BMW and Ford Make Up Top Canadian Auto Brands on Social Media

TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 03/27/15 -- Technology and data company Engagement Labs (TSX VENTURE: EL), creator of the eValue" score, today released the top ten Canadian automotive manufacturers based on their social media performance on Facebook and Twitter during the last six months.

According to the eValue data, the top ten automobile manufacturers in Canada are:

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Ranking                             Facebook                         Twitter
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1                                 BMW Canada                     Ford Canada
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2                                Ford Canada                   Nissan Canada
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3                                 GMC Canada                      Kia Canada
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4                               Acura Canada                    Honda Canada
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5                            Chrysler Canada                      BMW Canada
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6                               Volvo Canada                 Chrysler Canada
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7                               Honda Canada               Volkswagen Canada
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8                              Toyota Canada                   Subaru Canada
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9                              Subaru Canada            Mercedes-Benz Canada
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10                               Audi Canada                       GM Canada
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The Canadian automotive industry has experienced about three percent growth in sales this past January and February. This highly competitive sector in Canada is in a race to remain relevant with Canadian consumers. Social media strategies are now imbedded in all Canadian auto manufacturers' marketing plans to drive loyalty, brand affinity, and sales.

"Our analysis shows that automakers engage in conversations with their followers about new model launches, post images that would interest their followers and share industry news to drive brand equity," said Bryan Segal, Chief Executive Officer of Engagement Labs.

BMW Canada, the top performer on Facebook, has a social strategy that focuses on building a social community of BMW drivers by connecting with the user. They use hashtags regularly like the #BMWStories hashtag, which allows the user to lead the conversation. They have well-formatted pictures of cars in various settings that increase the product desirability. BMW posts reflect current events such as St. Patrick's Day and #TBT while still including their products within those posts. Ford Canada, the top performer on Twitter, engages with their followers by posting unique hashtags such as #FordChatCA enabling them to foster organic conversation and rewarding users that do with giveaways. Ford's page is also community oriented by posting event happenings that feature the brand.

Here is the ranking of Facebook fan growth and Twitter follower growth over the past six months. This data shows that brands may have different social strategies in regards to fan acquisition efforts on either Facebook or Twitter.

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                         Facebook Fan Growth        Twitter Followers Growth
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1                       Mercedes-Benz Canada                   Toyota Canada
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2                                 GMC Canada                     Ford Canada
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3                                Ford Canada               Volkswagen Canada
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4                              Nissan Canada               Mitsubishi Motors
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5                               Mazda Canada                       GM Canada
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6                                 Kia Canada               Honda Canada Inc.
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7                               Acura Canada                      BMW Canada
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8                             Hyundai Canada                     Audi Canada
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9                         Subaru Canada Inc.            Mercedes-Benz Canada
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10                           Chrysler Canada                    Mazda Canada
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Segal adds, "This fan growth ranking proves that auto manufacturing companies in Canada continue to invest in the growth of their communities on these social platforms. It is interesting to see that many of the fastest growing fan bases may not necessarily be the top ranked eValue scoring leaders on Facebook and Twitter. The exception is Ford Canada, whose eValue score is high, and continues to drive growth on both channels."

About Engagement Labs

eValue Analytics is the global standard for social media scoring, leveraging more than 300 conventional social media metrics to provide a single comprehensive and benchmarked score against 75,000+ handpicked, verified brands which includes marketers, advertisers publishers and broadcasters across the globe.

The eValue score is composed of Engagement, Impact and Responsiveness metrics. Engagement is the level of interaction content receives on a specific social network, Impact is the reach content receives on a specific social network, and Responsiveness measures how much, how fast and how well a brand responds to actual conversations amongst its users.

Engagement Labs (TSX VENTURE: EL) offers intelligent social data, analytics and insights for organizations that are actively engaging on social networks. Offered as a SaaS or through an API, the eValue" analytics platform allows brands to measure and maximize the effectiveness of their social media marketing campaigns, as well as measure that of their competitors across major social networks Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Engagement Labs maintains offices in Montreal, Toronto and Paris. www.engagementlabs.com / www.eValueanalytics.com

Contacts:
KCSA Strategic Communications
Kate Tumino
212-896-1252
[email protected]

KCSA Strategic Communications
Cait Kilpatrick
212-896-1231
[email protected]

Source: Engagement Labs Inc.

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