So, you’ve committed to participating in social media. How’s that working out so far for your business? Are you measuring what you do? Do you know whether you’re succeeding? And just how do you stack up against your competition? If you need help answering these questions, ENGAGEMENTdb might be just the tool for you.
ENGAGEMENTdb
In late July 2009, Altimeter Group (headed by Charlene Li, formerly of Forrester Research) and Wetpaint released the results of a study ranking the social media engagement of the world’s top 100 brands (as identified by BusinessWeek/Interbrand in 2008). The study measured the number of social media channels the top brands participated in, as well as their degree of engagement within each channel, then ranked the companies based on their cumulative score (1–127).
Brands scoring 100 or more include
- Starbucks (127)
- Dell (123)
- eBay (115)
- Google (105)
- Microsoft (103)
- Thomson Reuters (101)
- Nike (100)
By quartile, the scores break out like this: top quartile—50 or higher, second-highest quartile—27 to 49, third-highest quartile—14 to 24 and lowest quartile—1 to 12.
In addition to publishing a report of the findings, Altimeter Group and Wetpaint also launched the ENGAGEMENTdb website. There you can download a pdf of the report, use the search tool to find detailed information about the social media channels each company uses and read expert commentary about the findings. But most intriguing is the tool that lets you evaluate your (or your competitors’) social media efforts and compare them with the most valuable brands. Are you game to give this tool a try?
How the Tool Works
ENGAGEMENTdb asks you to complete a quick, five-question survey to determine your company’s level of engagement and how your score compares with the top 100 companies. After taking the survey, you receive a customized report via email (a great idea for collecting leads, BTW).
Here’s a summary of the data the survey collects:
- All the social media tools that your company uses to engage customers (blog, Facebook, LinkedIn, Scribd, YouTube, calendar/events, Flickr, MySpace, Twitter, Delicious, forums, ratings, wiki)
- On a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is Not Active at All and 5 is Very Active, the activity level of your customers on the social media channels your company participates in (Active means visiting the site, posting comments and questions, uploading content, etc.)
- On a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is Not Responsive at All and 5 is Very Responsive, the level of your company’s responsiveness to customer activity on your social media channels
- Your company’s level of involvement in its social media efforts, as indicated by the following four descriptors:
Very—lots of people, lots of investment, broad corporate interest
Involved—several people, reasonable investment, select corporate interest
Somewhat—few people, some investment, debatable corporate interest
Minimally—sole individual responsible, minimal investment, little corporate interest
- The type of industry that best fits your company
Your ENGAGEMENTdb Analysis
Once you complete the survey, you receive a report via email that reveals your overall ENGAGEMENTdb assessment: your score, a summary of the number of social media channels you engage in and an indication of whether your score falls above or below the best-fit line for the top brands. The overall assessment also identifies the engagement profile that you fit:
- Maven: Presence in a high number of social media channels; high engagement within those channels (High presence; High engagement)
- Selective: Low presence; High engagement
- Butterfly: High presence; Low engagement
- Wallflower: Low presence; Low engagement
Last, the report also discloses how you compare with others in your industry and offers implications of your social media strategy.
How Significant Info Stacks Up
When I took the survey for my marketing research/content marketing business, Significant Info, I found the process to be very straightforward and the results useful. I’d love to report that Significant Info scored right up there with the leading brands, but the company has some work to do yet to get there. I’ll use this evaluation as a baseline to compare efforts going forward. Here are the key points in the report:
- ENGAGEMENTdb score: 39.5
- Compared with the top 100 brands, Significant Info falls above the best-fit line
- Significant Info is engaged in fewer channels (4—blog, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter) than the overall average (6)
- Significant Info fits the Selective engagement profile
- Business Services brands typically engage more in fewer channels; Significant Info falls above the best-fit line for Business Services and engages in fewer channels than the Business Services average (6)
How Does Your Company Stack Up?
Go ahead—give the tool a whirl! Use ENGAGEMENTdb to find out how your company scores in its social media efforts. Even if you’re just starting out, the results can provide a valuable incentive to commit time, energy and investment in social media. What do you have to lose?
