Facebook Stats: Top 10 Countries, Brands, Pages and More

Thanks to Hurricane Sandy I have been able to spend some quality time at home, which has also meant some great reading. I came across this great compilation of Facebook Stats by Simply Zesty and thought I would share.

Top 10 Countries
With 1 billion users world wide I don't think this list comes as a surprise, but it is interesting to see who compiles the 1 billion.

 

Top 10 Pages
It's a mix of YouTube, Google and celebrities.

 

Top 10 Brand Pages
I think we pretty much all know that every large brand has a Facebook page. Whether it is a good one or not can be debated, but most brands have adopted a page to round out their online and Social Media presence.

 

Top 10 Celebrity Pages
Celebrities (aka personal brands) have also adopted Facebook as a medium for getting their image out. Here are the most popular celeb pages:

Top 10 Media Pages
Interesting to see how far ahead Facebook, Youtube and MTV are in relation to the others. There are absolutely no newspapers or traditional media outlets in the top ten.

StartUp Watch: 3 Startups For Events

1. Planana
Planana is a ticketing and promotion dashboard for your event.There are so many ticketing sites out there, and this is not one that stands out for that. It is their promotion service that peaked my interest. Planana helps you set up your own event dashboard, and a reward system for your attendees. The system doles out discounts, VIP Access etc. in exchange for social sharing. An attendee shares the event on twitter or facebook, and they are guaranteed 40% off their ticket. All the rules are set by you, and you not only get additional publicity, but an easy ticketing platform.


2. Instagram Booth
BYO Booth is a photo booth platform based on Instagram. All you need to do is set up an Instagram hashtag for your event and the software will look for attendees pictures. You can then decide to stream them on a slideshow, create your own living wall at your event, post them to Facebook or print them. Pretty simple, yet extremely interactive and helpful for picture collection at events.

3. Refynr
The Refynr platform provides the technology for event producers to display live tweets on large screens during events. Producers can also create an interface for attendees to check or send tweets directly via a Twitter login. Great for conferences that require live tweet walls as well as other events where you want to capture the buzz. Just remember, live tweet walls means un-curated discussion...you can't control what is being said about your event, product etc.

Sources: eventmanager blog

Viral Video Friday

Happy Friday! As always here are the hottest videos on the web this week!

Besides that, I thought everyone could use a laugh...here is 3 Idiots 1 Car for what not to do when your car is stalled on a hill!

Don't forget to Like BENG! on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter with @BENGNY.

Check us out at www.bengny.com

Tip For Conferences

This app will definitely help take conferences to the next level. I can’t wait for the day that you can get rid of printed agendas and schedules. No longer to have to worry about last minute scheduling changes, misprints and spelling mistakes. All can be taken care of in a few seconds when you use a mobile and interactive app like DoubleDutch Flock.

The app is an award-winning interactive mobile app that engages attendees and provides them with event content. Attendees can read the sessions, check in and publish comments and participate in engaging and topical conversations with their peers at the conference. The Flock app is social and attendees can link the app to their Twitter and Facebook Accounts for more interactivity.

The app helps conference producers too. You can forget the printed materials, hardware, scanners etc. Most attendees come in using smart phones and/or tablets so downloading the Flock app either before the conference or during registration shouldn’t be a problem at all. And don’t forget the app will allow for branding pre, during and post event. So you can make sure your message is carried around with each and every attendee.

Kraft's Special Thank You

Kraft has gone all out to engage their fans this year. It probably has a lot to do with the brand's latest addition to their team - Social Media Guru Bonin Bough who left PepsiCo to take on the Kraft challenge. Most recently, Kraft's Macaroni & Cheese Facebook page posted a message: Like this post and you never know what may happen. A couple of days later, fans found out exactly what Kraft meant:

You LIKE a brand and its posts. But does it ever LIKE you back? KRAFT Macaroni & Cheese does. That’s why, with the help of The YellowJackets a capella group, we’re personally thanking our fans who showed us love by “liking” our Facebook posts.

The direct response was great, not only was the video of Likeapella sharable, it was a fun and engaging way to thank fans and the brand's target audience. Creating a direct link between company and audience is every company's main goal through social media. Rarely is it a such an honest and authentic piece as this.

Check out the video here:

Other Kraft Posts:

Two Old Ladies Now Running Social Media for Kraft Mac & Cheese

Kraft Social Media

Viral Video Friday: Mini Thrill Bench

Viral Video Friday is finally here again! Check out the week's most viral videos at the BENG!NY site. Don't forget to Like us on Facebook too, so that you can keep up with all of our fun and marketing goodness during the week!

