Wetpaint and Altimeter Group today unveiled a new report that attempts to measure the companies that are best using social media, tracking how 100 companies from the 2008 BusinessWeek/Interbrand Best Global Brands survey utilized Facebook, Twitter, wikis, and discussion forums. The report also found that those that engage in social media grew revenues on average by 18 percent. 

Starbucks led the list, followed by Dell, eBay, Google and Microsoft. Here are the top 10.

Starbucks (127)
Dell (123)
eBay (115)
Google (105)
Microsoft (103)
Thomson Reuters (101)
Nike (100)
Amazon (88)
SAP (86)
Tie – Yahoo!/Intel (85)

Here's what the report says about Starbucks, which notes that the company has more than 250,000 followers on Twitter and 3.5 million fans on Facebook.

Starbucks had one major advantage in its entry into social media — CEO Howard Schultz personally introduced and championed MyStarbucksIdea.com from the start. A core belief in the importance of customer engagement allowed the company to take risks and try new things as a matter of faith.

You can view the entire report here, which concludes:

The ENGAGEMENTdb Report shows that engagement is more than just setting up a blog and letting viewers post comments; it’s more than just having a Facebook profile and having others write on your wall. Rather, it’s keeping your blog content fresh and replying to comments; it’s building your friends network and updating your profile status.

Don’t just check the box; engage with your customer audience. Find your sweet spot. Engagement can’t be skin-deep, nor is it a campaign that can be turned on and off. True engagement means ful engagement in the channels where you choose to invest. Thus, choose carefully and advocate strongly to acquire the resources and support you will need to succeed.

John Cook is co-founder of TechFlash. Follow him on Twitter @johnhcook.