Bubble O’Bill, Yellow Tail wines and Pringles are the most ‘liked’ products by Australian Facebook users, according to research released this week.
As brands push to build their Facebook likes on the social network, the report by social media analysts Social Pulse highlights the ones who have got it right.
While the top five most liked pages in Australia are media outlets – except for the number one spot, which was taken out by a page for the country ‘Australia’ itself – several retail products and brands have made it into the top 30 list.
Bubble O’Bill is the sixth most liked page in Australia with 1,264,183 fans, while Yellow Tail wines comes in at eighth with 1,120,959 fans and Pringles chips takes ninth place with 1,058,223 fans.
Social Pulse managing director Lucio Ribeiro told SmartCompany it is likely Bubble O’Bill has garnered support because it is an iconic brand that has been around for a significant time and trades on ‘fans’ memory and positive association with the cult Aussie ice-cream.
Lorna Jane is the top fashion brand with just under a million likes, followed closely by Bonds.
Coles was the only supermarket to make the list with over 700,000 fans, while many fast food players featured in the top 30, including McDonalds, KFC and Subway.
The top 30 Facebook pages by engagement, which measures the number of users ‘talking’ about a page, were all taken out by media outlets.
The report looked at the weeks from January 1 to June 1, 2014 and captured daily data at 12pm each day.
Ribeiro says the commonality of the brands that appeared in the top 30 was their emphasis on great content.
“Social media has progressed, that is clear, and Facebook has developed as channel. Some brands really understand that,” says Ribeiro.
“The smart brands are really understanding the key thing for Facebook is all telling stories.”
He says the brands that are really resonating with users are also those that use Facebook more visually, communicating with a distinct voice and tapping into a ‘human truth’, such as a desire for happiness (in the case of Coke) or greatness (in the case of Nike).
“They are also masters in evoking emotions, whether that be pride, love, empathy, lust,” says Ribeiro. “It misses point if it doesn’t tap into emotion.”
And in the light of Facebook’s recent controversial research, it is clear the emotional element of social media content is something brands must be aware of.
Kirsten Robb is a former journalist at SmartCompany. Previously, she worked at News Corp as a property reporter for Leader Newspapers and the Herald Sun, and holds a Masters of Journalism at Melbourne University.
