Most restaurant brands have figured out at least a workable strategy on Facebook and Twitter. But now you’ve got to consider what that voice will be—or if you’ll even have one—on the Instagrams, Pinterests and Vines of the social mediaverse, not to mention the Whispers, Snapchats and Swarms. A look around at the competitions seems to show just as many successes (Starbucks) as stumbles (McDonald’s). Where should you focus your efforts in the coming year? We asked a few social media superstars for their advice.
Josh Martin, director, digital and social media, Arby’s Restaurant Group
With so many brands creating content, paid amplification will be vital for success in 2015. This will put more emphasis on creating content that’s captivating and relevant to the user.
Gantry Praw, vice president of marketing, Veggie Grill
I continue to be wary of social statistics and what they really mean. Our expectations have been overinflated and, like broadcast, the quantity does not have as much value as the who and level of engagement the user has with the message. With the increase of bots and Twitter recently announcing that as many as 23 million of its users are automated, there are reasons to rethink the overall media strategy.
Laura Jakobsen, senior vice president of marketing and design, Pinkberry
- A focus on visual storytelling with Instagram. High quality content on Instagram gets engagement like nowhere else
- The proliferation of short video content with improved tools that lower cost of production
- Heightened spontaneity with “on-demand” CTAs that announce how conveniently the product will be near you
- Brands testing out what they can do on emerging channels that target younger millennials, as Facebook becomes more reactive than proactive
- An increase in being data-driven vs. data-informed to show ROI on social.
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