Ignite Social Media has published the May 2011 results of its monthly Top 50 Branded Facebook Fan Pages list. This month’s list saw a big jump by Starbucks, a loss by Victoria’s Secret, and a debut by Playboy (yes, there is still value in the Playboy brand).
The top spot goes to Facebook with nearly 42 million fans of its own Facebook page, but YouTube is not that far behind with over 35 million fans. Considering the difference between the top Facebook page with over 42 million fans and the 50th Facebook page (Buffalo Wild Wings) with nearly 5 million fans, second place on this list is pretty good.
The top ten Facebook pages according to the Ignite Social Media report are:
- Facebook – 42.0 million fans (up 8% from April 2011)
- YouTube – 35.1 million fans (up 10% from April 2011)
- Coca-Cola – 28.1 million fans (up 9% from April 2011)
- Disney – 24.2 million fans (up 14% from April 2011)
- MTV – 22.5 million fans (up 12% from April 2011)
- Starbucks – 22.4 million fans (up 5% from April 2011)
- Oreo – 20.0 million fans (up 7% from April 2011)
- Red Bull – 17.9 million fans (up 9% from April 2011)
- Converse All Stars – 18.5 million fans (up 12% from April 2011)
- Converse – 17.5 million fans (up 15% from April 2011)
You can see the complete list on the Ignite Social Media blog.
It’s interesting to see that many of the Facebook pages on this list come from the same companies. For example, Disney, Disneyland, Disney Pixar, and Walt Disney World are all parts of the Walt Disney Company and benefit from the power and reach of the Disney brand.
I also think it’s interesting to note how many snack and energy food and drink brands are in the top 50 list. Coca-Cola, Oreo, Red Bull, Skittles, Pringles, Ferrero Rocher, Monster Energy, Nutella, Dr. Pepper, Starburst, Reese’s, Mountain Dew, and 5 Gum account for 26% of the brands on this list. Add on the fast food and restaurant brands on the list (McDonald’s, Subway, Taco Bell, Starbucks Frappuccino, and Buffalo Wild Wings), to that number and a total of 36% of the brands on this list are food-related. I’m not a nutritionist, but I’m sure there are health experts out there who would have a lot to say about how that reflects on consumers’ lifestyles in 2011.
What can brand managers and marketers learn from this list? These are the big brands on Facebook that are having success in motivating people to like their Facebook pages. Look at their pages. Read the content and listen to the conversations. These are the brands to benchmark as you develop your own Facebook marketing strategies.
Lucy is Editor at Corporate Eye
