The document provides a social media strategy for Wendy's. It includes an audit of Wendy's current social media presence and performance on platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. Key findings from the audit include that Facebook drives the most traffic to Wendy's website and that Instagram has low engagement. The strategy outlines objectives to increase followers, engagement and website traffic. It also defines social media roles and provides guidelines for content, paid strategies, timing of posts and responding to issues.
2. Table of Contents
1. Executive Summary
2. Social Media Audit
3. Social Media Objectives
4. Online Brand Persona and Voice
5. Strategies and Tools
6. Timing and Key Dates
7. Social Media Roles and Responsibilities
8. Social Media Policy
9. Critical Response Plan
10. Measurement and Reporting Results
3. Executive Summary
Our major social media priorities for 2017 will be to grow our online following and
improve relations with our existing online communities.
Our primary focus will be to create and support new and improved revenue goals
by increasing traffic to each of our social media websites by increasing brand
recognition and sharing and creating more engaging, relevant content and
building deeper relationships with our customers.
Three major social media strategies to support this objective:
1. Increase the quality of content we publish to our social profiles.
2. Form deeper connections with the members of our online communities.
3. Build a greater social media following.
4. Social Media Audit
The following is an audit of The Wendy’s Company’s current social media
presence to date. It includes an assessment of all social networks, web traffic,
audience demographics, and a competitor analysis.
5. Social Media Audit – Assessment
(May 26, 2017)
Social Network URL Follower Avg. Weekly Avg.
Rate
Twitter twitter.com/
wendys
1.86 M 11 posts per week 5%
Instagram @wendys 528 K 2 posts per week Average
interactions per
post = 250
Facebook facebook.com/
wendys
8.36 M likes
8 M followers
8 posts per week 3%
LinkedIn linkedin.com/co
mpany/wendys-
international
32.8 K followers 1 post per 3 weeks 1%
6. Audit – Assessment Summary
Currently, the highest number of interactions per post occurs on Twitter. The least
number of interactions occurs on Linkedin, which makes sense, because a large
majority of the population doesn’t have a Linkedin profile – there are more users
on Twitter than Linkedin. In other words, our customer demographic is not very
active on that network. However, I do not recommend closing that channel,
because it is one of the most important networks to have. In turn, we should start
posting more frequently on it; about 2 posts every 2 weeks.
Instagram has a very low engagement rate compared to Twitter or Facebook, so
that should be our main focus.
7. Audit – Website Traffic Sources
Assessment
Source Volume % Overall Traffic Conversion Rate
Twitter 1500 unique visits 15% 2.1%
Instagram NO DATA NO DATA NO DATA
Facebook 3000 unique visits 30% 4.3%
Linkedin 200 unique visits 2% 1%
8. Audit – Website Traffic Sources
Assessment Summary
Currently, Facebook is the biggest driver of traffic to our website. As a result, it has
the highest conversion rate, just a bit over that of Twitter. Although Twitter and
Instagram do lead traffic to our site, the biggest lead is our social media site,
Facebook.
9. Audit - Audience Demographics
Assessment
Age
Distribution
Gender
Distribution
Primary Social
Network
Secondary
Social Network
Primary Need Secondary
Need
18-30 30%
31-40 40%
41-55 20%
56-80 10%
51% Male
49% Female
45% Twitter
30%
Facebook
25%
Instagram
50% Twitter
30%
Facebook
20%
Instagram
Grabbing a
quick, cheap
meal that is
fresh and
providing
healthy
options
Grabbing a
quick, cheap
meal
10. Audit – Audience Demographics
Assessment Summary
Looking at the demographics assessment, I can conclude that the majority of our
audience is from the ages 31-40, and their core social media sites are Twitter and
Facebook. Their primary motivation for visiting Wendy’s is their desire to grab a
quick, cheap bite to eat that has healthy options. Therefore, we should dedicate
our energies to further develop Instagram content and encouragement.
11. Audit – Competitor Assessment
Competitor
Name
Social Media
Profile
Strengths Weaknesses
Burger King Twitter:
@BurgerKing
Use of videos and images retains
audience. Tweets are humorous,
friendly, relatable. Inclusion of polls
increases customer sense of
importance
Less likes on content.
