Cancer Research UK is the leading charity brand to feature in this year’s Social Brands 100 report for its use of social media.
It came in fourth in the overall league table, and 15 charities were included in the top 100 making the sector the second best represented. It was narrowly beaten by the travel and leisure industry, which has a 17 per cent share.
The analysis of brands’ use of social media was carried out by agency Headstream. Nominations were opened in January, and brands were nominated on Twitter using the hashtag #socialbrands100 and the account @socialbrands100.
More than 300 brands were nominated which were then assessed against 19 observable brand markers, designed to “measure the intensity of interactions between the brand and the individuals who make up the brand community”. They were assessed on their use of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Foursquare, Google+, and their own blogs or forums.
Each brand was then given a score out of 268.5 and the top 100 were then assessed by a panel of experts with a further 120 available.
Aaron Eccles, social media manager at Cancer Research UK said: “Social media is a vital way of helping us reach everyone who wants to engage with Cancer Research UK offering them new and exciting content from the latest developments in science to opportunities to get involved in campaigns to new ways to fundraise.”
The charity also topped a charity social 100 index that was carried out by Visceral Business last year. It has 250,000 Facebook fans and 40,000 Twitter followers.
Full list of charities featuring in the index:
Charity
| Rank | Data Score
| Panel Score
| Social Brand Score
|
Cancer Research UK
| 4
| 134
| 101
| 235
|
British Red Cross
| 5
| 129
| 104
| 233
|
ARKive
| 6
| 145
| 87
| 232
|
WWF
| 17
| 117
| 99
| 216
|
DoSomething.org
| 18
| 125
| 90
| 215
|
Help for Heroes
| 19
| 130
| 83
| 213
|
RSPB
| 23
| 129
| 83
| 212
|
National Trust
| 24
| 120
| 90
| 210
|
NSPCC
| 29
| 115
| 91
| 206
|
MS Society
| 38
| 110
| 92
| 202
|
British Heart Foundation
| 39
| 126
| 75
| 201
|
Diabetes UK
| 41
| 116
| 83
| 199
|
Marie Curie Cancer Care
| 41
| 119
| 80
| 199
|
RAF Benevolent Fund
| 71
| 117
| 61
| 178
|
VisitWoods
| 71
| 112
| 66
| 178
|
