Brand's fan trends: Tropolis boosts Pepsi fans, iTunes and Skype big on Twitter

(2010 Facebook)

New entry Pepsi tops this week's Facebook charts as iTunes variations appear frequently in Twitter's most followed brands and Skype's recent connectivity problems send it up the Twitter charts.

New entry on the Facebook charts Pepsi shoots straight into the number one spot after attracting over 23,000 new fans per day.

 The brand recently announced its intentions to launch a new "drinkable snack" known as Tropolis. According to a December 16 statement on the brand's website, the new drinkable snack will contain no added sugars or sweeteners and "will have mom appeal." Pepsi states that the brand will be launched on limited release in 2011 and if successful the product will be released in markets outside of the USA in 2012. The brand also regularly posts about its Pepsi Refresh project on Facebook. The Refresh project donates money to a variety of worthy causes around the globe each month; more information can be found at www.refresheverything.com.  

Sprite - the other new entry on the Facebook charts  - debuts in sixth position after attracting over 2,000 fans per day.

Apple services are the most popular in this week's Twitter chart,s with variations of iTunes appearing three times. The appearance of internet calling service Skype in seventh position can most likely be attributed to the brand's recent connectivity issues as Skype users flock to Twitter to find information about service updates or vent their grievances. 

Energy drinks brand Red Bull, consistently popular in the Facebook charts, appears in second position in the Twitter listings. The brand is frequently associated with extreme sports and music events and has produced a series of popular commercials featuring these two activities.

As of Thursday, December 23, the ten biggest product brands on Facebook and Twitter in terms of "fans today" and "followers today" (with (+ /-) indicating a change from last week's position), according to fanpagelist.com*, were:

Facebook

1. Pepsi (+23,469 fans today) new entry
2. YouTube (+5,877 fans today) +1
3. Red Bull (+4,798 fans today) -2
4. Coca-Cola (+3,881 fans today) +3
5. PlayStation (+3,812 fans today) -1
6. Sprite (+2,400 fans today) new entry
7. iTunes (+2,257 fans today) +2
8. Disneyland (+2,249 fans today) -2
9. Skittles (+2,112 fans today) re-entry
10. Converse All Star (+1,952 fans today) re-entry

Twitter

1. YouTube (+993 followers today)
2. Red Bull (+367 followers  today)
3. iTunes (+317 followers today)
4. iTunes Music  (+317 followers today)
5. PlayStation (+293 followers today)
6. Adidas Running (+155 followers today)
7. Skype (+140 followers today)
8. Digg 2000 (+76 followers today)
9. Arizona Iced Tea (+51 followers today)
10. iTunes Trailers (+44 followers today)

* Fanpagelist ( http://fanpagelist.com/)  provides daily rankings of brands' Facebook fans and Twitter followers.