1. DATA REPORT
A STATISTICAL REVIEW
FOR THE RETAIL INDUSTRY:
STRATEGIES FOR EFFECTIVE
FACEBOOK WALL POSTS

2. 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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3. 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

4. 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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© 2011 Buddy Media Inc. Proprietary and Confidential
4

5. 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
www.buddymedia.com
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-80%
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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 using a publisher tool, brands can leverage weekend Posts to connect with fans
60%
40%
15%
when their competition is not.
% of Brand Posts
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© 2011 Buddy Media Inc. Proprietary and Confidential
5

6. 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
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1-2 Posts/Day
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© 2011 Buddy Media Inc. Proprietary and Confidential
6

7. 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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© 2011 Buddy Media Inc. Proprietary and Confidential
7

8. 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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© 2011 Buddy Media Inc. Proprietary and Confidential
8

9. 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.
“Non-Question” Post
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“Question” Post
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© 2011 Buddy Media Inc. Proprietary and Confidential
9

10. 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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© 2011 Buddy Media Inc. Proprietary and Confidential
10

11. 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
OU
C
keywords receive the
ER 25% NT
U
FF
O
CO
20%
highest engagement.
100%
S
DI
80%
ENT
GEM
NGA EAK
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P
60%
40%
20%
0%
E
NC
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CL
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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
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% of Brand Posts
partner@buddymedia.com
© 2011 Buddy Media Inc. Proprietary and Confidential
11

12. 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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Engagement Rate Variance
120%
% of Brand Posts
OFFER
% of Brand Posts
$ off
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partner@buddymedia.com
© 2011 Buddy Media Inc. Proprietary and Confidential
12

13. 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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© 2011 Buddy Media Inc. Proprietary and Confidential
13

14. 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:
facebook.com/buddymedia
twitter.com/buddymedia
buddymedia.com
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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© 2011 Buddy Media Inc. Proprietary and Confidential
14