During my last “Creating a Social Media Plan” class, a client asked about a video they had recently seen about the growth of social media marketing. The video they were referring to, “Social Media Revolution” was posted by Socialnomics over a year ago, yet it’s still turning the heads of business people and marketers who see the value in using social media for business. According to “Social Media Revolution,” 25 percent of search results for the world’s top 20 brands are links to user-generated content. It also mentions that 34 percent of bloggers post opinions about products and brands. I’ve posted the video below. You should really watch it: it’s packed with even more evidence for why businesses should be using social media to connect with their customers.

The class also wanted to know some brands that do a good job with their social media. If you’re looking for some inspiration or just want to see some examples of social media marketing at its finest, try looking at the fan pages of Facebook’s top brands (determined by their number of fans):

1)      Facebook itself (are you surprised?)
2)      Starbucks
3)      YouTube
4)      Coca-Cola
5)      Oreo
6)      Skittles
7)      RedBull
8)      Victoria’s Secret
9)      Disney
10)    iTunes

Do you know a particular brand that you think is doing an exceptional job with their social media? Leave a comment and tell us.