Page seems cluttered,
content seems like it’s
trying too hard.
McDonald’s Twitter:
@McDonalds
Larger following on Twitter, more likes.
Use of emojis and photos with every
tweet draws and keeps audience. High
engagement.
Not nearly as many likes
on content. Number of
tweets makes page
seem too busy.
Chick-Fil-A Twitter:
@chickfila
Lots of consumer interaction. Use of
gifs, photos, emojis makes content fun,
friendly. Use of pop-culture in tweets
makes content relatable.
Joined sooner, has less
followers, less likes.
Repetition of tweets
makes consumer
interaction impersonal.
12. Audit – Competitor Assessment Summary
The competitor assessment analyzed 3 major Wendy’s competitors: Burger King,
McDonald’s, and Chick-Fil-A. I picked these three big-name brands because they
all serve burgers (although in Chick-Fil-A’s case, it’s chicken sandwiches) and they
all have a strong presence on popular social media platforms, like Twitter and
Facebook. Each competitor uses high visual content to emphasize and promote
their content, which is part of the reason they’re so successful. Overall, though, it
looks like Wendy’s has the most amount of likes on Twitter. McDonald’s is
Wendy’s biggest competitor among social media platforms regarding follower
count, so I think the most important aspect to work on is to gain more followers.
13. Social Media Objectives
In 2017, the primary focus of our social media strategy will be to increase sales and
numbers by increasing exposure, traffic, and engagement. In order to accomplish this
goal, our main priority will be to gain followers and increase loyalty by sharing content
that is much more engaging and relatable, making it more likely to be shared. We also
plan on interacting more with our current followers and retweeting user-generated
content.
Specific objectives:
Increase unique visitors from social properties to website by 35% in 4 months via:
Increased brand awareness through increased mentions on Twitter
Implementation of #WhyWendys across all platforms
Increase Twitter, Instagram and Facebook followers by 3% in 5 months
Increase amount of visual content published on all social media platforms by 50% in 5 months
14. KPIs and Key Messages
KPIs
Number of unique visitors from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn
Number of Instagram followers
Number of weekly visual content posts
Number of likes and comments on Instagram
Number of likes, retweets and mentions on Twitter
Key Messages
Fresh, Never Frozen!
Why Wendy’s?
15. Online Brand Persona and Voice
• When interacting with customers we
are:
• Helpful
• Supportive
• Understanding
• Funny
Adjectives that describe our voice:
Bold
Fun
Friendly
Quirky
Contemporary
16. Strategies
Paid
Every Friday boost most popular organic Instagram posts for the weekend. The post must have a minimum organic
reach of 50, with at least 30 likes and 5 comments.
Owned
Introduce the use of #WhyWendys to company Instagram and Twitter posts. Encourage customers to use the hashtag
on posts and tweets to explain why they choose Wendys over competitors. Use the company social media accounts
to retweet and promote user-generated content. Promote the hashtag among all platforms, including billboards,
commercials, and coupons.
Earned
Monitor Twitter for keywords and terms: burger, hungry, fast food, fries, beef, frozen, asiago ranch. Message discount
codes to 50 loyal followers/tweeters over the course of two months.
Partner with 2 well-known celebrities to help influence those who fall into the 18-30 demographic.
18. Timing and Key Dates
Holidays
Super Bowl Sunday (Feb 5)
Valentine’s Day (or Single’s Awareness Day) (Feb 14)
Mother’s Day (May 14)
National Hamburger Day (May 28)
Father’s Day (June 18)
National French Fry Day (July 13)
Internal Events
Investor Day (Jan 20)
Reporting Dates
Reporting will occur quarterly on: February 16, May 10, August 9, November 13.
19. Social Media Roles and Responsibilities
Marketing Director: Melissa Stomber
Social Media Manager: Ryan Knaak
Social Media Coordinator: Taylor Mueller
Supporting Social Media Team Members:
Erik Lopez
Ashlyn Cano
20. Social Media Policy
Here at Wendys, we believe in open communication, and all employees are
encouraged to tell the world about their work and passions. Seeing as how social
media is steadily increasing nowadays, we understand the importance of proper
social media use. As an employee of Wendys, you are expected to behave in the
most respectful manner and demonstrate the best practices, as well as a sense of
etiquette in your use of social media. Use the following points as a guidelines to
your social media use.
