The Chicago Cubs taught the world last week that nothing lasts forever, especially when you define forever as 108 years. And Sir Isaac Newton, well before Blood Sweat & Tears’ Spinning Wheel, said, not sang, “What goes up, must come down.”
Those two bits of knowledge explain this week’s Data Dive, where, for the first time in quite awhile, consumer engagement with U.S. B2C brands’ posts are down, according to Shareablee data provided exclusively to PR News Pro. Defined here as the sum of likes and comments, consumer engagement with B2C brands’ videos also was down year over year for Q3 for the first time in recent memory.
Specifically, consumer engagement, or actions, with B2C brands on Facebook was down 20% in Q3. Engagement was down 11% for video in the July 1-September 30 timeframe. Total posts slid 12%, too. “Brands concentrated on other platforms,” says Shareablee’s Nathalie Nuta.
The downward tilt, which had to come eventually and is not believed to be significant, doesn’t diminish th
e brands that grew and/or made the list of top 30 most-engaged B2C brands on Facebook for Q3. Red Bull took the top spot, with more than 11 million actions, 2 million more than Lenovo, at number two. A prominent social media player, the energy drink’s total is a 109% jump vs its Q3 2015 number. The brand’s performance was powered by video, says Nuta, who notes vids were 99% of all consumer actions with Red Bull’s posts during the quarter. Computer hardware maker Lenovo’s top post called for fans to send in their renditions of emojis.
Of the top 5 brands on this list, only Starbucks also appears on the most-engaged lists for Instagram and Twitter in Q3, Nuta says.
We asked Arby’s what propelled it onto the list. Arby’s has begun “tappping into passionate audiences...through entertainment and pop culture references,” says Christopher Fuller, SVP, communictions. It’s also connected with gamers and hunters. “We’ve found being authentic...is increasing engagement,” Fuller adds.
