Meta AdsBuild the event calendar first
- List the events that move demand: public holidays, sale days, paydays, weather, school terms and the client's own launches.
- Write the dates down before the report is built, not after the numbers are in.
- Mark each event as planned, such as a promotion the client ran on purpose, or unplanned, such as a holiday or a news cycle.
Pick the comparison
- Week on week and month on month are easy to read but mix season with trend. Use them only with the calendar beside them.
- Year on year removes most of the season. Align it: same weekdays, and holidays that move by date need a matching comparison.
- If history is too short for a year on year line, say that a seasonal baseline is not possible yet. Do not invent one.
Make the season visible
- Show the same period last year, or the average of comparable periods, as a line beside the current one.
Made-up scenario: November sales are 40 percent above October. Last year November was 35 percent above October with the same holiday shopping week, so the part that is not seasonal is about 4 percent, not 40.
- Read ad numbers the same way. A campaign that runs in a sale month should be read against last year's sale month, not against a quiet one.
What to write in the client report
- The event calendar for the period, with each event marked as planned or unplanned.
- The comparison used and why: the year on year line or the baseline, and the periods it covers.
- Which changes are seasonal and which look like trend, and any reading that could not be made because history is short.
