round 2 winner · round 4 winner: vs. instagram is the platform that captures the smallest audience...

Round2winner:

VS.

Bothbrands’Facebookpagesreachthemostamountoffollowersincomparisontotheirothersocialplatforms.WhenanalyzingthedifferencesbetweenChick-fil-AandZaxby’sinregardstoFacebook,itwasaveryclosetie.Zaxby’sandChick-fil-Abothhaverelevantprofileandcoverphotosthatreflecteachoftheirbrandsinapositivelight.AlthoughChick-fil-Acomesoutasthewinner,Zaxby’sdoesagreatjobpostingengagingcontentfrequently.However,oneofthemainpointsthatsetsChick-fil-AapartisthewayitputstousemanyofFacebook’sofferedtoolsandfeatures.Forinstance,Facebookusedthe“pinnedpost”feature.Becauseofthis,Facebookisabletocapturealargeraudiencewithitsposts,whichleadstomuchmoreastoundingresults.Althoughnumbersdonotalwaysresemblesuccess,inthiscasetheydo.Chick-fil-Ahasover7millionlikesonFacebook,whichisalmost7timestheamountZaxby’shas.Italsohasanaverageof372sharesperpost,incomparisontoZaxby’swhichonlyhasanaverageof51sharesperpost.Whentakingthesenumbersintoconsideration,itisrealizedthatChick-fil-AfarsurpassesZaxby’swhenitcomestousingtheinstrumentsofFacebook.UnlikeZaxby’s,Chick-fil-AalsopromotesitsnewapponFacebook.Chick-fil-Adoesthisinanon-abrasiveway,whichallowscustomerstodownloadtheappattheirownfreewill.

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Followers 748K

Tweets 70.5K

Following 8,039

Likes 6,952

Lists 2

Followers 90.8K

Tweets 14.8K

Following 1,209

Likes 12.7K

Lists 1

AverageResponseTime

~2.13hours

AverageResponseTime

~ 13.02hours

Twitter:

TheaverageresponsetimeistakenfromaveragingthetimetakentorespondtotweetsthroughoutthemonthsofSeptemberandOctober2016.

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Twitter:Althoughseveralbrandsstruggletoprovideconsumers

withexceptionalcustomerserviceinthedigitalspace,Chick-fil-AhasbeenabletomaintaintheircommitmenttocustomerserviceviaTwitterbyutilizingthisplatforminawaytoconnectwithcustomers“realtime”.Chick-fil-Aemployeescloselymonitorandrespondtobothpositivecommentsandnegativecomplaintsquickly,oftenre-directingpeopletotheirwebsiteforfurtherhelp(seephotosontheleft).

NotonlydoesChick-fil-ApinimportantpoststothetopoftheirpageliketheydoonFacebook,buttheyrecognizetheimportanceofsimplicityintweets.Chick-fil-Adoesn'tpostlengthyandirrelevantpostsonTwitter,becausetheyarewellawareoftheintendeduseofthisparticularplatform.Instead,theytakeadvantageofTwitter’sbrevityandpoststraightforwardreminderstoeffectivelycreateawareness.

Chick-fil-AalsolinksitsTumblraccounttoitsTwitterpage,whichisanotherwayitdirectstraffictoitsothersites.

OnethingthatChick-fil-Acouldimproveon,inregardstoTwitter,isbuildingalarger“followback”audience.Asseeninthechartonpage16,outofits748Kfollowers,Chick-fil-Afollowslessthan1%ofthemback.Byuppingits”following”count,Chick-fil-Acouldbuildanevenstrongeraudiencebyencouragingengagementfurther.Lastly,consideringTwitteris”realtime”andusersareconstantlycheckingit,Chick-fil-Awouldgreatlybenefitbyincreasingitsnumberofposts.TheChick-fil-Aaccountsometimesgoesmultipledaysatatimewithoutpostingasingletweet.

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Twitter:Zaxby’sutilizesTwitterinoneofthemainwaysitis

intendedtobeused.Thatis,itredirectstrafficbacktoitshomewebsite.Zaxby’sTwitterpagehasthewebsitelinkembeddedontheleft-hadsideofitsaccount,andalsopostsmanytweetsleadingcustomersbacktoitswebsite.

Zaxby’salsohasadecentfollowertofollowingratioincomparisontoitscompetitors.ByfollowingcustomersbackonTwitter,Zaxby’sisabletobuildastrongerfanbase.Zaxby’salsopostsatleastonetweetperday,ifnotmore.ThisshowsthatZaxby’sisusingthisspacewiselyandtakingadvantageofhowquicklytheircustomerbasecanbereachedthroughthisplatform.

