With only three automotive manufacturer brands in digital agency Headstream’s ground-breaking research which results in the Social Brands 100, a report of the most influential brands in social media, dealers and manufacturers are being urged to focus on a higher level of engagement at this year’s AM Digital Dealer Conference.

The Conference, which takes place on September 12 at the Gaydon Heritage Centre in Warwickshire, explores the entire digital spectrum vital for success in today’s increasingly technological and digitally advanced marketplace.

Seat Mexico secured the highest ranking at number eight for automotive and UK-based Audi took the 35th position and Toyota came in at 78. The sophisticated metrics employed by Headstream to produce the report calculates which brands are the most influential within the ‘top three’ social media platforms – Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. It means that lesser known brands or even smaller companies have as much opportunity to feature in the ranking as well-known household brands because it is not based on the quantity of social media activity but the level of engagement and customer care obtained through social media interactions.

Maeve O’Sullivan heads up the Social Brands 100 project, which is now in its third year and saw 715 brands compete for a place in the top 100 whilst next year it is set to grow even further. She will explore ways in which some companies have succeeded in engaging with their online community compared to others with a particular focus on Facebook.

She said: “Having thousands of likes or followers isn’t much use if you’re not engaging with your community at a meaningful level. A business with just have a few hundred fans or followers and a consistent two-way flow of conversation is more likely to have a community willing to advocate on its behalf. It is this level of performance that we have set out to measure and some of the results are surprising.

“Next year we want to spread our net even further and we hope franchised dealerships and dealer groups nominate themselves so we can analyse how they fare against other industries and retail sectors as well as each other.”

Millions of interactions between brands and individuals were tracked by Headstream’s social media analytics partner Socialbakers on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube over a six week period during March and April 2013 to calculate the Data Score. There are three ways which a company can be incorporated in the mix – by nominating themselves, by being a past Social Brand nominee or by being a UK company already monitored by Socialbakers.

As well as identifying the Social Brands 100, the report also breaks down findings by industry sector creating a top 10 or even top 50, depending on representation. For 2014, Headstream is hopeful to create a new sector for automotive retail which will act as a benchmark of best practice for the franchised network. The 2013 report will be available to download from the AM website.

Tickets are available to dealers and manufacturers, to book, please contact Nicola Baxter on 01733 468289 or email nicola.baxter@bauermedia.co.uk or visit www.amdigitaldealer.co.uk