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What's Your Brand's Social Media Quotient?
The Next Web recently ran an article detailing corporate successes using not-so-new social media to drive revenue growth. Not surprisingly, most of the success came from mobile phone users. According to Flurry, a mobile analytics company, iPhone and Android users average 20 social networking sessions per month (the #1 application category) with each session lasting between six and eight minutes. That's 90-160 minutes per month we're using social media like Facebook and Twitter. Marketers must tap into this valuable face time. So the question is raised: What's your brand's social media quotient?
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Three Good Marketers
Sony (NYSE:SNE) gave 1,500 Twitter users the opportunity to build a customized Vaio laptop with 10% off, generating $1.5 million in revenue. Gap (NYSE:GPS) offered consumers $50 in merchandise for every $25 gift card purchased through Groupon. The national campaign generated $11 million in additional revenue. McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) used mobile app Foursquare to drive traffic to their restaurants by giving away $5 and $10 gift cards to those who checked-in to McDonald's. A $1,000 investment on Foursquare Day generated a 33% increase in check-ins, which McDonald's considers increased foot traffic. These are great examples of brands successfully leveraging social media.
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Although social media's been around for several years, it's still hard for companies, let alone investors, to quantify online promotions and the dollars they generate. Having said that, examples like the ones above do suggest it's not impossible to attach a specific value to this type of marketing. Furthermore, you can be sure that companies will want to highlight successful campaigns in the future, which means investors should be paying attention to social media news because what's written will provide helpful clues about growing businesses. A little homework can go a long way.
The Top Brands
FanPageList.com is a website dedicated to Facebook and Twitter users. By keeping track of all the Facebook fans and Twitter followers online, it's able to create popularity rankings of everything from products to entertainers to sports teams. It even delineates between corporate brands and product brands. It's that specific. However, a high ranking doesn't necessarily translate into financial success, but at least it provides investors with an indication how serious a brand or company is about social media and marketing. Listed below are the top five brands, according to FanPageList. Only those with both Facebook fans and Twitter followers qualify.
Bottom Line
Of the eight firms mentioned in this article, six are beating the S&P 500 year-to-date. Though it's not absolute that social media is responsible for this success, a theme should be developing where stock performance follows the successful use of social media. (For more stock analysis, see Facebook Surpasses Google.)
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IN PICTURES: 5 Money-Saving Shopping Tips
Three Good Marketers
Sony (NYSE:SNE) gave 1,500 Twitter users the opportunity to build a customized Vaio laptop with 10% off, generating $1.5 million in revenue. Gap (NYSE:GPS) offered consumers $50 in merchandise for every $25 gift card purchased through Groupon. The national campaign generated $11 million in additional revenue. McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) used mobile app Foursquare to drive traffic to their restaurants by giving away $5 and $10 gift cards to those who checked-in to McDonald's. A $1,000 investment on Foursquare Day generated a 33% increase in check-ins, which McDonald's considers increased foot traffic. These are great examples of brands successfully leveraging social media.
Although social media's been around for several years, it's still hard for companies, let alone investors, to quantify online promotions and the dollars they generate. Having said that, examples like the ones above do suggest it's not impossible to attach a specific value to this type of marketing. Furthermore, you can be sure that companies will want to highlight successful campaigns in the future, which means investors should be paying attention to social media news because what's written will provide helpful clues about growing businesses. A little homework can go a long way.
The Top Brands
FanPageList.com is a website dedicated to Facebook and Twitter users. By keeping track of all the Facebook fans and Twitter followers online, it's able to create popularity rankings of everything from products to entertainers to sports teams. It even delineates between corporate brands and product brands. It's that specific. However, a high ranking doesn't necessarily translate into financial success, but at least it provides investors with an indication how serious a brand or company is about social media and marketing. Listed below are the top five brands, according to FanPageList. Only those with both Facebook fans and Twitter followers qualify.
| Top Five Brands Using Facebook & Twitter | |||
|
Brand |
Company |
Facebook/Twitter Total Fans/Followers |
YTD Stock Return |
|
Starbucks Coffee |
Starbucks (Nasdaq:SBUX) |
15,033,917 |
11.4% |
|
You Tube |
Google (Nasdaq:GOOG) |
14,452,719 |
-17.2% |
|
Coca-Cola |
Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) |
12,341,271 |
3.8% |
|
Oreo |
Kraft Foods (NYSE:KFT) |
9,930,523 |
17.2% |
|
|
Limited Brands (NYSE:LTD) |
7,134,807 |
43.8% |
Of the eight firms mentioned in this article, six are beating the S&P 500 year-to-date. Though it's not absolute that social media is responsible for this success, a theme should be developing where stock performance follows the successful use of social media. (For more stock analysis, see Facebook Surpasses Google.)
Use the Investopedia Stock Simulator to trade the stocks mentioned in this stock analysis, risk free!
by
Will Ashworth
Will Ashworth lives and works in Toronto, Canada. He's worked in and around the financial services industry for much of his adult life. He loves investing and is passionate about helping others learn how to put their money to work.
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