QSRs & Social media: The good, the bad & the ugly! Part 1
We find out from some industry experts how to get your Social Media messaging right. This week Tenille Bentley, MD of Socialite provides our readers with some useful advice.
QSR Media: Is the use social media right for every QSR?
Tenille: This depends highly on the overall objective for each company. If you want to achieve Brand Loyalty, Brand Ambassadors, Humanisation of your brand, generate a new community of followers, become a thought leader or generate leads – then with the right plan, strategy and execution yes it is right for most QSR's simply because your consumer foot traffic is higher than most other industries so you're already starting with a strong foundation.
QSR Media: What are the benefits of using social media?
Tenille: There are many benefits, you can build what we call a client for life, you start to build an online asset and engage with an audience post transaction. Today the customer loyalty life cycle is not only during the transaction. It is now pre, post and during transaction. Although this may seem overwhelming it actually builds a number of brand ambassadors and clients for life. We have seen some national menu items become updated as a result of simply tuning into their customers, as a result we saw more sales. Benefits can vary from reputation management, brand loyalty, thought leadership, leads and customer satisfaction.
QSR Media: What are some of the downsides?
Tenille: The downsides for QSR are that if it is not managed correctly you will be one of "those" social media stories that we see out there in the traditional news. The ONLY reason I have seen social media bad news stories is simply because of poor management, execution and effective crisis management strategies. We have seen a 100% success rate in risk management with our clients varying from some of the highest regulated industries. So what is a downside in social media is simply down to poor planning. It can be managed successfully but get the right advice.
QSR Media: When shouldn't a QSR use social media?
Tenille: When they haven't really educated themselves on the space or sourced appropriate advice, I see it so many times "I will just get my receptionist to do it" Would you hand your marketing plan and entire brand management to your receptionist? Well I would hope not, there is a specific skill to social media…although it appears light and fluffy to the corporate mind, but the real skill is in communication and marketing effectively, so a QSR shouldn't use social media if they disregard it as something "that will pass" or have no understanding of the power of it, as well as no planning around it.
QSR Media: Are there any social media sites that are better for QSR's than others?
Tenille: It will depend on the specific organisation so it's hard to generalise, but because their foot traffic is usually high due to the market, I would typically recommend Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Youtube as the main ones. But again you need to evaluate your environment first and have a clear strategy in place. If you need to ask about this just tweet me @tenillebentley for more.
For the latest social media advice go to www.facebook.com/socialitemediafb or www.twitter.com/socialite_media any other queries please email [email protected]
