Those in the retail industry understand just how important it is to have a strong, engaging Facebook presence. The social network is the optimal resource to spread news, drive awareness and create buzz among Fans.
However, when creating a Facebook Page for your brand, the same questions often arise: How can I improve the Likes and Comments on my Posts? How often should I post on Facebook? What sort of content garners the highest engagement?
That’s why our research and analytics team has analyzed six months of Facebook Wall Posts from nearly 100 of the world’s largest retailers, in order to determine what variables influence the performance of brand posts for the retail industry. All posts from January 1 to June 30, 2011 were analyzed.
As a result, we’re very excited to announce the release today of our new research paper, “A Statistical Review For The Retail Industry: Strategies For Effective Facebook Wall Posts."
Three primary success metrics were reviewed in relation to this analysis:
- Engagement Rate: (Likes + Comments)/Fan Count
- Like Rate: Likes/Fan Count
- Comment Rate: Comments/Fan Count
Here are some of the key findings:
1. Wednesday is the day to post: Although retailers publish evenly throughout the work week, engagement rates spike on Wednesday, 8% above the average engagement rate.
2. Post During Non-Busy Hours: Engagement is 17% lower during “busy hours”: 8am-7pm.
3. Don’t Post Too Many Times A Day (Or Too Often A Day!): Brands who posted 3 or more times in a day had 25% lower like rates and 42% lower comment rates—overall having a 29% decrease in engagement.
4. Short Posts Work Best: Posts with 80 characters or less receive 66% higher engagement.
5. Questions Get Fans Talking: Although retail brand Wall Posts containing questions receive slightly lower overall engagement (‘likes’ and Comments), these types of Posts generates more than double the amount of Comments as “non-question” Posts.
Much more data can be found in our full report, which can be downloaded for free.
Do you have more questions? Attend our webinar on 9/27 at 2pm ET where we will review the findings and answer your questions.
