As Facebook heads toward what may be the most anticipated initial public offering ever, Socialbakers, a social media analytics firm, says the 900-million-plus member Facebook platform helps big brands penetrate emerging global markets.
Socialbakers’ analysis not only highlights the social network’s exploding international reach but also how the world’s biggest brands are tapping into the social economy to build international momentum.
The data examines the Engagement Rate (ER) of brands—a clear measure of brand engagement—in the top 10 countries with the largest Facebook user base.
“Facebook is clearly giving social-savvy companies unprecedented access to build dynamic relationships and grow revenue in key markets,” said Socialbakers CEO Jan Rezab.
“It can be incredibly time-consuming and difficult to go to market in new regions with a localized website or microsite, even for some of the world’s biggest companies. And even then, you’ve still got a static presence that fails to truly engage your target audience. Facebook eliminates that barrier to entry by providing a well-entrenched and steadily-growing platform.”
Kraft Tops the List of Fastest Moving Brands
Three of the top five Fastest Moving Global Brands come from the Kraft family. The company’s Halls, Trident and Chiclets lines made major gains over the past year, boosted by strong audience engagement in Brazil (the second-largest Facebook audience). L’Oreal Paris Brazil and AXE Indonesia (Unilever) round out the Top Five.
Consumer Goods Win Big Around the World
Consumer Packaged Goods (CPGs) have emerged as industry leaders on the global scale, with half of the Top 10 Fastest Movers falling into this category.
CPGs also dominate in key growth markets. In Brazil, the most engaged brands are CPGs, and in the United Kingdom, Cadbury Creme Egg and Cadbury Wispa rank in the top two. In France, M&Ms boasts the highest engagement rate of any brand in the nation.
“CPGs have historically been early adopters of social media in well-saturated markets,” Rezab said. “So it only makes sense that they leverage this strategy to dominate in these high-growth markets as well.”
Mobile/Telecom Move the Needle in Emerging Markets
Mobile brands have also made big moves among the top 10 Countries, as well as in some smaller, yet highly engaged markets.
As the proliferation of mobile devices continues to permeate virtually every corner of the globe, carriers and device manufacturers are leveraging this momentum to engage audiences and expand their reach.
BlackBerry, which has fallen behind the pack in the U.S. mobile market, is among the top three brands in Mexico and Indonesia. Samsung and Nokia top the leaderboard in Turkey and Mexico, while regional player Vodafone has by far more fans and higher engagement than any other brand in India.
Fan Engagement Highest Among Emerging Markets
It’s no surprise that, among the top 10 brands, the overwhelming majority of Facebook fans hail from the U.S.
However, fans in emerging markets are much more actively engaged—a metric that proves to be very valuable in gaining international traction. Indonesia, Mexico and the Philippines rank in the top three in Engagement Rate.
Meanwhile, four of the top five Fastest Moving Brands saw their biggest gains in the booming market of Brazil.
“Engagement is the core of the social economy—people buy what their friends buy and recommend,” Rezab said.
“Simply having a lot of fans isn’t the answer to building a strong social economy presence—they must be active. Growing that engagement and viral reach is the key to success, especially in international markets.”