Zaxby’sisrelativelyefficientwhenitcomestorespondingtocustomertweets.However,themajorityofZaxby’srepliesareinresponsetonegativecommentsfromcustomers.Theiraverageresponseratetocustomersisalsoextremelylow,meaningtheytakemuchtoolongtorespondtocustomers.ThesearebothareasinwhichZaxby’scouldimproveupon.Byreachingoutandengagingwithconsumersduringbothgoodandbadtimes,Zaxby’shasthepotentialtogrowbrandloyaltyandcustomersatisfactiontohigherlevels.

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Round3 winner:

VS.

AlthoughZaxby’sdoeshavetheupperhandintheTwitterrealminseveralaspects,forinstancepostingcontentmoreconsistentlyandredirectingtraffictoitswebsite,Chick-fil-Astillwinsforround3.ThereasonforthisbeingthatChick-fil-AtrulyunderstandsthepurposeofTwitter.Chick-fil-Ausesthisplatformasameansofenhancingitscustomerservice.Chick-fil-Aisalreadyknownfortheirsuperiorcustomerserviceintheirrestaurants,andtheywantthiscustomerservicetopermeateitsonlineplatforms.Theyrespondcharismaticallytobothhappyandunhappycustomers,whichshowspeoplethattheycare,notjustinbadtimes(seephotosonpage17).Chick-fil-Aalsoismoretimesensitivewhenitcomestorespondingtocustomertweetsinatimelymanner.Theydon’tleavecustomershangingfortypicallyanylongerthanaafewhours.Theyhaveexperiencedgreatersuccessinrespondingefficiently,leadingthemtoberecognizedasanactiveandpresentbrandonthisplatform.

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Posts 669

Followers 549K

Following 51

Posts 437

Followers 21.7K

Following 171

Average# ofLikes

~12.2K Average#ofLikes

~410

Instagram:

TheaveragenumberoflikesandcommentsaretakenfromaveragingthenumberoflikesandcommentsonphotospostedthroughoutthemonthsofSeptemberandOctober2016.

Average# ofComments

~338 Average# ofComments

~10

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Instagram:FacebookandTwitterserveslightlydifferentpurposesthanInstagram.

Instagramisallaboutthecontentofthephoto,andthisisanareathatChick-fil-Aexcelsin.Chick-fil-Acapitalizesonthefactthattheyhavereallygoodfood.SinceChick-fil-Ahasseveralseasonalmenuitems,theyuseInstagramtopushtheseitemsclosertoitscustomers.

However,Chick-fil-Aalsorealizestheimportanceoftheconsumer.Becauseofthis,theyoftenpostinnovativephotosofthingstheyknowtheircustomersvalue.Chick-fil-Ahasnoticedthatthesocialpoststhatreceivethehighestlevelofengagementtendtobeseasonalorinresponsetosomethingtrendingthatconsumerslove.Forexample,oneofthetop-performingpostslastyearpicturedchickennuggetboxes intheshapeofaChristmastreefortheholidayseason(seephotototheleft).Chick-fil-Aisfocusedoncombiningtheirproductwithwhatpeoplelove.However,inmyopinion,Chick-fil-Acouldpostmoreaboutwhatpeoplelovewithoutalwaysattachingtheirbrandtoit.

Chick-fil-AalsostandsoutonInstagramduetothefactthatavastmajorityoftheirfranchisesalsohavetheirownInstagramaccounts.TheseaccountsreallytakeadvantageofprovingtoitscustomerswhatChick-fil-Aisallaboutbygivingthembehindthescenesphotosofwhatthe“everydaylife”ataChick-fil-Arestaurantlookslike.

Lastly,somethingthatIbelieveChick-fil-Acouldimproveonismaintainingaconsistentcadenceinregardstoitspostingfrequency.Withinthelast2months,theyhaveonlyposted6photosonInstagram.

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Instagram:Zaxby’sdoesanexcellentjobatfillingitsInstagramspace.

Notonlydotheypostphotosfrequently,buttheyareknownforpostinghighqualityphotosthatcustomersenjoy.ThesephotosencompassthejoyonefeelswhenexperiencingZaxby’sthroughtheuseofvibrantcolors,whichinturnboostssalesforZaxby’swithoutusinganysortofpushapproach.Zaxby’salsohasbeenknowntointermixcuratedcontentwiththeirownoriginalposts.Forinstance,thephotoonthebottomleftisanexampleofhowZaxby’sre-postsanimagethatwasuploadedbyoneofitsfans.Notonlydoesthisincreaseengagement,butitmakescustomersfeelspecialandcaredfor.Unfortunatelythough,thisisn'tdoneveryfrequently.