Have you seen the The MINI Thrill Bench promotion yet? Mini launched their MINI John Cooper Works Countryman in February with a great guerrilla campaign. A specially prepared Thrill Bench was created and placed through out the city of Geneva for the International Motor Show. The benches were placed at bus stops, public places close to traffic and in front of luxury hotels. As soon as passers-by took a seat on the bench, a MINI John Cooper Works Countryman drove up. Not only that, but strong vibrations triggered by sitting on the bench were synched with the powerful sound of the MINI. A great promotion filled with surprise, and info on the car itself.

3 New, Fun and Useful Event Tools

Today I want to highlight some great, new event tools out there. These start ups should make our lives as Event Planners and Brand Marketers a little easier - and more fun!

DoubleDutch
This company let's you create your own branded mobile app for your event. The apps provide great analysis, allow you to communicate to your attendees, and provides a social aspect. Get all your attendees plugged in before, during and after the event. The app will run on all smartphones and tablets - so you no longer have to choose between Apple and Android.

Quench Buggy
This start up provides sage, clean, mobile water stations for events. No longer do you have to worry about how to get water to all your festival goers. Any remote location can now have water without the water bottle waste. Produce some branded re-usable water bottles and hey presto...you have water!

Social Pix
Who doesn't consider event integration with Facebook. It is a trend that is definitely here to stay. Social Pix allows a photographer to take a picture that is then sent to an upload kiosk. The picture is then ready to upload onto Facebook and be Liked! See here for how it works: Social Pix


For more event tools check out:
- Event Manager Blog

Viral Friday!

Happy Friday! Here are some great marketing pieces I picked up this week and of course, for the top 5 viral videos of the week visit our site for our Viral Friday collection.



Durex Naked Box Design Australia
Naked Box is an online design competition where Australians compete for the opportunity fo have their art featured on a packs of Durex condoms and sold worldwide. Contestants are able to upload their designs via the Durex Facebook Page or create their designs right on the page. The designs will be featured in a gallery for people to vote on. Ultimately 6 finalists will be chosen. In the mean time Durex plans to hand out hundreds of prizes per week. Vote for your local design and send your country to the top of the list. You have until April 17th to get your design and votes in. And of course, make sure you read the design guidelines before you start. You have to keep your look world friendly :)

 Floating Graffiti

Boa Mistura, a Spanish art collective organized a community graffiti project in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The artists worked together with locals to paint inspiring words in the small winding passages of the city. When the designs are viewed at certain angle, they create the illusion of the messages floating in air. See the pics below, the positive message and the bright colors are great!

Love

Sweetness

Beauty

Papertweetos - Coca Cola Prints Tweets as Confetti

Coca Cola teamed up with Ogilvy Argentina to create a fun Social Media gone experiential campaign. As part of local football tradition, fans always trow paper with fan messages on to the pitch and around the stadium. In an attempt to boost encouragement of the Argentinean national team and engage Coca Cola fans, the company created a hashtag where fans could Tweet their messages for the team. The messages were printed out and launched into the air as the national team took to the pitch. There was a total of 2 million messages.

[PSFK, Inspiration Room]

Domino's Think Oven - Outsourcing Innovation to Customers

I really admire the way in which Domino's engages with their in restaurant staff and their customer community. Listening to their customers helped them turn around their pizzas - and their sales - and helped them become one of the leading brands in the US today. Remember the Raising the Bar campaign we posted about last year?

Domino's continues its customer engagement program this year by creating a new campaign - Think Oven - a Facebook app which lets fans suggest and influence how the brand functions. The brand is opening itself up to ideas for products, customer interaction, online presence and quality. There are 2 main drives behind the campaign: The Project Box and the The Idea Box. Fans can suggest projects, ideas, improvements or anything they would like to see fall under the Domino brand. The best and most well written/visualized ideas will be rewarded not only by Domino's exploring the idea, but also with a cash prize.

[Simply Zesty]
[CP+B]

Fun Valentine's Day Promotions

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! There are so many online Valentine's Day promotions, Social Media is lavishing in the day and if you haven't seen Google's homepage today...you should! Make sure you have your volume up. Heineken is also on target with their Serenade on Facebook. Here are two other cute Valentine's Day promotions:

Dove Displays V-Day Tweets on Screen in London Subway
Dove, a Unilever brand, is continuing the theme to their "Campaign for Beauty." On Monday asked consumers, What makes you feel beautiful? Users were able to respond via Twitter, and their responses were displayed on the big screen in Victoria Station. Today, for Valentine's Day, Dove is asking its consumers What do you love about your Valentine? Approximately 350,000 people pass through Victoria Station per day which gives Dove an amazing target audience for their campaign. In addition to the Twitter board, Dove ambassadors will be in the station handing out white tulips to commuters to share with their Valentine.