21. Social Guidelines
Be truthful
Be respectful and polite to the competition
Be respectful of all genders, ethnicities, races
Use common sense
Be helpful
Be nice to strangers
If you’re unsure about your message, don’t be afraid to ask before you post
Don’t give in to conflict
Don’t comment on legal matters unless you are a spokesperson
22. Social Media Policy Continued
Wendys is extremely serious about all matters concerning social media. Wendys
employees are expected to uphold every social media guideline. Any violations of
the guidelines and social media policy may result in corrective action, upto, and
including, termination. You may also be subject to legal action, including criminal
prosecution. The company also reserves the right to take any further action it
believes is appropriate. Please address any questions or concerns to your Manager
or anyone on the HR team.
23. Critical Response Plan
Scenario 1 – Inappropriate tweet sent from @Wendys
1. When Tweet is detected
Take screenshot
Delete tweet
Alert Melissa Stomber (Social Media Manager). If unavailable, alert Ryan Knaak (Social Media Director).
2. Melissa and Ryan to discuss impact and evaluate further action.
3. Melissa to develop appropriate follow up tweet. Ryan to approve.
4. If media has picked up the tweet, Ryan to manage all direct contact. If Ryan is unavailable, Sabrina (owner) will manage all
contact.
5. Melissa and Ryan to sync with employee responsible for publishing tweet to see if disciplinary action is required.
Pre-approved messaging
Messaging will depend on the nature of the tweet. Melissa and Ryan will discuss proper messaging on a case-by-case basis.
24. Critical Response Plan
Scenario 2 – Instance of food poisoning complaint via Twitter
1. Once Tweet is detected, screenshot it.
2. Immediately contact Owner (Sabrina Lopez). Melissa Stomber (Social Media Manager) to sync with Ryan Knaak
(Social Media Director) and evaluate popularity of the incident.
3. Melissa and Ryan to discuss impact and evaluate further action.
4. Do not stop monitoring the situation across all platforms.
5. Melissa and Ryan to create a statement. Sabrina to approve.
6. Offer consolidations to producer of the complaint.
7. Publish follow-up tweet ensuring all customers that the problem will be looked into.
Pre-approved messaging:
Twitter: @______ We are so sorry to hear that! Please DM us so that we can help you right away.
Follow up on Twitter: We are currently investigating allegations of indecent food. If you have any questions, DM us!
26. Social Network Data
Social Network URL Follower Average
Weekly
Engagement
Rate
Twitter twitter.com/
wendys
1.86 M + 15%
growth
10 posts per
week + 13%
increase
7%
Instagram @wendys 528 K + 20%
growth
2 posts per
week + 200%
increase
Average
interactions per
post = 450
Facebook facebook.com/
wendys
8.36 M likes
8 M follows
+ 13% growth
6 posts per
week + 200%
increase
4%
Linkedin linkedin.com/co
mpany/wendys-
international
32.8 K followers
+5% growth
1 post per 3
weeks + 1%
increase
1.2%
27. Social Network Data Summary
Our Twitter following has grown by 1600 in 4 months, which is on par with our
strategy. It’s important to note that the average interactions per post have
increased from 250 to 450.
28. #WhyWendys Hashtag Performance
Between April 2017 and May 2017, the hashtag was mentioned 4600 times on
Twitter and 2200 times on Instagram.
40 Instagram posts with the hashtag yielded higher average numbers of comment
interactions, typically involving users tagging their friends in the comments.
29. Qualitative KPIs
An analysis of the interactions of 100 Facebook posts, 100 Instagram posts, and
100 Tweets revealed the following:
An abundance of positive sentiment from customers of their food accompanied with
pictures of their orders and reasons they choose Wendys over competitors.
Negative comments mostly revolved around customers getting sub-par meals or not
getting what they ordered.
30. Proposed Action Items
Continue #WhyWendys campaign
Increase content publishing on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to increase
engagement
Create secondary campaign for Facebook and Instagram to increase relations with
followers