THE SOCIAL MEDIA REVOLUTION 529Commercial videos to the site typically receive the best reaction, ahead of text updates,
photos and then articles. Marketers also seem to be making more regular eff orts to refresh
their pages, with 43 brands now posting at least three times a week.^204 Cadbury UK is the fi rst
brand in the Google+ ranking with 1.36 million followers, followed by Ferrari (0.90 million),
H&M (0.86 million), Virgin (0.85 million) and Red Bull (0.76 million) completing the top
fi ve.^205 In the global charts of ‘branded’ Facebook pages, Coca-Cola takes fi rst position hav-
ing 42.3 million fans in May 2012. Th is FMCG brand is followed by Disney (36 million),
Converse (30.8 million) and Starbucks (30.2 million). Red Bull completes the top fi ve with
28.3 million fans.^206One of the most inspiring stories about social media is the Coca-Cola Facebook page. The timeline starts with the
real beginning of the brand in May 1886.^207 This fan page was initially not even created by Coca-Cola itself but by
two brand fans, Dusty and Michael. They were searching for The Coca-Cola Fan Page on Facebook, but because
they could not find one that felt official enough, they decided to create one themselves. This page turned out to be
the largest product fan page on Facebook. Coca-Cola rewarded the two creators by bringing them to Atlanta and
giving them a tour of the Coke facility. The fan page remains theirs, but now they have the blessing and help of
Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola marketing team are still involving Dusty and Michael in many activities: they made a
video of the history behind the fan page, they baked a big celebration cake for the 25 million fans, etc. By empower-
ing the fans to keep their Facebook page, Coke ensured passionate page owners.^208
At first glance, the Coca-Cola fan page seems generic, but on taking a closer look, this page is really a testament
to the brand’s commitment to user participation. Firstly, Coca-Cola is displaying user-created content in its main
page wall feed by default, which means that the page is really powered by user-generated content, good and bad.
Another way that Coca-Cola stands out is in its approach to photo albums. It has a number of albums showing off
the product, workers at the company, pictures of Coke fans, Coke products from all around the world and pictures
of old Coke nostalgia. The photo albums reflect that Coca-Cola is also a collector’s item.BUSINESS INSIGHT
The Coca-Cola Facebook pageWhen Facebook introduced its Timeline format for brand pages in December 2011, it gave
marketers additional opportunities on their pages for more emphasis on images and engage-
ment on the wall. On the fi rst page a wide-open space was created that can be fi lled with a
unique image representing the brand at its best or even a banner ad or the announcement of
a promotion or event. It is the fi rst thing people see when they visit a Facebook page. Filling
out the timeline shows a more human side of the brand: the history of the brand, most
memorable events, packaging changes, marketing campaigns, information about the people
working for the brand, etc., can all be plotted on the timeline. Another feature that came with
the introduction of the Timeline layout is the possibility of highlighting posts by displaying
the update across the width of the page, giving more weight to key news. Another new option
is the ‘Pin to Top’, which extends the life of the content. When Red Bull pinned a month-old
video of its sponsored skier Bobby Brown to its Facebook brand page, the post received 2000
more ‘Likes’. Social media users are continuously bombarded with information, so pinning
helps to cut through the noise and ensure that fans will see the best posts.^209M15_PELS3221_05_SE_C15.indd 529M15_PELS3221_05_SE_C15.indd 529 6/6/13 8:55 AM6/6/13 8:55 AM