Facebook is advising retail marketers about how to prepare for the holiday season. Yes, it’s August, but according to the company, that means it’s time to start doing some serious planning.

The company laid out eight tips for holiday advertising prep. In a nutshell, these include: refresh your audience profile; identify your key audience segments; add the Facebook pixel and SDK to your site and app; find your customer conversion path; optimize your mobile experience; divide your budget strategically; test creative and ad types; and prepare your catalog.

Of course they elaborate on all of these in the post, saying that these things will help you maximize your advertising efforts on Facebook throughout throughout the holidays.

“People may not be in holiday mode yet, but retail marketers should be,” Facebook says. “Why? Because successful holiday marketing starts with preparation in August and September. As you begin thinking about holiday advertising, keep in mind that this year people are expected to do more holiday shopping on mobile than ever. In fact, sixty-eight percent of UK shoppers use their mobile phone in store.1 People are also spending more time on Facebook and Instagram than any other digital media, and more than half of people in the US say Facebook is somewhat or very influential on their holiday shopping.”

Facebook is offering retail marketers a free holiday guide here. It’s 18 pages, and is almost certainly worth a read in your near future.

According to the National Retail Federation, retail holiday sales increased 4% last year.

Image via Facebook