Among Facebook wall posts related to Black Friday (Nov 25) and Cyber Monday (Nov 28) in 2011, those containing the word "coupon" were far more engaging than other posts about the year's most celebrated shopping days, according to a report by Buddy Media, which explores how brands used Facebook during the month of November to spread the word about holiday shopping.

For the study, Buddy Media analyzed user engagement of Facebook wall posts on the branded pages of more than 400 of the world's largest retailers. Three primary success metrics were reviewed: 1) Like Rate (the number of likes as a percentage of fan base); 2) Comment Rate (the number of comments as a percentage of fan base); and 3) Engagement Rate (a combination of the previous two metrics, factoring in fan-base size).

Among posts related to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, those containing the word "coupon" generated a lift of 109% over the average; the word "deal" also was relatively engaging, generating a 4% lift over the average level of engagement.

Below, other findings from Buddy Media's report.

Black Friday Posts More Engaging

Black Friday Facebook posts were five times more prevalent than Cyber Monday posts, according to the study. Moreover, Black Friday posts were 23% more engaging than Cyber Monday posts.

Thanksgiving Best Day to Post About Black Friday

Although brands posted less about Black Friday on Thanksgiving Day, Nov 24 (vs. the day before and after), engagement rates were highest on the holiday; roughly 31% higher than the week's average:

Black Friday Messaging Started Late

Even though brands started talking about Black Friday on Facebook as early as Nov 1, the volume of posts didn't ramp up substantially until the week of Thanksgiving. Roughly 81% of all Black Friday Posts were sent out during a five-day period beginning Nov 21.