What Interbrand’s 2012 Best Brands All Have in Common

October 8, 2012 • 1 min read • By Digiday

The world’s top brands are also often the most social brands. Coincidence?

The top 100 Interbrand brands are also most likely to be active (and successful) in social media. Coca-Cola, No.1 on the list, just happens to also be one of the most social brands in digital. According to TrackSocial, Coca-Cola consistently performs well in social media with regards to fan growth, social buzz and spurring engagement. This proves that social media — which might not actually drive purchases of Coke in a direct-response sense — does help the brand with providing value to consumers. Every day, people discuss, debate and embrace Coca-Cola brands in 5,000 online conversations on average.

All but one of the brands that made Track Social’s top 10 list of the most engaging brands in social media are also on Interbrand’s list. Of course, there is cause for wonder if correlation isn’t really causation. Are they top brands because they’re social? Or are they social because they’re top brands? Either way, the message is that social media is being embraced by the best of the best, and other brands need to take notice.

Pampers, Facebook, Prada, Kia, Ralph Lauren and MasterCard are the newbies on this year’s list, and they’re all very social. Fan count and engagement (actions taken by consumers on their pages) are consistent.

It’s no surprise that the majority of the brands on the list are technology companies. Recent reports have found that tech companies are the largest spenders in social media.

The moral of the story: Social media is necessary for building brand equity, regardless of its lack of ROI.

Here’s the top 10 on the list: