Table of contents
Whether it’s the heat or the longing for the sea, for many Italian companies, “August” means vacation. Some well-deserved rest is certainly beneficial, but is it a good or bad thing for social communication to “go on vacation”?
When everyone is on vacation, many companies, especially medium or small-sized ones, prefer to pause their activity on their social channels. In reality, by doing so, there’s a risk of missing out on an important opportunity for visibility and undermining brand reputation.
Are we sure this is a good choice? The numbers from our analysis clearly say no! Not only does the percentage of user interaction tend to increase during the summer months, but for a company, not communicating for an entire month can generate negative effects on brand awareness in the long run.
Social networks don’t “close for holidays”; instead, they go on vacation with the fans. Who among us has never posted a vacation selfie or taken advantage of a moment of relaxation on the beach or in the mountains to follow pages that offer articles of interest?
Social media platforms were born as places of entertainment and leisure, and it’s natural that they are even more frequented during vacation times. In the moment a user is scrolling through their news feed, the most important thing for a company is to be present.
Engagement during the summer months: examples
Our experience in social media management has allowed us to observe a real increase in engagement during the summer months, regardless of the industry of the considered company.
Let’s take two clients as examples, operating in very different sectors:
- a jewelry brand
- a company specialized in energy services and consultancy
These are two very different realities for which we’ve devised distinct communication and image strategies (for instance, for the jewelry brand, we’ve emphasized product-related posts; conversely, the other brand prioritizes link posts that lead to interesting news for the target audience).
Moreover, the first brand refers to a B2C market, while the second to a B2B one.
Starting from the engagement data (likes, comments, shares, messages) obtained from the Facebook posts of the two pages from March to August 2016, we compared the average engagement obtained in the months of March, April, and May with that of June, July, and August.
In both analyzed cases, a substantial growth in the interaction percentage was observed during the summer period.
Data from a jewelry brand
- Average engagement obtained in the months of March/April/May: 3158
- Average engagement obtained in the months of June/July/August: 4355
- Percentage growth in interaction: (4355 – 3158) / 3158 *100 = +38%
Data from a consultancy brand
- Average engagement obtained in the months of March/April/May: 648
- Average engagement obtained in the months of June/July/August: 820
- Percentage growth in interaction: (820 – 648) / 648 *100 = +26%
Data analysis
Regardless of the fact that jewelry might more easily engage and prompt interaction compared to thematic articles about renewable energy, the interesting aspect is that in both cases, a noteworthy growth in the value of engagement compared to previous months was observed.
Furthermore, this growth didn’t remain isolated but rewarded brand awareness even in the subsequent months.
Both the jewelry brand and the consultancy company experienced not only a continuous growth in page fans during September and October but also reached peaks of interaction compared to their annual performance.
Here’s an example of the engagement obtained from a considered post for each of the two companies (jewelry brand on the left, service company on the right) referring to the September 2016 period.
What to do
The data speaks clearly: don’t abandon your fans during their vacation, but ensure a consistent social presence for them. Planning your posts might require a bit more effort, but it will certainly pay off in terms of brand reputation.
Table of contents
