From our Costa DeVault family to yours … Have a wonderful holiday season!

If I had to guess which Facebook pages are the most popular, I would chose Justin Bieber, Disney and MTV (not in that order). While they are on Facebook’s Top 100 Most Popular Facebook Pages In The World list, the chart toppers surprised me.

Currently, Coca-Cola^® is the most popular brand page on Facebook. Companies such as MTV and Starbucks aren’t even listed in the top 20. A recent USA Today article examined the ways in which Coke^® has begun to dominate the social media realm. Through the creation of smart phone applications and the use of contests and giveaways, the brand reached an unparalleled level of online intricacy.

While only a part of the company’s overall $2.9 billion advertising strategy, their efforts have clearly paid off. Wendy Clark, the company’s senior vice president of integrated marketing says that Coca-Cola places great emphasis on social media because consumers who follow their brand online are 10 times more likely to purchase their product. And it’s working: Coke’s beverage sales are up 6 percent worldwide year-to-date.

Coke has also earned respect on other social networks including YouTube, where its videos have been viewed 33.5 million times and Twitter, where it has 400,000 followers. While speculation is to be expected, Coke’s online success is nothing short of a well-calculated marketing takeover.

Earlier this month, Coca-Cola was named “Marketer of the Year” by Advertising Age, citing it as an example of how small and mid-sized brands also “can use creative stunts and strategic partnerships to get a lot done on a smaller budget.” This recognition further solidifies their claim as one of the best in online conversation. Coke’s secret? “Letting fans be fans,” says Michael Jedrzejewski, one of the pages’ original creators. “People are savvy enough to know when a Facebook page is contrived and manufactured.”

What are some of your favorite brand pages on Facebook? What sets them apart from the rest?

Kristin Serio is a social media coordinator at Costa DeVault. She enjoys piña coladas, long walks on the beach and a daily Diet Coke (or two).

The Costa DeVault team took a break last night to have some fun together at our annual holiday dinner at Enzo’s on the Lake. The night was filled with good food, great conversation, lots of laughs – and even better company! It’s safe to say that it was the perfect way to round out the 2011 year. All of us at Costa DeVault wish you and yours a happy, healthy holiday season!

For photos from last night’s dinner, visit on.fb.me/CDHolidayParty2011.

Thanks to the 24-hour news cycle we now enjoy, everyone’s had the opportunity to hear about Alec Baldwin’s latest Words With Friends snafu. (As a big Jack Donaghy fan, I am going to avoid comments about Mr. Baldwin personally and go right to my favorite development in this very newsworthy saga.) When asked about the incident, he responded saying, that the flight attendants have made flying a “Greyhound bus experience.” 

When I read his comment earlier this week I cringed a bit for Greyhound. Dragging them into the fight seemed unfair regardless of how off-the-cuff the statement may have been. Well, it looks like Greyhound’s CEO, Dave Leach, didn’t appreciate the shot either and decided to very tastefully stand up for his company, sending an open letter to Mr. Baldwin touting Greyhound’s service. The best sections of the letter were  summarized in this CNN article – http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/09/travel/alec-baldwin-greyhound-response/index.html?hpt=hp_c2 – including the CEO’s offer to meet Mr. Baldwin in New York and accompany him on a free trip to Boston so he could experience Greyhound’s service for himself. 

Touché, Mr. Leach. Whether it was his idea or that of some very astute PR advisor, this response was pitch-perfect. It would have been easy to ignore it and let the “Greyhound bus experience” perception persist. Instead, Greyhound took this as an opportunity to change the conversation and has gotten national attention as a result.  Who knows – maybe next time Mr. Baldwin will decide to go Greyhound.

Back in 2010, Mashable and Morgan Stanley reported that mobile Internet use is expected to exceed desktop access by 2014. More than a year later, skyrocketing mobile use is making this milestone more attainable every day. In fact, for all the time that users spend on their smartphones, just 45 percent of it is making calls … and when those same people see an ad on TV or in print, 71 percent of them search for more information using a mobile device.

Bottom line: If your website appears on any of your collateral materials (e.g., brochures, letterhead, business cards) or advertisements, and you don’t already have a mobile website, you’re missing out on potential business leads and supporters.

But it’s not as simple as optimizing your current website for mobile use. Think of it in terms of marketing to Baby Boomers vs. Millennials. It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach; you have to consider tone, message and attention span. The user on the go expects instant gratification – so your most important messages should be easy to find. For nonprofits, this may be your “Donate” page. For a restaurant, it should be “Locations” … and for a local government, it’s probably “Emergency Numbers.”

Whatever your industry, the need for a clutter-free and easy-to-use mobile site is crucial for keeping pace with competitors. With mobile use increasing by the minute, it’s important for brands to develop a site now … rather than play catch- up later.

What do you think are some of the most important characteristics of a mobile website?

This holiday season, Costa DeVault is giving away a free mobile site to one deserving Central Florida nonprofit – and we want you to help us choose the recipient. For more information, visit http://on.fb.me/rC1G20.

More and more companies are subscribing to the idea that giving back isn’t just the right thing to do – it’s good business, too. Corporate giving rose 10.6 percent in 2010, according to a recent report by the Giving USA Foundation.

Some organizations are taking philanthropy a step further, creating charitable campaigns that emphasize brand attributes and align with their business objectives.

Pepto-Bismol gave $1 to Feeding America for every Facebook fan who "liked" this photo.

While most Pepto-Bismol users are seeking relief from overeating, the brand’s Thanksgiving-themed Facebook campaign invited consumers to help those who don’t have full bellies. For every fan who “liked” a photo of “Modern Family” actor Eric Stonestreet posing with a turkey, the brand donated $1 to Feeding America.

A New York Times article about the effort noted that Pepto-Bismol’s parent company, Procter and Gamble, is no stranger to charitable initiatives capitalizing on product features, such as the Tide “Loads of Hope” and the Duracell “Power Relief” programs.

Meanwhile, the snack company Planters has funded several city park projects that feature elements like peanut-shaped trellises – promoting the iconic brand image while showcasing a commitment to earth-friendliness.

Done well, strategies like these can elevate consumer perceptions – and, of course, benefit deserving causes. Do you know of any other companies that incorporate brand attributes into their social responsibility efforts?

Mary Tindall is a staff writer at Costa DeVault. Pregnancy-induced heartburn is making her seriously consider sipping some Pepto-Bismol.