How do you calculate ROI when it comes to Social Media? How do you measure buzz? How do you quantify the seemingly unquantifiable?

I’m not sure. And I don’t think anyone else is really sure yet either. But there sure are lots of nice lists of brands ‘doing’ Social Media well.

This list from US event and community building company Social Fresh is an interesting starting point for debate.

They asked brands, agencies and vendors for their top three brands using Social Media and the usual suspects were there – Ford, Starbucks, Dell… as well as some that aren’t as well known over here in NZ. Like Best Buy and Chevrolet.

 The guys from Social Fresh make a couple of interesting points, which they found from the survey:

·         Judges looked, very often, toward mastering multiple platforms in concert

·         Car, beverage, and computer companies own the list

Their survey was by no means exhaustive, but it’s wise to note that simply having a presence on one platform isn’t seen as being different or dynamic anymore; it’s just standard procedure now. Also, the sectors with lots of resources are perhaps still the ones to create the most buzz because they can afford to facilitate different platforms.

Anyway, it’s been a area of debate in our office at Bullet HQ today. What’s you take on these sort of lists?