DATA REPORT
A STATISTICAL REVIEW FOR THE RETAIL INDUSTRY: STRATEGIES FOR EFFECTIVE FACEBOOK WALL POSTS
Table of Contents
I
Introduction and Methodology…Page 3
II
Best Time to Post for Retail Industry: Post When Customers are Listening…Page 4
III
Best Day to Post for Retail Industry: Post When Customers are Engaged…Page 5
IV
Retailer Daily Post Frequency: Limit Posts to Two a Day…Page 6
V
Retailer Weekly Post Frequency: Don’t Exceed Four Posts a Week…Page 7
VI
Retailer Ideal Post Length: Keep Posts Concise…Page 8
VII
Retail Post Content: Ask Questions to Get Customers Talking…Page 9
VIII
Retail Post Structure: Use Fill in the Blank Posts…Page 10
IX
Consumer Offer-Related Keywords: Offer “$ Off” and Coupons to Increase
Fan Engagement…Page 11
X
Coupon Offers: Don’t Make Customers Do the Math…Page 12
XI
Retail Post Attachments: Keep Posts Simple…Page 13
XII
Conclusion…Page 14
XII
Appendix: Study Perimeters…Page 14
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Introduction This statistical review, powered by Buddy Media, is designed specifically to help retail brands lead, maximize and leverage their Facebook presences to connect with consumers. This study tracks the key variables that influence the performance of retail brand Posts. In particular, we focus on the two variables of most concern to retail brands:
WHEN retailers should post, and
WHAT content to post.
The findings highlight key strategies retail brands can implement when posting to their Walls in order to stay on the top of the Facebook News Feed, such as when to post, how frequently to post and how best to incorporate attachments. The data and Post strategies in this statistical review are specific to the retail industry.
Methodology Buddy Media analyzed user engagement of Facebook Wall Posts from nearly 100 of the world’s largest and most prestigous retail brands during a six month period from January 1 through June 30, 2011. Three primary success metrics were reviewed in relation to retail brand Wall Posts.
Success Metrics: ‘Like’ Rate: number of ‘likes’ as a percentage of fan base
Comment Rate: number of Comments as a percentage of fan base
Engagement Rate: a combination of the above factoring in fan base size
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3
Best Time to Post for Retail Industry:
Post When Customers are Listening
INBOX
INBOX
An overwhelming majority of retail brand Posts (89%) are published at times when users are traditionally the most “busy” – between 8 AM and 7 PM (ET). During “non-busy” hours though, Facebook fans likely have more time to focus on brands’ status updates, which may be why the data shows fans are 20% more likely to engage with retail brand Posts made between 8 PM and 7 AM. INBOX To generate increased ‘likes’ and Comments, retail brands should post when fans are listening most, during “non-busy” hours. Use a publisher tool to schedule retail brand Posts to automatically post outside of work hours, between 8 PM and 7 AM.
Posts made between
8 PM and 7 AM receive 20% more user engagement.
Busy Hours (8 AM - 7 PM)
Non-Busy Hours (8 PM - 7 AM)
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4
Best Day to Post for Retail Industry:
Post When Customers are Engaged
Our data reveals that Facebook user engagement varies over the course of a week – and that the retail industry is not keeping pace with their fans’ Facebook preferences. While retail brands tend to post on Facebook evenly throughout the work week and less frequently on the weekend, user engagement with Posts spikes on Wednesdays and Sundays.
Automo&ve
0%
10%
-20% -40%
% of Brand Posts
20%
5%
8% above average.
-60%
On Wednesdays, fan engagement is
Engagement Rate Variance
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-80%
Th
Engagement Rate Variance
The data reveals that, overall, Wednesday is the best day for retail brands to post on Facebook, while Friday is 120% the worst day. On “hump day,” fans engage with Facebook Post content 8% above25% average. In addition, retail 100% fans tend to engage more with Posts made outside of traditional workdays. While posting on weekends may 80% 20% be challenging for brands not 60% using a publisher tool, brands can leverage weekend Posts to connect with fans 40% 15% when their competition is not.
% of Brand Posts
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5
Retailer Daily Post Frequency:
Limit Posts to Two a Day It’s quality, not quantity, that counts when it comes to retail brand Wall Posts. Data indicates that Facebook user engagement decreases as the frequency of retail brand Posts increases during a given day.
WED WED
WED WED
Overall, engagement rates are 40% higher when there are less than three Posts a day from a given brand. One or two retail brand Posts receive 32% higher ‘like’ rates and 73% higher Comment rates. Users tend to engage with one or two Posts a day – so make less frequent, but higher quality Posts. Retail brands should only consider posting frequently during a given day if the Posts contain exclusive content – for example, highlighting a sale that changes throughout the day.
Posting one to two times per day produces
40% higher user engagement.
3+ Posts/Day www.buddymedia.com
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Retailer Weekly Post Frequency:
Don’t Exceed Four Posts a Week WED SUN
MON
TUES
WED THURS
FRI
SAT
SUN
SAT
Again, it’s quality, not quantity, that counts when it comes to retail brand Posts. The data indicates that Facebook user engagement decreases drastically as the frequency of retail brand Posts increases during a given week. Achieve maximum user engagement by not overcrowding users’ News Feeds with too many Posts during the week. Posting one to four times produces 71% higher user engagement than five or more Posts in a given week for retail brands.
Posting one to four times per week produces
71% higher user engagement.
