TACO BELL S O C I A L M E D I A S T R A T E G Y

B Y A M A L I E B A T C H E L D E R , F E B . 1 9 2 0 1 7

TA B L E O F C O N T E N T SE X E C U T I V E S U M M A RY

S O C I A L M E D I A A U D I T

S O C I A L M E D I A O B J E C T I V E S

O N L I N E B R A N D P E R S O N A A N D VO I C E

S T R AT E G I E S A N D TO O L S

T I M I N G A N D K E Y D AT E S

S O C I A L M E D I A R O L E S A N D

R E S P O N S I B I L I T I E S

S O C I A L M E D I A P O L I C Y

C R I T I C A L R E S P O N S E P L A N

M E A S U R E M E N T A N D R E P O RT I N G

R E S U LT S

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• The primary goals for Taco Bell’s social media strategy in 2017 will be to drive sales and brand

recognition by increasing engagement across social media platforms.

The strategies used will include:

1. Encouraging more interaction and communication on social media, particularly Instagram

2. Plans to push more content focused around current promotions and food trends

S O C I A L M E D I A A U D I T

T W I T T E R : 1 . 8 M F O L L OW E R S . 3 3 5 T W E E T S

P E R D AY. 2 9 % A U D I E N C E E N G A G E M E N T.

FA C E B O O K : 1 0 . 4 M L I K E S . 3 P O S T S P E R

W E E K . G R OW T H . 1 % P E R W E E K .

I N S TA G R A M : 1 M F O L L OW E R S . 1 P O S T P E R

W E E K . AVG . N E W F O L L OW E R S P E R W E E K -

5 5 0

A S S E S S M E N T :

AT T H E P R E S E N T T I M E , FA C E B O O K H A S T H E

H I G H E S T R AT E S O F E N G A G E M E N T A N D

G R OW T H , A N D I N S TA G R A M T H E L OW E S T.

I N S TA G R A M S H O U L D B E T H E M A I N F O C A L

P O I N T F O R I M P R OV E M E N T.

WEBSITE

TRAFFIC

• Direct search- Currently, 65% of visits come directly from Google or

typing in tacobell.com

-2.1% of visits come from Facebook

-1.4% of visits come from YouTube

-2.3% come from other search engines

-2% come from article links on news and editorial sites

-1% or less come from Instagram or Twitter

AUDIENCE DEMOGRAPHIC

Gender

distributi

on

Age

distributi

on

Primary

social

network

Secondar

y social

network

Primary

need

55%

Female

35% >24 29%

Instagram

13%

Twitter

Purchase

after going

to

club/party

45% Male 33% 25-34 24%

Snapchat

11%

Youtube

Cheap fast

food

option

23%

Facebook

Vegan/Veg

etarian fast

food

option

COMPETITORS

Competitor name Social Media Handle Strengths Weaknesses

McDonalds @mcdonalds Strong existing brand.

Consistent flow of

communication with

audience over social

platforms.

Boring, monotonous use

of Instagram. No visuals

on Twitter.

Burger King @burgerking Use of GIF’s, memes and

trends. Utilizes social

media for customer

service.

Low engagement on

Instagram and Twitter.

Inconsistent content

flow.

Wendy’s @wendys Strong grasp of current

trends. Established brand

as comedic and

entertaining online.

Impersonal approach to

Facebook and Instagram,

focusing primarily on

promotional offers.

SOCIAL MEDIA OBJECTIVES

• The primary social media objectives will be to boost revenue by increasing the amount of

redirects to the Taco Bell website from social media platforms, especially from Instagram and

Twitter. Additionally, to gain more Instagram followers and engagement.

Specific goals:

1. Gain at least 25,000 Instagram followers in 6 months

2. Boost clicks on website from social media by 1.5%

3.Increase volume of visual content posted on social media accounts other than Facebook by

35%

O N L I N E B R A N D

P E R S O N A A N D

VO I C E• Adjectives:

-Edgy

-Youthful

-Fresh

-Adventurous

In social media:

Entertaining

Informative

Communicative

STRATEGIES AND TOOLS• Paid:

-Boost one Instagram follow campaign per

week. Obtain at least 45% organic reach,

and minimum 450 likes.

• Interactive:

Use visuals featuring popular influencers from

YouTube, Instagram and Twitter. Encourage follower

base to post pictures with their “Taco Bell Squad.”

Search the terms “hungry” and “craving” on Twitter,

and respond with varying links to menu items on

website.

Use real footage GIF’s of menu items in response to

follower interactions

Tools:

GIPHY

Facebook advertising

Hootsuite

T I M I N G A N D K E Y

DAT E S

Key Holidays (push posts):

Spring break

School winter break

Midterm season

Important Events:

Cinco De Mayo

Taco Bell Birthday, Mar. 21st

Timing:

Achieve 25,000 more followers by

Aug.20th

Introduce new hashtag initiatives by April 25

SOCIAL MEDIA ROLES AND POLICYPolicy:

Social media is used to positively represent the brand and

company, as well as ensure customers feel listened to, and

create awareness of ongoing campaigns and menu

offerings. Social media etiquette should be followed and all

content should be original.

Guidelines:

-Be positive and respectful

-Do not indulge ‘Trolls’ or instigators

-Respond to questions with patience and kindness

-Treat every follower/customer equally

-Proofread

-Only use original content

-Doublecheck edgy content with colleagues

-Use discretion in who the company account follows

-Do not reference competition

-Feel free to show enthusiasm or excitement for your

favorite products or releases

Roles:

Social Media Coordinator: Brainstorm

original campaigns and hashtags.

Oversee content.

Social Media Manager: Post content. Edit

pictures. Create GIF’s.

Marketing Director: Approve

campaigns/hashtags. Connect outside

marketing with social media marketing.

Interns: Direct customer service

inquiries.Take photos. Connect with

influencers.

CRITICAL RESPONSE PLAN• 1. Social media account is hacked

Plan: Take screenshots for recordsChange all passwords immediatelyDelete any posted contentCall immediate meeting to discuss damageIf media picks up story, draft press release ensuring the content was not written by an employee, and accounts have been secured. Post on social media that accounts have been secured, apologies for any offense causedDetermine whether further security measures should be taken on accountsPre-Approved Post: (attain permission from social media manager before publish) “We regret to inform that our social media accounts were breached today and content was posted without our knowledge. Our accounts have been secured, but we apologize for any inconvenience or offense caused.”

2. Food item recall

Plan:

Post recall image immediately from all platforms

Specify locations or branches of recall

Include link for customer service for questions or concerns

Include details on reasons for recall: “Could contain plastic,” “May not be vegan” etc.

Prioritize responses to QUESTIONS *not complaints* on these posts

• Measurement and Results:

Qualitative KPI’s: An analysis of 10 original posts each on social media

platforms concluded that:

-Followers respond positively to seeing familiar

entertainers interacting with the brand

-Followers respond negatively to generic or abstract

content, and prefer real-life photos or first-person text.

Social network data:

Twitter growth: +13%

Facebook growth: .3% per week

Instagram growth: 16%

Average posts:

Twitter:

360 posts per day– 7% increase

Facebook: 5 posts per week 60% increase

Instagram: 5 posts per week 500% increase

R E P O RT I N G

R E S U LT S• Proposals for future action

At least 3% of daily Twitter content should be original

and not replies

Instagram likes and comments should increase in 3:1

relation to each other

Facebook should remain at consistent rate of

improvement and priority placed on other accounts.