We took the data for British fanpages with at least 50 thousand fans. Our analysis covers the period of three days during Christmas and Easter holidays (Christmas Eve – Boxing Day and Holy Saturday – Easter Monday) and the corresponding days in the month prior to and the following them.

The Fans are there…

Based on the number of engaged users people spend their free time not only with their families but also on Facebook. The average daily number of engaged users during Christmas in 2011 and 2012 was even higher than in November during the same years. The data for Easter may suggest the difference in behavior of users, but the tests show that it is not statistically significant. In total, the engagement in the holiday and prior period are nearly equal, and though the engagement in the following month is higher, the difference is not significant.

… but the Authors are not

In case of posts the situation is completely different. On all holiday breaks but last Christmas the number of posts written by administrator or users was considerably different than in the compared periods. Moreover the total effect is also statistically significant.

The UK is not alone

We have compared the data for British fanpages with the pages from Poland, for which we could obtain even longer historical data. The results are very similar. Again the engagement on the holiday and prior period does not differ. Still the total engagement the following month is higher, but it might be the result of the growing number of fans. In case of communication, just like in the UK, there is a significant difference in the number of posts, both administrators as well as user generated.

Key learnings

Though information that administrators post less frequently is not really a revelation. What we want to point out is the behavior of fans. They are equally active but write less posts. Then why not try to schedule some content to be posted during holiday break, without the risk of starting an uncontrolled crisis. It is less probable that an irate consumer will leave an unpleasant text on our wall so customer care can have holidays too. Moreover, as there are fewer posts from our competition our content can gain a wider audience and become more visible, which generates greater engagement and reach in the period following holidays. Food for thought 🙂 Check out our blog for more useful hints and find out about our optimisation tips – sign up for 14-day free trial. Happy Easter!