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Nearly 9 out of 10 of the Top 100 Global Brands are on Instagram

instagram app iconThe Simply Measured Q3 2014 Instagram study reveals that 86% of the top 100 global brands, according to Interbrand’s annual ranking, have Instagram accounts. Of those top brands that are on Instagram, 76% post at least one photo or video per week. Back in 2012, Simply Measured reported that only 54% of the top brands were on Instagram.

Leading brands are spending time on Instagram for good reasons. Their audiences are growing and engagement is growing even more! During the third quarter of 2014, the average Instagram post by the top 100 brands averaged 18,822 likes and comments, which is double the number of likes and comments received one year ago and 12-times more than two years ago. The average engagement per post grew by 416% since 2012.

Engagement Rates are on the Rise

Engagement rates rise when posts include hashtags.
The Simply Measured study found that posts which include at least one hashtag average 12.6% higher engagement rates than posts without a hashtag. The top 100 brands are actively using hashtags. During the third quarter of 2014, 88% of the top 100 brands’ Instagram posts included hashtags.

Engagement rates also rise when posts include @mentions in photo captions.
In its research, Simply Measured found that the average caption length among posts published by the top 100 brands is 138 characters and includes one hashtag. However, only 36% of captions by the top 100 brands included another user’s name as an @mention. This is a missed opportunity given that Simply Measured found on average, posts which include at least one other user name in the caption have 56% higher engagement levels.

Engagement rates also rise when posts are tagged with a location.
Simply Measured found that posts published by the top 100 brands which were tagged with a location had an average engagement level that was 29% higher than posts that did not include locations.

Which Brand Industries are Finding Success on Instagram?

Simply Measured also looked at Instagram use by the top 100 brands to determine which industries are having the most success. During the third quarter of 2014, media brands were more active with 62 more posts published per month. Media brands also had higher engagement levels with 5,084 likes and comments.

However, it’s important to put these numbers in perspective. Only 34 of the top 100 global brands have more than 100,000 followers on Instagram. Of course, this is nearly three times the number that had more than 100,000 followers back in 2012 (13 brands), but the numbers are still relatively small in comparison to what brands are getting on Facebook and even Twitter.

What do you think about these research results? How has your brand leveraged Instagram (or is Instagram not in your marketing plan)? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Image: Jason Howie licensed CC BY 2.0

Google Takes Back Top Spot from Apple as World’s Most Valuable Global Brand

google droid robot on apple ipadThe 2014 BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Brands ranking has been released, and Google came out on top, bumping Apple from the top spot which it stole from Google in 2011. Google’s brand value is estimated at $158 billion, an increase of 40% over 2013. Apple’s brand value in 2014 was reported at $148 billion, a decrease of 20%.

Technology brands dominate the 2014 list in terms of brand value dollars, and technology and financial brands dominated the list of newcomers to the 2014 list (Twitter, LinkedIn, Bank of America, PayPal, ING Bank, and UBS, in addition to Ford, were this year’s newcomers).

Across all categories, the top 100 global brands experienced a 12% increase in brand value over 2013, and collectively, they are currently worth $2.9 trillion. Even more interesting, the overall brand value of the top 100 global brands has increased by 98% since 2006. Here are a few key results from the BrandZ report:

  • The value of the top 100 global brands grew by 12% to $2.9% over 2013 (an improvement over the 7% increase reported in 2013 over 2012 results).
  • The stock market value of the top 100 global brands has appreciated 81.1% since 2006, which is significantly better than the 44.7% increase of the S&P 500.
  • The apparel category had the most growth between 2013 and 2014 (29%).
  • Only 18 brands on the list lost value.
  • The fastest rising brand is Tencent (up 97%), the Chinese social network and internet portal, followed by Facebook (68% increase).
  • Brands in Continental Europe increased more than any other region (19%).
  • Most brands on the list are North American (more than half), and North American brands are responsible for two-thirds of total brand value on the list.