Innocent Smoothies Prints Personalized Valentines On Their Labels
Innocent always has great promotions. The last one we posted was back in 2011 for the Holidays - The Innocent Wooly Hats promotion. The brand's newest campaign is for Valentine's Day. Consumers can go on to the specially designed Innocent V-Day Microsite and personalize an Innocent bottle label with their own message and graphics. The label can be printed out and glued onto a smoothie bottle. The label can also be shared on Facebook and Twitter.

Any other promotions that you love out there? Share them with us. We would love to know why you love them.

Happy #Viral Friday!

It's beautiful outside today...enjoy your #Viral Friday New Yorkers because we are getting some snow tomorrow! Click HERE for your fun #Viral Friday videos and the funniest vids on the web this week.

Have a great weekend!

P.S. If you are on Pinterest - follow our fun and fabulous finds here. Don't forget to like BENG! on Facebook and follow us on Twitter too!

#Viral Friday!

Happy Friday everyone! I can't wait for the weekend to start. So many last minute gifts still to buy, plus those wonderful Holiday windows to check out on 5th Avenue. Tonight I will be at Radio City Music Hall for the Christmas Spectacular - a NYC staple during the holiday season. Can't wait!

So, let's get this weekend started! Here are the top viral videos on the web this week. Enjoy!

 Want more fun? Check us out on Facebook and on Twitter @BENGNY

25 Social Media Articles You Must Read

Simply Zesty - my new favorite weekly read - has compiled 25 Unmissable Social Media Articles from the last week. Might be a great idea to save them and read them over the holidays when you are nice and comfy on the couch preparing yourself for the new year!

The TechCrunch blogger talks about becoming a venture capitalist at the CrunchFund

Is the Internet the “Paris” of the new millennium?

Answers to 31 Social Media Questions You’re Too Shy to Ask

How Ideas Spread With Social Media

Tweets cause US death row conviction to be overturned

Sean Parker: There are Too Many Startups and VCs

The New Twitter (R.I.P. Tweetie)

A Twitter for My Sister

The new, new Twitter: 10 big takeaways

Sarah Lacy And Mike Arrington Are Starting TechCrunch 2.0

Flipboard launches sleek iPhone app with new ‘Cover Stories’ section

Spotify Radio gets a big makeover, goes truly unlimited

Mark It Down: June 6, 2012

Sorry, Folks, Bill Gates Is Not Coming Back to Microsoft

Exclusive: Facebook Does A Major Reorg Around Key Products

Marissa Mayer at LeWeb: Google+ Was a Pleasant Surprise

Teaching Ventures Catch the Programming Wave

Apple job openings hinting at Siri API, prettier interface and additional languages

Sean Parker Invests In Music Startup StageIt

It’s a start: Facebook begins Timeline rollout in New Zealand

Library of Congress says Twitter archive will build “unique record of our time”

Gowalla Founders v. Gowalla Investors

Yahoo News is seeing huge returns from Facebook’s Open Graph, is this the future of Flickr?

Why business execs shouldn’t read the Steve Jobs biography

Google Chairman, Eric Schmidt, speaks at Le Web:

inShar

Heineken BeerFriender

Heineken have been on a role this year with all of their promotions. This one is no different. The company has launched a new social campaign to promote their BeerTender. If you don't have one at home, you should definitely consider getting one. The beer is delicious out of the mini keg...much better than out  of the bottle.

Anyway, Heineken identified an issue with the BeerTender during the holiday season. Everyone wants to get one for themselves, which doesn't fit with the spirit of the season. So, they created a Facebook App, the BeerFriender, where people can connect with others who would also like a BeerTender for the holidays. Basically, you buy each other a BeerTender - comes complete with gift wrap and card - so you don't have to feel selfish...and why not make some new friends for the new year!

The World of Social Media 2011

The Dutch company Video Infographs has created a short video infographic on the major stats for all Social Media Sites for 2011. The video, which includes stats on Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Instagram, Youtube, LinkedIn and Google+, was compiled to help promote the services of Video Infographs, actually has some solid usable stats. The video gives you a good idea on how the platforms were used during 2011. Although some stats are a little silly - hint - 60% of people surveyed admit to using their smartphones while going to the bathroom.