Meet the top 20 brands on Facebook

All the buzz over the last week has been about Google + but without a way for brands to engage there yet, it’s Facebook that still gets most of their attention in the social space. Now that Facebook pages have been live for a couple of years who are the biggest brands on the platform in terms of likes and what sorts of campaigns and apps running on their pages? The pages on the list are a mixture of brands that people love and have willingly liked as well as brands who are clearly acquiring Likes through large scale Facebook advertising.

These brands have identified Facebook as a great platform to engage with their fans and have built up huge valuable communities and it’s interesting to see what rewards and engagement they all offer to keep those users loyal and to keep their page growing. Have a look through the pages at your leisure because these are the biggest and best pages out there so you should be able to pick up some great tips…

1. Coca Cola (31,762,653)

The interesting thing about this page is that it was actually started by fans themselves and instead of shutting it down Coca Cola allowed the fans to take control and that still feels like the case today. It isn’t by chance that there is a great community feel to this page despite its size. Less of a focus on apps or games and more focus on pushing great, engaging content out to the 30+ millions fans all over the world.

2. Disney (26,613,752)

One of the biggest entertainment brands in the world was never going to be slow off the mark when it came to Facebook and this is its brand page but they have lots of other individual pages for their sub brands. As you can see from the landing tab below they are pushing 200 million fans all over the world on their pages but this one acts as a central hub for people who just love the Disney brand.

3. Starbucks (23,574,606)

Starbucks has not been slow to embrace any form of social media and Facebook is no different. Its Facebook page offers a range of cool features including the ability to gift a card to friends for free coffees and the option of drilling down to see the Starbucks stores in local markets. Starbucks also uses its page to post the latest information for jobs within the country which is an interesting recruitment channel.

4. Oreo (21,864,091)

A really nice and bright colorful page that features lots of great content including recipes and additional information about the products. The only negative about the page itself is that when clicking in to see recipes and other content you are taken away to the Kraft website instead of being able to view the content within Facebook itself.

5. Red Bull (21,220,373)

Possibly the best brand in the world for social media and creating content in general. The page is constantly updated with new games and fresh content and even has its own television station where it shares all the latest Red Bull content from sports events and sponsorships from around the world.

6. Converse All Star (19,880,308)

In a strange move there are 2 Converse pages with a very similar amount of fans right beside each other in the list. This one has a small amount of interaction with most of the activity centered around fan photos and fan videos. You have to guess that this is one of the iconic brands that people are passionate about and would actually like without advertising.

7. Converse (18,977,840)

While remarkably similar to the one above,  this one has even less content on the page. There are no apps, no games, very little of Converse’s own content and most of the interaction comes via the wall or by content that is created via the fans themselves. The fans are clearly very engaged though with plenty of likes and comments on anything that gets posted.

8. Skittles (18,386,827)

One of the quirkiest brands in social media who uses all the big social networks effectively. Its page is constantly updated with new apps, games, videos and content for all its latest campaigns. There is plenty of fan engagement as Skittles seems to like to push its fans between their various platforms and cross promote.

9. Playstation (16,245,633)

As you would expect there are plenty of interactive previews of games and the various upcoming titles that Playstation has. The page acts as the overall host for its super engaged community but when drilling down into the different tabs you can look at their various consoles and play little interactive demos and see videos of its most popular games.

10. iTunes (15,862,234)

The is the first of the 2 Apple owned pages on the list and music fits perfectly with the Facebook page format. You’ll find a mixture of all the latest releases as well as some great live content which it streams via one of the tabs. What will be interesting to see is how this page is handled by Facebook once it starts adding its own music streaming service later this year.

11.Pringles (14,765,300)

One of the biggest crisp brands in the world has a brand and target market that fits perfectly with Facebook. Its page is full of interaction and includes links to its latest campaigns. For example its latest focus is on the music festival season and when clicking through to one of the tabs you can get all the latest information on its interactive app.

12. Victoria’s Secret (14,384,903)

I can’t lie and will have to admit that this page will get the vote of most of the males on the list. Although you can’t see it publicly it would be interesting to see what the demographic breakdown is because you can be sure women would like this page for more functional reasons while the images and interactive content is sure to pick up a few male fans as well.

13. Window’s Live Messenger (13,926,945)

Live messenger is not often talked about in social media terms but it is a massively used chat service among a young audience and you can see just how popular it is by it making this list. It helps that Microsoft is an investor in Facebook and there is also a completely different Facebook app that has over 20 million users. The page itself shares all the latest info about the product.

14. Ferrero Rocher (11,676,898)

One of the most iconic chocolate brands in the world makes the list despite having one of the poorest and least engaging Facebook pages you are ever likely to see. They have little or no interactive content or campaigns and limit what they upload to a couple of photo albums. The fans on the page do engage via the wall but it’s not clear why there are so many of them? Could it be that the brand is loved so much or are they simply advertising with a view to future campaigns?

15. Monster Energy (11,492,620)

The second biggest energy drink in the world makes the list and it is remarkable how similar its content and themes are to Red Bull who appears higher in this list. There is a lot of interactive content and apps that engage fans and it’s clear that Monster is spending lots of money to drive fan acquisition.

16. Nutella (10,696,260)

One of the most famous and iconic breakfast spreads in the world has turned its page over to fans and even has a section called nutiquette where it tells fans what they can and can’t do on the page. People who like the page are clearly nutty (see what I did there) about the brand and are very engaged through the wall and on all content that is shared.

17. iPod (10,530,905)

This is the second Apple product on the list and after having a quick glance at the page you will have no idea why just so many people like this page. There is barely any content, the page hardly ever gets updated and it will have people who manage pages and try to get growth organically pulling their hair out with envy. It’s strange that Apple doesn’t have a strategy for this page and never seems to have had one.

18. Adidas Originals (10,433,947)

One of the biggest sports brands in the world is always trying new and innovative stuff on its Facebook page. It has plenty of its content on tabs from other social media channels including videos from Youtube and live video streaming of events. It also tries interactive things through the wall like a flash based shoe picker and is clearly active in trying to drive sales to its online stores.

19. Xbox (10,388,218)

The 2nd of the big console makers on the list and another one owned by Microsoft. As you would imagine it’s very similar to the Playstation page with lots of interactive previews of latest titles and tabs explaining some of the main features and selling points of the device. It always has lots of good competitions and good content pushed through the wall to its dedicated online community.

20. Dr Pepper (9,927,828)

This page is funny because to do any of the activities on the various tabs you simply have to like the page which could be a little limiting but you have to guess that is one of the main reasons why they have so many likes. Lots of ways to win free cases of your favorite drink and other pieces of interactive content and games with great prizes.