Apple leads the way for brand image and innovation

Apple has topped the TLG Index of Thought Leaders, scoring 21.69. It was followed by the John Lewis Partnership and Google, which obtained 19.53 and 18.88 respectively.

The study assessed the ability of organisations to set the agenda, such as on social networking sites, as well as enjoying favourable corporate reputations.

John Lewis was highlighted as performing well this year - coming above rivals such as Marks & Spencer - due to its employee-owned model, which chair of TLGInsights Jonathan Walsh said "captured the zeitgeist".

Interestingly, he claimed Google's fall into third place, after topping the table in 2007 and 2008, comes partly from the introduction of Google+. The social media offering is seen as trying to keep up with Twitter and Facebook, rather than having its finger on the pulse in the first place.

However, this does not take away from the fact that having a Google+ account is important for businesses because of the recent changes to Google Search, where posts from the social media platform will soon show up on search results.

In addition, companies will be able to help set the agenda among their followers by regularly updating their social media content with interesting and relevant content.

Even smaller, more locally-orientated businesses can enjoy social media success, particularly as any stories they publish on their profiles will tend to be niche but relevant to their audience.

How are you trying to set the agenda among your customers?