shoppers are also spending more time than usual on mobile devices and social media platforms. In another boon to advertisers, during Q5, CPMs decrease while cost-per-action reaches pre-Black Friday levels, according to internal data from Meta — presenting an ideal opportunity for advertisers to capture new conversions, for less, for the new year.

According to Bailey, Q5 can be a particularly golden period for lead generation, with the opportunity to capture high-quality leads focused on “new year, new you” offerings.

On the creative side, brands can tap into the renewal mindset that often accompanies New Year’s resolutions.

“We see exceptional Q5 performance from wellness, self-care and parent-focused brands,” said Clayton Clark, co-founder of Big Rush Marketing. “Basically, any brand that aligns with the ‘new year, better me’ mindset. After the gifting season, people turn their attention to their goals. If your product or service helps them reset, simplify or improve their lives, Q5 can be your most efficient growth window.”

For instance, brands can build seasonally relevant creative by repurposing holiday assets, such as shifting messaging from gifts for others to self-gifting. Instead of celebrating traditions, create urgency around developing new habits or trying a new service. The goal is to take what proved successful during Q4 and refine it for the context of Q5.

“Data quality, creative diversity and automation are always at the center of strategy,” Clark said. “As we move from Q4 into Q5, I focus heavily on CRM feedback loops and follow-up automation for our lead generation advertisers. A spike in lead volume means nothing if your nurture system can’t convert those leads efficiently. I also make sure Conversions API is properly passing quality signals back to Meta, so the algorithm learns which leads actually become customers. When we give Meta’s AI valuable data, we typically see valuable results in return.”

Leaning into automation for lead generation

Relevant creative is essential, but, as Clark explained, automation strategies are a key lever to unlock better lead quality at a higher volume.

“Lead generation funnels take time to mature, so Q5 isn’t just about immediate conversions — it’s about filling the top of the funnel with high-intent prospects to start the new year strong,” Clark said. “Starting January with a full pipeline gives lead gen businesses momentum that compounds into Q1. I recently told a client: A great Q1 is built in Q5.”

For example, Advantage+ leads campaigns, Meta’s end-to-end campaign automation solution for lead generation, uses Meta’s AI to help advertisers find cost-effective, high-quality leads at scale. These AI optimizations are informed by advertisers’ Advantage+ audience, placement and budget parameters to reach relevant leads. On average, businesses using Advantage+ leads campaigns saw a 14% lower cost-per-lead and 10% lower cost-per-qualified-lead, per a Meta analysis.

During Q5 2024, digital marketing agency Lead Wave Dynamics adopted a new automation strategy to drive kitchen and bathroom renovation leads for its client.

For the Advantage+ leads campaign, the agency tapped into a New Year’s narrative, shared via short-form video with Reels and paired with instant forms, Meta’s native, on-platform solution for leads. Instant forms can be optimized for lead quality with conditional logic and lead verification.

Lead Wave Dynamics’ client saw a 120% increase in audience engagement with its Reels. More notable, however, was a 70% drop in cost-per-lead while the volume of booked consultations tripled.

“Even if not previously part of your lead gen strategy, use Q5 to lean into AI-powered tools to help expand your pool for qualified leads,” Bailey said. “Meta has invested in a lot of new tooling and backend improvements over the last several years to shift from a lead quantity to lead quality mindset. Q5 is a great time to take advantage of these tools, like conditional logic in instant forms, employing conversion leads optimization paired with conversions API for CRM and verifying lead contact information with SMS verification or requiring a work email.” 

Kickstarting growth during the quiet period and beyond

To make the most of Q5, Bailey recommended thinking of this window as a kickstart to the year, rather than a discrete moment in time. It’s vital that advertisers continue building off their Q5 efforts well into Q1 and into peak season by nurturing their new leads.

“One of our biggest Q5 wins last year set the tone for an incredible year of growth,” Clark said. “We used November and December, typically slower months for this client, to rebuild their tracking foundation and fully integrate Meta’s conversions API into their custom software. Before working with us, their campaigns were barely breaking even. After relaunching in January with cleaner data and optimized signals, their ROAS climbed from 102% to over 400% by August. It proved that a great Q1, and even a great year, can start with smart groundwork in Q5.”