Intro

The F1 Social Media Index is a league table of the 11 F1 race teams involved in the 2013 FIA Formula One World Championship, ranked according to the best use of social media by the teams’ official club channels.

Published annually by PR and social media agency Umpf with partners William Hill, the table is compiled by measuring the performance of each team based, not just on our custom algorithm, but research from a team of nine people who looked at eight social networks, as well as a panel of four judges who presided over the results.

Well done to Lotus who claimed overall top spot– see case study below -- and congratulations also go to the Williams and Red Bull teams who claimed second and third places respectively.

Adrian Johnson MD, PR and social media agency, Umpf

Methodology

There are three elements to our methodology – with a maximum score of 100 being attainable.

The first element (which accounted for 65% of the total score) was a full analysis of each team’s social channels. The analysis uses data from the 01st August 2013 to the 30th September 2013.

Scores given at this stage took into account the breadth of official social channels including Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Vine, Twitter, Google+ and whether or not they have a blog. The scores also took into account community growth and engagement on Twitter and Facebook, weighted fairly to reflect the number of fans or followers the accounts already had.

Other considerations at this stage included a score for the breadth of multimedia content posted on Twitter

and Facebook, including video, images, audio, official apps and external links.

The second element to our methodology was the judges’ scoring. Judges marked each team and the combined total from the judges were added together and averaged to give a final additional score for each team. This element accounted for a maximum 35% of the total scoring.

The final element to our methodology was the implementation of ‘Black Flag’ penalties: 2.5% was deducted from the final score for each social media malpractice, including duplicate content, failure to use hashtags, idle periods of four or more days as well as repeated spelling and grammar mistakes.

This grand total was used to rank the 11 F1 teams in the final F1 Social Media Index.

Table

Click the red button for the full F1 Social Media Index ranking.

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Formula 1 league table

Case Study

Lotus

Lotus achieved pole position in the inaugural F1 Social Media Index by generating fantastic engagement with a unique tone of voice across all channels; their content isn’t afraid to be ‘cheeky’ as demonstrated by the Facebook post below, which generated almost 10,000 likes and an impressive 3,500+ shares.

The judges awarded high scores not just for the breadth of platforms used by Lotus, but the manner in which they were utilised to their full potential. Lotus is one of just three Formula One teams to be active across all eight channels monitored by the algorithm, although judges did note that its Vine content was sporadic.

The Oxfordshire-based constructor accumulated strong Facebook growth and high levels of engagement, while behind-the-scenes footage, photos and interviews were a highlight of their output during the two-month analysis. Lotus were clear winners, almost 10% ahead of runner-up Williams.

Case study:
Tom Scott, UMPF

Judges

  • Simon Banoub

    Director of marketing at sport data experts Opta

    Simon is Director of Marketing at sport data experts Opta. Simon has responsibility for the global Opta brand and has been involved in the development of the successful Opta Twitter accounts, such as @OptaJoe, which boasts over 450,000 followers as well as positioning the company as the leading providers of sports data.

  • Michael Sheehan

    Social Media Customer Experience Manager at William Hill Online

    Michael is the Social Media Customer Experience Manager at William Hill Online, currently based in their Gibraltar office he is involved in defining the policies and practices that enable William Hill employees to engage with customers through Social Media.

  • Amy Byard

    SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT MANAGER, UMPF

    Amy is a PR and Social Media Account Manager at Umpf, with a keen interest in data analysis. She has proven experience compiling indices and league tables based on qualitative and quantitative data. Amy ranked #14 in The Drum’s 30 Women in Digital Under 30 2013.

  • Tom Scott

    SOCIAL MEDIA Account Executive, UMPF

    Tom is an Account Executive at Umpf, he possesses a deep knowledge of sport and social media. Recently shortlisted for the Mark Hanson award at the UK Social Media Awards, which recognises the brightest and most promising social media communicator under 30 years old.