My hat is off to ENGAGEMENTdb – they did some great work profiling the top 100 socially engaged brands.

I was watching a Special K ad this evening – girlfriend helps girlfriend fit into her jeans again. Call to action? go to yahoo.com and track your weightloss with Special K. I thought to myself… “why would I do that?” Why would I go to Special K’s site to track my bowl of cereal?

Brands who want to engage with us socially need to meet us on our terms, put their sales message on the back burner and give us a reason to want to interact with their branded site. It can’t just be about their brand and their product.

So I felt a blog coming on! I went back to ENGAGEMENTdb’ s top 100 list and looked at the common traits of the most popular brands:

1. They go to where their customers are. (as opposed to buidling a bespoke site and expecting everyone to come to them)

2. They add value! Toyota 4×4 has a site that allows you to plan road trips, share off roading adventures and engage with other die hard 4×4 types to share ideas, destinations and commentary around all thins 4×4.

3. They are truly Social! Starbucks has a socially enabled site but have also made themselves visible on multiple networking sites. They’re everywhere their customers expect them to be.

4. They are using social media channels as their new customer service channel. Smart! Heck, people are talking about you anyway… may as well be there to right the wrongs, mitigate the frustrations or thank people for gushing about you.

Anyway, back to Special K. I checked out their site and was pleasantly surprised. They aren’t trying to get me to manage my bowls of cereal on their site… instead they are offering a holistic and thoughtful approach to being healthy. Everything from how to eat, how to rate your personal trainer and giving an opportunity to connect with others in the same boat.

I can also – print a coupon to save a buck. Join their Yahoo Group. Get a customized plan. I could even get a free DVD with 5 Special K stamps.

I like the campaign. But I’d take their campaign, and raise them:

1. A presence on multiple networking sites such as Twitter – I looked for Special K Challenge but found nada.

2. Rescueing their facebook groups – there are two identical groups – each has three members along with a group that claims they failed the challenge.

3. They could also find out where the frustrated and curvy women are online and join their conversations in an effort to provide support and offer their challenge.

4. A community manager to maintain the online presence within social networking sites as well as their special k group.

5. Generate some buzz with real life testimonies, or give their participants a reason to talk about the challenge.

I think it’s really smart that they’ve leveraged traditional media to drive consumers to their social sites. They’ve got a smart agency and a great campaign. Nicely done.