3+ Posts/Day
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1-2 Posts/Day
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Retailer Ideal Post Length:
Keep Posts Concise Our research shows that there is a strong negative correlation between Post length and engagement for the retail industry – the longer the Post length, the less engaging fans find it. When posting, don’t overwrite – concise copy increases readablity and consumption.
S.S. SHORT POST
Posts with
80 characters or less
LO NG S.
S.
THE SEA OF ENGAGEMENT
PO ST
VOYAGE ON
Retail brand Wall Posts less than 80 characters in length receive 66% higher engagement than longer Posts. Very concise Posts – those between one and 40 characters – generate highest engagement. Only 5% of all retail brand Wall Posts are less than 40 characters in length, even though these receive 86% higher fan engagement.
receive
81+ Characters
66% higher engagement.
1-80 Characters
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Retail Post Content:
Ask Questions to Get Customers Talking
To begin a dialogue with fans, ask questions. Although retail brand Wall Posts containing questions receive slightly lower overall user engagement (‘likes’ and Comments), this type of Post generates more than double the amount of Comments as “non-question” Posts. Retail brands looking to get fans talking (i.e., increase their Post Comment rates) should use “question” Posts. To drive Comments, ask a direct question and ask for the response. Ask fans to “post,” “comment” or “tell” you something – fans will listen and respond by commenting.
Ask questions to spark dialogue – “question” Posts generate Comment rates double that of “non-question” Posts.
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Retail Post Structure:
Use Fill in the Blank Posts MONEY
One of the most underutilized Post techniques is one of the most engaging. SUVs Data shows that retail brand Posts employing the fill in the blank strategy generate Comment GAMES rates nine times higher than other Post strategies. The data COUPONS supports that this is a proven strategy unique to the retail industry, yet less than 1% of retail brands are utilizing this tactic.
SALES
I LIKE _______. MOVIES
COMPUTERS
REBATES
RECIPES
Fill in the blank Posts receive
9 times more Comments than other Posts.
Fill in the Blank Post
Non Fill in the Blank Post
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Consumer Offer-Related Keywords:
Offer “$ OFF” and Coupons to Increase Fan Engagement When it comes to deals, fans look for a straightforward offer. The top ten sales keywords were analyzed to determine which receive the most user engagement. The data indicates that retail brand Posts containing the sales keywords “$ off” and “coupon” receive the highest fan engagement. Retail brand Posts containing “$ off” receive a 55% higher user engagement rate, followed by Posts containing the word “coupon,” which is 39% above the average. Popular sales keywords, such as “sale” and “% off,” receive the lowest fan engagement.
FF
Offer fans
“$ off” and coupons. Posts containing these offer-related
Automo&ve
$
O
U O C
keywords receive the
ER 25% NT FF OU O C 20%
highest engagement. 100%
S DI
80%
T MEN AGE K G N E PEA
60% 40% 20% 0%
CE AN R EA CL IN 15% GA 10%
-20% -40%
% of Brand Posts
120%
R BA
VE SA
AL DE %
FF O
5%
-60%
LE SA
Engagement Rate Variance
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Engagement Rate Variance
N PO
% of Brand Posts
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Coupon Offers:
Don’t Make Customers Do the Math As previously mentioned, fans engage well with coupons. When offering coupons, don’t make fans do the math. Our data indicates that “$ off” offers generate twice the engagement of “% off” offers for the retail industry. Even small “$ off” discounts – less than $10 – receive 17% higher engagement than “% off” promotions, showing that fans prefer tangible cash discounts, even if the actual dollar discount is small.
$ OFF OFFER $ OFF OFFER
% OFF OFFER % OFF
Automo&ve
25%
100% 80%
20%
“$ OFF” offers receive twice the engagement
60% 40%
15%
20% 0%
10%
-20% -40%
5%
of “% OFF” offers.
-60%
Engagement Rate Variance
% off
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120%
% of Brand Posts
OFFER
% of Brand Posts
$ off
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Retail Post Attachments:
Keep Posts Simple While interesting content can be added to Wall Posts in the form of links, photos and videos, our data indicates that simple Posts achieve the most engagement for the retail industry. The two most effective types of retail brand Posts contain a single photo attachment or use only words. Status-only Posts – Posts only containing words – receive 94% higher engagement than average. Avoid more complicated Posts, such as those with attached links and thumbnail photos.
POST TYPE
ENGAGEMENT
STATUS ONLY SINGLE PHOTO
RECIPES
ALBUM LINK ONLY PHOTO W/ LINK VIDEO STATUS W/ LINK LINK W/ THUMBNAIL
Avoid complicated Wall Posts. Status-only Posts receive
94 % higher than average engagement.
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Conclusion Facebook is the leading platform for brands to connect to consumers. It is important for brands to share effective Facebook Wall Posts to maximize their marketing efforts and increase fan engagement. We hope this data is helpful for retail brands looking to lead, maximize and leverage their Facebook presence.
Have questions?
Contact us at partner@buddymedia.com, or follow us on:
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twitter.com/buddymedia
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Appendix: Study Perimeters
For purposes of the study, the retail industry included clothing, fashion and general retail clients.
For benchmarking, the following industries were analyzed: Automotive, Business, Consumer Packaged Goods, Entertainment, Finance, Food & Beverage, Health & Beauty, Media, Non-Profit, Sports, Technology, Telecommunications and Travel & Leisure.
Posts on Pages with less than 100 fans were not included in the survey.
All Posts containing geo-targeting data or Posts not viewable in Facebook were removed.
Time-of-day and day-of-week analyses were based on when a Post was published, not when ‘likes’ and Comments accrued. For the Post-length analysis, URLs were not included in Post character counts.
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