Asnotedonpage20,Zaxby’shasverylittlecustomerinvolvementonitsInstagramaccount.IfZaxby’scouldbothincorporatecuratedcontentmoreoften,whilealsolearningtorespondtoandengagewithitscustomersthroughcomments,Itrulybelievetheycouldincreasetheirfollowing,numberoflikes,andnumberofcommentsdaily.

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Round4winner:

VS.

Instagramistheplatformthatcapturesthesmallestaudienceincomparisontoeachbrands’FacebookandTwitteraccounts.ThroughoutthemonthsofSeptemberandOctober,Chick-fil-Ahasposted6times.Thisisanareathatcouldbeimprovedupon,whichcouldleadtopotentiallyhigherlevelsofengagementonthisplatform.

However,thequalityofChick-fil-A’sphotos,aspreviouslydiscussed,iswhatmakesthemsuperiortoZaxby's. Zaxby’sphotosdon’thaveasmuchmeaning.Inotherwords,thecontentisnotasintentional.Itisnotthattheydon’tpostenticingphotos,becausetheymostdefinitelydo.Rather,Zaxby’scontentisn’tasconsumer-focusedasChick-fil-A’sInstagram.

Chick-fil-Aalsohasasuperioramountoflikesandcommentsontheirpictures(seechartsonpage20),whichshowstheengagementlevelofthebrand.CustomersseemtolikeandtalkaboutChick-fil-AmoreonInstagramwiththeirfriendsthantheydoZaxby’s.Thisisveryimportantintermsofgrowingitsbrand.

AlthoughChick-fil-Ahaswon,yetagain,onInstagram,oneaspectthatbothZaxby’sandChick-fil-Acouldimproveonisutilizingthisspacetobetterinteractandrespondtoitscustomers.

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Evolution:Inregardstotheevolutionofdigitalmarketing,onebrand(Chick-fil-AorZaxby’s)ismoreevolvedthantheother.Inordertosucceedinthedigitalspace,eachbrandneedsto:

1)haveadigitalpresenceviaacompanywebsite2)publishcontent,forinstancecreateablog3)promoteitsbrandviaemail4)engageonsocialmedia5)integrateitsbrandviamarketingautomation

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Evolution Chick-fil-A Zaxby’s

Website ✔ ✔

Blog ✔ (Tumblr) ➖

Email ✔ ✔

Socialmedia ✔ ✔

Marketingautomation

✔ ✔

Evolution(cont’d):Althougheachbrandseemstobein-tunedwithmostofthesestepsofdigitalmarketingevolution,itisapparentthatone

brandisdoingaslightlybetterjob.Inthiscase,itisChick-fil-A.Chick-fil-AalwaysseemstobeastepaheadofZaxby’s. MostwouldattributethissuccesstoChick-fil-A’sadvantageofmoreexperienceduetoolderage.Chick-fil-Ahasbeenaroundlongenoughtoexperimentwitheachofthesestepsandimproveuponthem,therefore,theytendtobeslightlymoreadvancedintheevolutionprocess.

Chick-fil-A’swebsite includeseverydetailinregardstowhat,howandwhytheydowhattheydo.Customersareabletonotonlycometothewebsitetofindimportantinformation,buttheyareabletocontactthecompanyaswell.Chick-fil-A’sTumblrblogservesasaplacetopublishcontentabouttheirlatestnews,whileatthesametimeexpressingcreativity.Here,theycanrespondandinteractwithcustomersonadifferentlevel,gaugingconsumerlikesanddislikesaboutthebrand.AnotherwayChick-fil-Apromotestheircontentandgainsmorereachisbyaddingcustomerstotheiremail list.TheChick-fil-Aemailisconsistentwiththeoveralllookofitswebsitewhichallowsforfamiliarityandagreaterunderstandingofthebrand.Italsousesitsemailtodirectcustomerstoitssocialsites.Chick-fil-Ausesavarietyofsocialmedia platformstocategorizeitscustomersintosegments.Theyrecognizetheimportanceofusingeachplatforminaslightlydifferentwaytomakestrongerconnections.Lastly,Chick-fil-Aintegratesallofthesestrategiesinordertoenhanceitsperformanceacrosstheboardthroughmarketingautomation.

