• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, October 7, 2014

Marketers managing social and search campaigns understand the same buying patterns do not occur in both media during the same time. Budgets for search advertising campaigns rise around Thanksgiving compared with Facebook during mid-December and Christmas, per a study released Tuesday. But where are consumers online during the later part of the year?

Most retailers plan their advertising budgets around Black Friday, and Cyber Monday, gradually increasing the amount spend on advertising just prior to Thanksgiving through Christmas until the end of December.

Marin Software found by analyzing 2013 online traffic and buying patterns that consumers might purchase more during the first week in December, but brands and retailers spend more for ads on Facebook from Dec. 9 through Christmas. Ironically, retail advertisers experience the highest volume of Facebook clicks not during the holiday period, but just after. It turns out that the clicks began to increase after New Year's Day.

The click-through rate (CTR) of Facebook ads on Nov. 12, 2013 was 1,620% higher than the CTR on Black Friday and 855% higher than Cyber Monday. The same day had 60% more clicks compared to Black Friday and 100% more than Cyber Monday. The highest number of Facebook ad clicks occurred on Dec. 24, 2013, 472% more clicks than Black Friday.

Ad-buying patterns and consumer Facebook use seem a little off-kilter. The spike in ad sales does not coincide with the increase in consumer Facebook use. "Consumers aren't sitting around with their friends and family during the holidays checking their Facebook page looking to buy things," said Dan Morris, director of product marketing at Marin. "You'll find more users on Facebook just before the holiday season kicks in, and it becomes very high just after Christmas."

In fact, the highest volumes of post-holiday advertising clicks tend to occur in spurts between Thursdays and Mondays in January. These trends suggest a gap between consumer patterns and the assumptions that retail advertisers make about Facebook use during the holiday season.

Rather than invest heavily on days when competition is high and Facebook use low, Marin suggests that retail advertisers should consider investing more before and after the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Trends suggest Facebook use takes a sharp dip on holidays, when users are likely spending time with their friends and family.

Retail advertisers still have an opportunity to reach users in early November before they shift into holiday mode and build awareness for their products and services. Retailers also should consider targeting Facebook users throughout January when people generally have holiday gift cards to spend, per the report.

Perhaps it was just last year's learning curve, and by the time holiday season rolls around, marketers will have it down.