• by Wayne Friedman , November 21, 2011

Nielsen/McKinsey's NM Incite says social media buzz is no longer about just Black Friday, but the next big shopping day:  so-called "Cyber Monday."

The joint research effort says social media continues to push big shopping days, especially on those specific days such as Black Friday -- the day after Thanksgiving, traditionally the start of the big holiday-buying season.

In 2010, the NM Incite study says Black Friday buzz made up 79% of buzz concerning holiday shopping activity and "Cyber Monday" represented 21%. But the social activity for that Monday shopping day, following the Friday, more than doubled in 2010. This is due to increased interest among consumers in online shopping events around the first week of the holiday season.

Shopping buzz also represents a large overall share of social media in general. For example, social talk about Black Friday peaked at 2.5% of all daily social activity in 2010 compared to 1.9% for Black Friday 2009 -- that's a 25% rise in the share of total buzz.

The study notes that there has been continuous growing social media messages on these days -- more in 2010 versus 2009, for example. This social media buzz is the total activity posted on blogs, message boards/groups, and news sites, as well as Twitter and Facebook.

Consumers increasingly turn online to search for the best deals and make plans for Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.