Brands' share of voice in Social media

The research into share of voice allowed a snapshot of brand mentions in social media to be compiled. On its own, the share of voice analysis did not take into account the nature of the mentions, so, a sentiment analysis was used. The resulting snapshot can be seen as the first step in the discovery and Mapping of a brand's social media landscape and means brands can identify where the Buzz is currently occurring.

Consumer chatter surrounding a brand is of paramount importance, as it can affect that brand's reputation. Unlike traditional methods of communicating on a mass scale (i.e. through newspapers and magazines), conversations Online are unrestricted and can often be more extreme (in terms of the views expressed). It therefore becomes increasingly important for brands to actively monitor what is being said about them online, who exactly is saying it and how influential that source is. Monitoring is the first, and most vital, step in engaging with social media and participating in the conversation.

For the purpose of this study, immediate future reviewed:

• The ‘Blogosphere' as a whole
• Micro-blogging site Twitter
• Forum search tool Board Reader
• Social Networks Facebook, Bebo and MySpace
• Video sharing site YouTube
• Photo sharing site Flickr
• Social Bookmarking site del.icio.us
• Social editorial site Digg

Share of voice for the Top 25 Brands

Brands share of voice in social media

The table above presents the results from the 2008 research. IF Rank ‘08 represents the 25 most discussed brands across the selected social media sites, with last year's results shown under IF Rank '07. The year on year change is also included, as well as the rankings for the Interbrand 2007 research and Millward Brown's ‘Top 100 Most Powerful Brands' 2008.

The majority of brands in the IF top 25 have risen up the rankings from 2007 (15 go up, six down, with four staying the same), which reflects how these brands are increasingly being discussed in social media.

Eight brands appear in all three top 25 rankings - Google, Disney, Ford, Gap, Nike, Pepsi, McDonald's and Nokia. Comparing this with the Interbrand and Millward Brown rankings, it is the former which comes closest to reproducing the IF Ranks, with over half of the Interbrand companies appearing in the IF results, compared to only 36% of brands appearing in both IF's rankings and those of Millward Brown.  

When this year's results are compared to those of 2007, the top three, Google, Yahoo! and Apple, remain in the same positions, whilst the rest of the 25 appear quite volatile, with only one other brand - MTV - maintaining its position from last year.

It is no surprise that consumer electronics companies, including Sony, Nintendo and Apple, hold seven out of the top ten places, as technology enthusiasts (and detractors) feel at ease sharing information online and Searching for each others' opinions. However, it is interesting to note that Microsoft has dropped five places.

This year's results also show a strong presence from the automotive industry, with six brands featuring in the top 25. This is a two third increase on last year, with new entries from luxury car manufacturers Porsche and Mercedes. 

Not one brand shares the same position across all three rankings, which clearly demonstrates the difference between more financially based rankings and online voice. Only Google shares the same position in both IF and Milward Brown rankings - claiming the number one spot. However, there are a number of brands that feature both in the Interbrand and Milward Brown top 25, but not in IF's ranking (Coca-Cola, IBM, General Electric, Citi, Hewlett Packard, American Express, Louis Vitton and Cisco). This shows the differences between the different financial values attributed by the other two rankings and the online chatter for these brands.

The biggest downward mover on the chart is Dell (falling 12 places from last year), whilst Porsche, McDonald's and Mercedes climbed 25, 20 and 18 places respectively. Meanwhile, Shell, Reuters and Amazon.com have all dropped out of the top 25.

No financial institutions are found in the IF top 25, although they score highly on value and financial status in the other two rankings.