The Big Money Facebook 50: Companies making social media work.

The Big Money Facebook 50

By TBM Staff

Posted Sunday, November 29, 2009 - 11:59pm

1 of 26

Introducing The Big Money Facebook 50

Welcome to The Big Money Facebook 50, a ranking of the brands that are currently making the best use of Facebook. Various metrics—including fan numbers, page growth, frequency of updates, creativity as determined by a panel of judges, and fan engagement—were factored into each page’s score and ultimate rank on the list.
2 of 26

50. The Onion

The satirical newspaper doesn’t do much besides post its content on its page, but it still maintains a steady, engaged fan following.
Fans as of Nov. 15: 535,411
3 of 26

49. Calvin Klein

Phillips-Van Heusen’s (PVH) clothing retailer Calvin Klein regularly announces sales and posts coupons.
Fans as of Nov. 15: 332,521
4 of 26

48. Buffalo Wild Wings

This restaurant chain has a fast-growing and devoted fan base.
Fans as of Nov. 15: 913,754
5 of 26

47. Taco Bell

Yum Brands’ (YUM) fast food chain Taco Bell is responsive to fan comments and generates strong positive feedback when it posts promotions.
Fans as of Nov. 15: 664,592
6 of 26

46. Zara

Fans from all over the world express their love for this clothing retailer on its Facebook wall.
Fans as of Nov. 15: 1,580,858
7 of 26

45. Gatorade

PepsiCo.’s (PEP) Gatorade set up an app that encouraged users to vote for their favorite moment from Michael Jordan’s career. More than 8,000 votes were cast on the sports drink's page.
Fans as of Nov. 15: 360,860
8 of 26

44. Audi

Automaker Audi seeks out fan feedback. It hosted a campaign encouraging fans to discuss what its next car should look like, and the company recently posted a survey asking fans what they wanted from the page.
Fans as of Nov. 15: 381,038
9 of 26

43. Target

Target’s (TGT) page gained 97,091 new fans through its two-week “Bullseye Gives” campaign, during which fans could vote for which charity they thought most deserved Target’s donations. (St. Jude Children's Research Hospital won the most votes.) The retailer reported that daily views of the page jumped by 4,800 percent.
Fans as of Nov. 15: 588,300
10 of 26

42. Harley-Davidson

A fan photo gallery includes more than 9,000 photos of fans and their Harley-Davidson (HOG) bikes.
Fans as of Nov. 15: 339,135
11 of 26

41. MTV

Viacom’s (VIAB) MTV page has a good ratio of fan “likes” to comments. The music channel maintains a fast-moving page with consistent fan engagement.
Fans as of Nov. 15: 1,146,737
12 of 26

40. Six Flags

This summer, Six Flags hosted the “Tournament of Thrills” competition on its Facebook page where fans could vote for their favorite roller coasters. More than 85,000 votes were cast, and the amusement park's fan base more than doubled during the promotion.
Fans as of Nov. 15: 379,056
13 of 26

39. Vans

The footwear retailer does a good job incorporating YouTube videos onto its page.
Fans as of Nov. 15: 337,550
14 of 26

38. Dr. Pepper

The soda company, owned by the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group (DPS), regularly posts fan-submitted photos to its wall.
Fans as of Nov. 15: 906,914
15 of 26

37. Apple Students

Apple (AAPL) started “Apple Students” as a sponsored group when the Facebook community was almost exclusively college kids. Even though Facebook has since grown, the electronics retailer's page is a good place to deliver targeted messages to this audience.
Fans as of Nov. 15: 1,405,695
16 of 26

36. Vogue

Condé Nast’s fashion magazine gets positive feedback when it promotes its editorial content and magazine-quality images onto the page.
Fans of Nov. 15: 330,220
17 of 26

35. Pizza Hut

Pizza Hut, a subsidiary of Yum Brands’ (YUM), created a Facebook app that facilitates pizza ordering.
Fans as of Nov. 15: 1,044,408
18 of 26

34. Pringles

Pringles, the chip company owned by Proctor & Gamble (PG), has an impressive fan base even though it rarely updates its page.
Fans as of Nov. 15: 2,788,810
19 of 26

33. CNN

CNN.com joined forces with Facebook Connect for its coverage of Barack Obama’s inauguration. More than 2 million Facebook status updates were published through the news network's live feed during the ceremony. CNN is a division of Time Warner (TWX).
Fans as of Nov. 15: 654,750
20 of 26

32. The Art of Travel by Louis Vuitton

When fashion house Louis Vuitton streamed a live fashion show on its page in early October, it gained more than 60,000 new fans.
Fans as of Nov. 15: 761,342
21 of 26

31. Puma

Coordination with retail stores keeps employees and customers of the sportswear company involved with the page.
Fans as of Nov. 15: 1,271,064
22 of 26

30. Ben & Jerry’s

An ice cream company would know that you can have too much of a good thing. Ben & Jerry’s doesn’t overwhelm its Facebook fans with too many posts. “We don’t have a magic rule or formula for how often is the ‘right’ amount,” a company spokesperson told TBM over e-mail. “I can tell you, we over-posted once, and fans didn’t like it.”
Fans as of Nov. 15: 987,761
23 of 26

29. Forever 21

High frequency updates and a weekly giveaway keep fans of the fashion retailer engaged.
Fans as of Nov. 15: 451,834
24 of 26

28. Kohl’s

After Kohl’s (KSS) purchased a Facebook homepage ad in August, it was named the fastest growing page that week by Inside Facebook. The department store's page had fewer than 10,000 fans before the ad went up, and it gained more than 350,000.
Fans as of Nov. 15: 726,880
25 of 26

27. Dippin’ Dots

The ice cream company posts contests and promotions encourage high fan involvement.
Fans as of Nov. 15: 898,760
26 of 26

26. Reese's

There was noticeably more activity on the fan page for Hershey's (HSY) Reese's peanut butter cups around Halloween time.
Fans as of Nov. 15: 1,430,286
Wondering who's on the rest of the list? Who's number one? Click here for the rest of The Big Money Facebook 50.