Top Global Brands

The top 10 global brands according to BrandZ are (follow the link above to view the full list):

  1. Google: $158 billion
  2. Apple: $148 billion
  3. IBM: $108 billion
  4. Microsoft: $90 billion
  5. McDonald’s: $86 billion
  6. Coca-Cola: $81 billion
  7. VISA: $79 billion
  8. AT&T: $78 billion
  9. Marlboro: $67 billion
  10. Amazon.com: $64 billion

Top U.K. Brands

The BrandZ report also ranks brands from specific regions of the world. The top 10 brands from the United Kingdom based on brand value come from six categories: telecom, global banks, oil and gas, retail, luxury, and apparel. Here they are:

  • Vodafone: $36 billion
  • HSBC: $27 billion
  • Shell: $19 billion
  • BT: $15 billion
  • Tesco: $15 billion
  • BP: $13 billion
  • Barclays: $10 billion
  • Standard Chartered: $9 billion
  • Burberry: $6 billion
  • Next: $6 billion

This is the ninth year that the BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands study has been conducted by WPP and Millward Brown Optimor. The rankings are based on both financial data and extensive quantitative consumer surveys.

Image: Roshan Vyas

B2B Content Marketing vs. B2C Content Marketing in 2013

mouse computer deskEarlier this year, a study by Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council, the CMO Council’s ROI Center, and NetLine found that online content from B2B marketers affected 85% of business-to-business (B2B) buyers when they were actively making vendor selection and purchase decisions. It’s not surprising that content marketing is now a key part of B2B and B2C marketing plans.

In fact, research from the Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProf’s B2B Content Marketing 2014 report revealed that 92% of B2B marketers are using content marketing and 42% consider themselves to be effective at content marketing. Similarly, research from the Content Marketing Institute and Marketing Prof’s B2C Content Marketing 2014 report found that 90% of B2C marketers are now using content marketing and 34% believe they are effective at content marketing.

Taking a closer look at the data from both the B2B Content Marketing 2014 and B2C Content Marketing 2014 studies, there are many more similarities between marketers:

  • Have a documented content strategy: B2B = 44%, B2C = 39%
  • Have  someone in place to oversee content marketing strategy: B2B = 73%, B2C = 67%
  • Producing more content than they did a year ago: B2B = 73%, B2C = 72%
  • Average number of content marketing tactics used: B2B = 13, B2C = 12
  • Top content marketing goal for both B2B and B2C is raising brand awareness: B2B = 82%, B2C = 79%
  • Top content marketing metric for both B2B and B2C is web traffic: B2B = 63%, B2C = 66%
  • Plan to increase content marketing budgets in the next 12 months: B2B = 58%, B2C = 60%
  • Average amount of marketing budget allocated to content marketing: B2B = 30%, B2C = 24%
  • Top challenge for both B2B and B2C is a lack of time: B2B = 69%, B2C = 57%

Both B2B (95%) and B2C (91%) marketers segment their content in at least one way. However, an interesting difference between B2B and B2C marketers that was revealed in the reports is how content is segmented. For B2B marketers, the most popular way to tailor content is using industry trends (65%), but for B2C marketers, the top way is using profiles of individual decision makers (56%).

It’s also interesting to note that four content marketing tactics hold the top spots for both B2B and B2C marketers in terms of usage. Those tactics are social media (other than blogs), articles on the company/brand website, enewsletters, and blogs.

To put things into perspective visually, take a look at the two infographics below.

The first infographic, Confidence Boost: Marketers Get More Savvy with Content Marketing, was published on the LinkedIn blog and highlights many of the findings from the B2B Content Marketing 2014 study.

B2B content marketing infographic

Next is the B2C Content Marketing in 2013 infographic from Uberflip, which uses data from research conducted earlier this year (note the sources at the bottom of the infographic for more information).

b2c content marketing 2013 infographic

How does your company and brand stack up against other B2B or B2C content marketers?

Image: Raphael Straub

Best Global Green Brands of 2014

green globe green brandsInterbrand has released its ranking of the best global green brands in 2014, and the results might surprise you.

What brands come to your mind when you think of “green.” What about when you think about the broader term of sustainability?

I’m going to guess it’s not Ford, but that is the #1 brand on the Interbrand 2014 ranking of the best global green brands.

Back in 2012, I wrote a post here for Corporate Eye that discussed why so many automotive brands ranked high on Interbrand’s ranking of the 2012 best global green brands. In short, a significant part of Interbrand’s ranking system relies on consumer perception of brands. Automotive brands invest large amounts of money into promoting their green initiatives, and they’re rewarded with higher consumer perception scores in Interbrand’s ranking methodology.

In 2012, eight of the 21 brands on Interbrand’s list were automotive brands. In 2014, only six of the top 21 brands on the list are automotive brands. However, this year’s list includes 50 brands, and 10 of them (1 in 5 or 20%) are automotive brands. In fact, there are more automotive brands on the list than brands from any other industry.

Here is a breakdown by industry of the 50 best global green brands of 2014:

  • Automotive – 10 brands
  • Technology – 2 brands
  • FNCG – 6 brands
  • Electronics – 5 brands
  • Diversified – 3 brands
  • Sporting goods – 2 brands
  • Beverages – 2 brands
  • Apparel – 2 brands
  • Restaurants – 2 brands
  • Financial services – 2 brands
  • Home furnishings – 1 brand
  • Transportation – 1 brand
  • Energy – 1 brand
  • Media – 1 brand
  • Alcohol – 1 brand

In addition to consumer perceptions based on six key criteria (authenticity, relevance, differentiation, consistency, presence, and understanding of environmental claims), brands are also evaluated based on publicly available information related to governance, stakeholder engagement, operations, supply chain, transportation and logistics, and products and services.

Based on consumer surveys and analysis, the top 10 best global brands of 2014 are:

  1. Ford – automotive
  2. Toyota – automotive
  3. Honda – automotive
  4. Nissan – automotive
  5. Panasonic – electronics
  6. Nokia – electronics
  7. Sony – electronics
  8. Adidas – sporting goods
  9. Danone – FMCG
  10. Dell – technology

Four of the top 10 best global green brands of 2014 are automotive brands and four are electronics brands. One is a sporting goods brand, and one is from the FMCG sector. Is that surprising to you?

Looking on the positive side, it’s good to see so many companies that you wouldn’t expect to find on a list of the best global green brands actually investing in green initiatives. From the brand perspective, promoting their green investments is certainly paying off in terms of improved consumer perceptions. In the end, improved consumer perceptions lead to sales, so getting on this list is a success for each of the companies that prioritized green initiatives over the past year.

Below is a video introduction from Interbrand that provides an overview of what the ranking is and why it’s done.

What do you think? Leave a comment and share your thoughts about the list of the best global green brands in 2014.

Image: Sebastian Bergmann licensed BY CC-SA 2.0

Inc. 500 Rank LinkedIn as Social Media Platform of Choice

inc 500In the United States, the Inc. 500 is a list published every year by Inc. Magazine of the 500 fastest growing private companies in the country. Business people, investors, analysts—they all want to know what makes these companies tick. In 2007, the Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth launched the first of its annual reviews of the use of social media by the Inc. 500. Now, the results for 2013 are available.

For the second year in a row, Inc. 500 executives ranked LinkedIn as the preferred platform with usage growing to 88% of companies in the Inc. 500. Facebook ranked second (84%) followed by Twitter (74%), Google+ (58%), blogging (52%), YouTube (50%), Pinterest (33%), Foursquare (23%), and Instagram (18%). Overall, 95% of Inc. 500 companies are using at least one social media platform.

Results of the study revealed surprises in three areas: social commerce, mobile, and reputation monitoring. Let’s take a closer look at each.

Social Commerce

While LinkedIn is the preferred social media platform for the Inc. 500, 61% believe that Twitter has the most potential for social commerce and actual sales growth. Facebook ranked second (55%) followed by Pinterest (31%). Despite the belief that social commerce is growing, only 45% of Inc. 500 companies are tracking social sales. Companies that are not currently tracking social sales are unlikely to do so in 2014. Not even one out of three (29%) of those companies plan to start tracking social commerce in the next year.

