There are good days to start a social marketing campaign, and there are better ones: Most Facebook campaigns are deployed on Fridays, but those deployed on Tuesdays generate the most customer engagement, according to a study by Yesmail Interactive, which examines the customer engagement of campaigns conducted via popular social channels.

The new findings are based on a three-month study of consumer engagement with online campaigns for 20 major retails brands, including Abercrombie & Fitch, The Gap, Ralph Lauren, American Eagle, J Crew, and Forever 21.

Among the Facebook campaigns studied, those deployed on Tuesdays earned the highest engagement, even though Tuesday ranked fourth in terms of the number campaigns conducted. 

Overall, fewer Facebook campaigns were conducted over the weekend during the three-month study period.

Below, additional findings from the report titled "Using Digital Market Intelligence to Drive Multi–Channel Success," by Yesmail Interactive.

Volume-Based Engagement vs. Actual Engagement

Some retail brands generate higher engagement levels than others via Facebook, regardless of the sizes of their fan bases.

In order to clearly see campaign engagement, the study compared the "volume-based engagement" of Facebook campaigns (based on the number of "likes" and comments a campaign boasts) with an "actual engagement analysis," in which the data were controlled for fan/follower size.

For example, because Eddie Bauer has a relatively modest following of about 73,000 Facebook brand "likes," and Ralph Lauren boasts over 4.9 million, an Eddie Bauer campaign will consistently garner fewer likes and comments when compared with a Ralph Lauren campaign.

However, when the data are controlled for follower size, the picture is quite different: Otherwise average-performing brands instead emerge as engagement leaders, includng Ann Taylor, The Limited, and Eddie Bauer. 

In the chart below, the solid black lines show volume-based engagement (defined by the sum of “likes” and comments per campaign), while shaded green areas show actual engagement (controlled for follower size).

Frequency: Less Is Usually Better

When it comes to the optimal frequency of Facebook campaigns (deployed per month), there appears to be no universal number that guarantees success.

However, the study examined the number and frequency of campaigns adopted by the five most engaging retail brands on Facebook: Ann Taylor, The Limited, Ralph Lauren, Eddie Bauer, and Banana Republic.

Those brands deployed between 20 and 32 campaigns per month, whereas the five least engaging brands averaged 54 campaigns per month.

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Social Campaigns on Tuesdays Earn Highest Engagement

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