Article

With SnapChat, Taco Bell raises the bar on social media marketing

When restaurants encourage guests to post and send photos via SnapChat or other social media platforms, they demonstrate transparency, which in turn promotes and generates trust for the brand.

August 1, 2013

By Dr. Gary Edwards, chief customer officer at Empathica

Recently, Taco Bell made news when it urged fans to engage with the brand on SnapChat — a photo messaging app that allows consumers to send temporary photos of themselves and their experiences.

As one of the first brands to embrace SnapChat, Taco Bell's initial "selfie" — announcing the release of a new burrito — caused many to wonder whether the brand's plunge into the unfamiliar waters of the popular app was a smart move. Although Taco Bell insists it joined SnapChat to treat fans like personal friends rather than consumers, many industry insiders remain skeptical.

So what's the deal ... are innovative social media opportunities like SnapChat promotional wins for restaurants, or do they simply invite additional headaches that most restaurants can live without?

Social media engagement for restaurants

For restaurant owners and managers, the downside of proactive social media engagement is that it creates additional opportunities for consumers to post and share unflattering photos or comments about the brand online. But whether restaurants encourage social media engagement or not, consumers are passionate about forging social connections with brands and other consumers — and it's impossible for restaurants to stop diners from sharing their restaurant experiences with social networks.

Rather than discouraging social media participation, restaurants need to embrace it and use it as a platform for branded promotional engagements. Why? Because social media engagement improves customer experiences by enabling guests to share their dining experiences with their social communities. In many cases, social media engagement also acts as a quality control mechanism, ensuring that every dish lives up to the brand's presentation and food quality standards.

When restaurants encourage guests to post and send photos via SnapChat or other social media platforms, they demonstrate transparency, which in turn promotes and generates trust for the brand. Although a certain number of negative comments are inevitable, most restaurants find that social engagement delivers a net win in the form of robust brand advocacy, especially when the brand integrates social engagement into a comprehensive customer experience management strategy.

SnapChat tips for restaurants

Taco Bell's use of SnapChat offers a powerful example of how restaurants can proactively leverage social engagement to create stronger relationships with their guests as well as potential customers in the larger marketplace.

There are several strategies restaurants can use to achieve similar success via SnapChat and other social media technologies.

• Encourage customer-generated images.Customer-generated images have the potential to significantly improve brand advocacy and customer loyalty. By encouraging "foodstagramming" and inviting guests to send images of themselves at your locations or at branded special events, you can elevate the quality of the customer experience, while making instant connections with your fans' social followers.
• Share exclusive sneak peeks. Sneak peeks are a fun way to engage fans. More importantly, exclusive content can help catalyze your brand's social community. For example, when Taco Bell used SnapChat to announce the debut of its Beefy Crunch Burrito, the company instantly incentivized fans to participate in the brand's SnapChat community.
• Showcase contests or promotions. SnapChat and other social networks can be used to showcase contests or promotions, creating excitement and enthusiasm for marketing initiatives designed to either bring new consumers to the brand or to deepen the brand's connection with existing fans.
• Distribute discount codes and special dining offers. SnapChat opens up a new world of opportunities for restaurants that offer discounts and special offers. In addition to promoting offers and discount codes through traditional channels, restaurants can distribute image-based offers to fans, which they can then share with their social communities. In some instances, brands may even empower fans to redeem these offers using screenshots saved on their mobile devices.

It's important to remember that SnapChat is designed to share temporary photos. Although images can be saved as screenshots, SnapChat has an urgency that doesn't exist on other social platforms. By tapping into this sense of urgency (as well as the unique characteristics of other social networks), restaurants can benefit from advantages that simply aren't available through other marketing mediums.

Gary Edwards is chief customer officer at Empathica, a global provider of Customer Experience Management (CEM) solutions to multi-unit enterprises in retail, food services, banking, petro and hospitality sectors. He is responsible for oversight of sales, marketing, client strategy, account management, marketing science and retail insights.