Mobile

Although mobile web traffic surpassed desktop traffic for the first time earlier this year, only two out of three Inc. 500 companies have added mobile features to connect with mobile consumers. While 92% have optimized their company websites for mobile audiences, only one in four (25%) offer mobile apps and just 19% are using text message marketing.

Reputation Monitoring

Online reputation monitoring is extremely important today. Consumers turn to social media to complain, ask questions, and make purchase decisions. They expect brands to be present, and social media is becoming the go-to place for customer service for more consumers every day. However, only 39% of Inc. 500 companies have a plan in place to monitor brand reputation attacks and disasters online. In 2012, 54% of Inc. 500 companies had social media disaster response plans in place! In fact, only 59% of Inc. 500 companies monitor their brand, product, and company names online, which is down from 70% in 2012.

Furthermore, the number of Inc. 500 companies that have social media policies in place to guide employee online behavior related to the companies, brands, and products is also down. In 2009, 36% of Inc. 500 companies had social media policies, but in 2013, that number dropped to 31%.

Based on this lack of concern and prioritization of brand reputation management online, it shouldn’t be surprising to hear that one out of five Inc. 500 companies don’t have social media plans of any kind in place. Of those companies that do have social media plans, more than one out of two include social media efforts as part of the company’s overall marketing and/or business plan. Just 13% have standalone social media plans.

Bottom-line

The Inc. 500 might be the fastest growing companies in the United States, but they’re balancing precariously close to brand reputation problems that could escalate into full-scale disasters by failing to prioritize social media and to develop appropriate policies and procedures to advocate the brand, monitor it, and effectively respond to threats (and opportunities).

What do you think?

Image: CPXi

100 Most Social Brands in the U.K. for 2013 Revealed

social brands 100 2013 report coverThe 2013 list of the 100 Most Social Brands in the U.K. from Headstream and Socialbakers is dominated by retail brands. In fact, one out of four brands ranked in the top 100 are retail brands, and one in three brands ranked in the top ten are retail brands.

Despite the overall dominance of retail brands on the Social Brands 100 list, four out of ten of the brands ranked in the top 10 are travel brands. Just one entertainment brand landed in the top ten, but it took first place. In 2013, Headstream’s engagement research identified Battlefield from Electronic Arts as the U.K.’s most social brand.

A total of 715 brands were nominated for inclusion in the 100 Most Social Brands list for 2013, and each brand was evaluated over a six-week period on several criteria, including: engagement rates, fan growth, response rates, and response times.

The top 10 brands on the 2013 list are:

  1. Battlefield (entertainment)
  2. American Airlines (travel)
  3. Lufthansa (travel)
  4. Thomson Holidays (travel)
  5. Thomas Cook UK (travel)
  6. Innocent (FMCG)
  7. Argos (retail)
  8. SEAT Mexico (automotive)
  9. Tesco (retail)
  10. Dr. Martens (retail)

This report comes just a few weeks after research by Socialbakers was released that identified a significant growth in brand social responsiveness. While the number of people who turn to social media to get answers to customer service questions and problems has skyrocketed over the past year, Socialbakers found that brands are still not adequately responding to those customer comments. They’re improving, but they’re still far from perfect.

Headstream reports that brands are devoting 10% of their marketing budgets on average to social media, but is that money being invested in the best ways? Is it enough? Given the huge shift from telephone and email customer service to social media customer service, companies need to determine where the budget dollars to handle these inquiries will come from, and which department will take responsibility for it. Of course, the best solution would include an integrated effort.

The full Social Brands 100 list for 2013 is included in the infographic below. You can follow the links to view the full ranking list and read the full 2013 Social Brands 100 report, which includes brand rankings by industry and some great insights.

The infographic below, from the Brand Republic’s The Wall blog, gives you an overview of the top 100 social brands.

social brands 100 2013 infographic

Image: Headstream