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TheChickenChampion:

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Althoughbothbrandskeepaconsistentimageandemphasizethesamemessageacrossallplatforms,thereisaclearwinnerinregardstowhoisdoinganallaroundbetterjob.Whendeclaringthechickenchampion,itallcomesdowntothenittygrittyoftheactualcontentposted.Inthiscase,Chick-fil-Aisdoinganoverallmoreeffectivejobatengagingitscustomersacrossalldigitalmarketingplatforms.

Chick-fil-Adoesanexcellentjobofmaintainingconsistencyacrossplatforms,whilealsousingeachplatformtocreatedifferentcontent. Theyunderstandtheimportanceofconformingtoeachindividualchannel.TheconsistencybetweeneachplatformhelpstocreateaunifiedsocialmediastrategythatbuildsuponandenhancesChick-fil-A’sbrandimage.AlthoughChick-fil-Aisconsistent,theircontentwithineachplatformvariesslightlyinhopesofincreasingengagement.Ifconsumersweretoexperiencethesamecontentthroughouteveryplatform,thereisahighpossibilitytheywouldbegintoloseinterest.Forinstance,Chick-fil-AunderstandsthatFacebookismeantforpostingarticles,videosandmoredetailedcontent,whileTwitterisforshortremindersandisawareness-based.

Chick-fil-Aalsointeractswiththeiruserbase,soitisnotjustaone-sidedconversation.Ratherthanrespondingsolelytocomplaints,Chick-fil-Aengagesinfriendlyconversationswithitscustomersaboutpositivecommentsaswell.Becauseofthis,Chick-fil-Aseemstohaveanoverallbetterunderstandingofitsconsumerbasewhichallowsittofarsurpassotherbrandsinregardstosocialmedia.Overtheyears,Chick-fil-A’scontenthasbecomeareflectionofitscustomers.Byfocusingmostoftheirattentiononconsumerwantsandneeds,theydoanexcellentjobatkeepingitsbrandtop-of-mind.

SuggestionsfortheRunner-up:

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Zaxby’shasplentyofroomforgrowth,whichwouldallowittoexpanditsoverallreach.Zaxby’sshouldlookforwaystoimproveinthreeareas:strategy,followers,andcontent.

1) Zaxby’sshouldcontinuetouseFacebookasitsoverarchingplatformanduseittodirecttrafficbacktoitswebsite.TheyshouldalsocontinuetouseTwitterasacustomerservicetool,butlearntodecreaseresponsetime.OnInstagram,Zaxby’sneedstobothincreaseitscuratedcontentandengagemorewithcustomersthroughcommenting.Altogether,Zaxby’smustincreaseengagementacrossallplatforms.Inordertodothis,Zaxby’sneedstore-evaluatethecontentthattheypostandfocusmoreontheircustomers’needsandwants.

2) ThefactthatZaxby’shasasignificantlylowernumberoffollowersacrossallplatformscomparedtoChick-fil-Aspeaksvolumes.Zaxby’scouldbeusingtheseplatformstocapturealargeaudience.Therefore,ifZaxby’sdoesn’tattempttoboostitscontent,thesesocialplatformsbecomeawastedopportunity.

3) Tore-iteratetheabovesuggestions,Zaxby’ssuccesscirclesbacktocreatingcontentthattheconsumerwantstosee.

Bibliography:§ https://www.facebook.com/ChickfilA/?fref=ts

§ https://www.facebook.com/Zaxbys/

§ https://twitter.com/ChickfilA

§ https://twitter.com/Zaxbys

§ https://www.instagram.com/chickfila/

§ https://www.instagram.com/realzaxbys/

§ http://www.chick-fil-a.com

§ https://www.zaxbys.com

§ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaxby%27s

§ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chick-fil-A

§ http://www.thedailymeal.com/eat/10-things-you-didn-t-know-about-chick-fil

§ https://www.buzzfeed.com/kristinchirico/things-you-didnt-know-about-chick-fil-a?utm_term=.jbbLP9q50#.tgk7

§ http://www.gafollowers.com/13-amazing-facts-didnt-know-chick-fil-a/#_

§ http://www.al.com/living/index.ssf/2016/03/zaxbys.html#2

§ http://www.myajc.com/news/business/zaxbys-co-founder-sold-his-drums-to-start-chicken-/nfRM2/

§ http://www.ibtimes.com/how-chick-fil-social-media-marketing-translated-twitter-facebook-instagram-success-2265588

§ https://www.behance.net/gallery/4086941/Zaxbys§ https://emmabparker.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/chick-fil-a.pdf

§ https://johnrfmcewen.wordpress.com/tag/zaxbys/

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