Facebook has AppData, Twitter has Twitaholic, and now Google+ has its own independent brand page rankings site: ZoomSphere (http://www.zoomsphere.com/charts/googleplus). It shows which brands have the most followers, activity, +1s, shares, and comments, and slice the data by time, page category, and country. Oddly, the site doesn't rank user profiles like SocialStatistics (http://socialstatistics.com/) does — just brand pages. Still, by augmenting its existing charts for Facebook and Twitter, ZoomSphere could become a comprehensive resource for brands charting their own performance, assessing competitors, or scoping for potential partners.
So who's winning six weeks after Google+ launched brand pages (http://techcrunch.com/2011/11/07/google-launches-pages-opens-floodgates-for-brands-and-everything-else/)? Mostly news outlets, bands, and technology companies. Considering that Google+ is notorious for Google fanboys, it's little surprise that Android tops the international follower charts, and 6 Google properties reside in the top 25. Mashable, The New York Times, Breaking News, and TechCrunch are all in the top 20. The most popular bands reveal a slightly more mature demographic on Google+, with older acts like Coldplay, Train, and Pearl Jam ranking significantly higher than on Facebook or Twitter.
No brands have come close to reaching 1 million followers, while only 3 individuals — Britney Spears, Larry Page, and Snoop Dogg — have accomplished the feat. This shows that mainstream users who casually subscribe to lots of their favorite brands and celebrities haven't joined Google+'s 63 million registered users yet (http://techcrunch.com/2011/12/27/googleplus/). Instead, avid technologists and news readers courted by the social network's invite-only launch seem to make up its core user base.
One myth that could be dispelled by ZoomSphere's charts? That there are no women on Google+. High rankings for country duo Sugarland, Burberry, and H&M which claims the #4 spot seem to suggest otherwise.
In terms of features and feel, ZoomSphere offers a solid product. Charts and graphs look polished, its easy to compare different pages, and the option to view by country reveals some interesting demographic distinctions. For example, Dell ranks #17 worldwide, but as #2 in the UK, showing Apple's rise might not be so swift in Britain.
Some features that could improve ZoomSphere would be Google+ user profile charts, and the ability to view a single brand across its Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ presences. Established market research providers have been slow to launch Google+ brand charts, giving ZoomSphere an opportunity to become the go-to source for this data. Now it just needs Google to improve these pages (http://techcrunch.com/2011/11/07/google-facebook-pages/) so more brands actually want them.
Here's the complete top 20 chart of Google+ brand pages by follower count as of 12/28/2011: - Android (https://plus.google.com/104629412415657030658/posts) – 289,000
- Coldplay (https://plus.google.com/115209943765910868932/posts)- 180,000
- Mashable (https://plus.google.com/113493854651753327245/posts) – 179,000
- H&M (https://plus.google.com/115900903196483234016/posts) – 166,000
- Train (https://plus.google.com/104459480948960105365/posts) - 160,000
- The All-American Rejects (https://plus.google.com/116001483635760411184/posts) – 158,000
- Marvel (https://plus.google.com/108523337373444601877/posts) – 157,00
- Linkin Park (https://plus.google.com/108224757437677099038/posts) – 156,000
- Pearl Jam (https://plus.google.com/104698289369046443369/posts) – 152,000
- Sugarland (https://plus.google.com/103738534522130014943/posts) – 148,000
- The New York Times (https://plus.google.com/107096716333816995401/posts) – 139,000
- Breaking News (http://www.zoomsphere.com/charts/googleplus/all/pages/215/breaking-news) - 131,000
- TechCrunch (https://plus.google.com/103037366582313115962/posts) – 129,000
- Google Chrome (https://plus.google.com/100585555255542998765/posts) – 129,000
- Anderson Cooper 360 (https://plus.google.com/106168900754103197479/posts) – 118,000
- Amazon.com (https://plus.google.com/110356773655474889799/posts)- 118,000
- Dell (http://www.zoomsphere.com/charts/googleplus/all/pages/169/dell) - 117,000
- Google+ (https://plus.google.com/101560853443212199687/posts) – 115,000
- Good Morning America (https://plus.google.com/116806352365658350717/posts) - 115,000
- ESPN (https://plus.google.com/107691344676291850790/posts) - 103,000
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