Ways Fast Food Chains Can Add a Little Flavor to Social Media

December 17, 2014

Fast food has remained constant in the diets of Americans ever since White Castle first opened its doors in 1921. Nine years later, Kentucky Fried Chicken hit the scene and, in 1940, McDonald’s developed the restaurant assembly line making food preparation much faster and more convenient for customers. Fast-food chains have had loyal customers from their first flip of a burger and that allegiance remains true today. Even amidst the ever-growing movement toward health-conscious choices, people still can’t seem to get enough of the tasty treats that Carl’s Jr., Taco Bell and other chains have been serving up for more than nine decades. However, in the age of digital media, where social engagement has become increasingly important to every industry, the question is whether these brands are connecting with the customers who have remained so devoted to their menu. Engagor took a deep dive into America’s top fast-food chains to uncover how well these brands engage with their audience. Over the course of one month, Engagor tracked the social media account activity for six major brands – McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Burger King and Dunkin’ Donuts – finding that, surprisingly, these chains are not communicating on social with their fans nearly as much as they should be. On average, one out of every four interactions with fast-food chains on Facebook and Twitter are negative, yet these companies are still neglecting to respond to 90% of their customers. During the month, a few companies stood apart for both positive and negative reasons. Pizza Hut was the most engaged with followers on social, responding to 15% of mentions received, and turned around replies in just under one-and-a-half hours. On the opposite end, Dunkin’ Donuts never responded to customers, and McDonald’s took an average of five hours and 12 minutes to reply. These brands can easily break the recurring pattern of dismal social customer service by implementing a response plan for every type of post. Just because they are extremely successful businesses, it doesn’t mean their customers won’t jump ship when they feel more love from a competitor online. There are three simple steps for turning a brand’s social media reputation around and ultimately building loyalty and customer retention: Step 1: Organize all incoming messages and posts Analyze each mention before replying and establish an automatic process to immediately tag mentions that fit certain criteria. By grouping messages into specific folders based on content, it’s much easier to establish the tone needed for each response. This expedites the response process and ensures that all messages are tended to in the right manner. Step 2: Turn negative comments into positive conversations Think about the quantity of people that pass through a McDonald’s or Burger King drive-thru on a daily basis. Because there is a much higher volume of customers than typical sit-down restaurants, there will be a higher volume of social chatter around their quality of service and food. Instead of acknowledging negative comments with a generic response, find creative and positive ways to address each situation. For example, Taco Bell is great at providing humorous responses while still addressing the problem. The fast food chain embraces negative situations and tells unsatisfied customers, “Let’s make up” and “Don’t cry, let’s talk,” and then proceeds to direct them to the customer service number. This not only fosters transparency on social, but also cultivates a feeling of genuine care for customers and directs the situation offline and into the hands of customer service experts. Step 3: Actively share positive feedback Don’t forget that positive reinforcement tends to work well in the land of social media. After responding to customers, companies also need to keep the positive momentum going by rewarding brand advocates and thanking happy followers, such as nominating frequent customers as the “Fan of the Week.” Nothing gets followers going more than knowing who or what they love is appreciative of their dedication. By making it a priority to engage with satisfied customers and go above and beyond in gratitude, these customers are more likely to continue being brand evangelists. To date, retaining loyal customers was never much of a problem for fast-food chains, but as more and more eateries (looking at you, fast casual newbies!) try to swoop millennial diners, it’s time for these establishments to super-size their social media efforts and connect with patrons in their language – social media.