McDonalds Twitter Campaign: Hype Vs Reality 6

Social media has achieved a drastic boom during the past decade due to the technological advancement in the world. The purpose of this report is to analyse the recently organised Twitter campaign and to find out the reasons for the failure of the same. I have conducted some secondary research with regard to the same. The thesis of this report is to show that any social media campaign need to be planned properly before initiating. I am describing about changes social media has made, advantages and disadvantages of social media, different audiences of social media and some recommendation on how to conduct a proper Twitter campaign in future. A communication plan template is used to bring about a suitable strategy for future social media handlings.

Social media

Social media has been able to change the world we live in. the increasing usage of smart phones and other technological devices and the increasing usage rate of internet in all around the world has brought the world under a single umbrella (Ngai, 2015). Initially the Twitter campaign for McDonald’s was introduced as #meetthefarmers but it was changed to McDstories which became a failure. This failure has damaged the reputation of the company to a large extent. The initial purpose of the Twitter campaign was to make awareness but the purpose was not met.

Advantages and disadvantages for social media? Social media has successfully connected the global market very efficiently through internet dung the past decade and it as a big reach around the world enabling companies and organisations to grow a global market (Hollebeek et al, 2014). Companies get the opportunity to reach new markets, increase their sales volumes, make brand awareness and sell their product to prospective consumers (Adweek, 2018).

Further, trough Facebook, Twitter and other social media channels companies are able to link directly with their consumers and know their opinions, preferences and their dislikes (Adweek, 2018). This help companies to make strategic changes when planning nd policy making (Hollebeek et al, 2014). But, Sexton (2015) states that there are many advantages that companies face due to social media which affect their development and improvement. Usage of social media has increased cost for organisations as Social media marketing involves with many stages and every single data of those stages need to be monitored (Gilkerson & Berg, 2017).

Moreover, Adweek (2018) explain that it could spread false and unethical rumors about the company and this could go viral which could result in serious impact to the reputation and the image of an organisation.

Different audiences of McDonalds

When considering the Twitter campaign it is shown that McDonald’s didn’t consider all of it’s customers (Gilkerson & Berg, 2017). The campaign was only limited to Twitter but there are a lot of consumers active in Facebook, Instagram and other social media. VanMeter et al (2015) explain that in social media campaign unsatisfied customers could highlight their bad experiences and dissatisfaction. Women, men, youth, children and even old generation could be identified as main audiences of McDonald’s. Further, competitors of McDonalds like KFC, Hungry Jacks, Subway and Burger King and suppliers too can be audiences. Media could be identified as one of the main audiences as they could make a significant impact on each and every move on social media.

Better Twitter campaign for McDonald’s

After the failure of the recent Twitter campaign it is important to plan a Twitter campaign properly before implementing the same. Company needs to win back the lost customers from the previous campaign and try it’s best to grow the reputation and image. Therefore, criticism and shortcomings need to be taken as a learning point. It is recommended to hire o outsource the social media marketing to an external public relations organisation or to a consultation firm that will have more experience and researched information regarding online marketing and social media marketing. And the marketing department should be responsible to evaluate the campaigns introduced by the mentioned consultation firm.

Further, it is recommended to establish a separate team to daily monitor customer comments and reviews in social media and to find solution for them. If the team can at least reply them using the same social media then customer would be somewhat satisfied and they would know that their complaint or their concerns are attended by McDonalds. And complaint management system of the company needs to be linked to online and social media companies and reviews. Further, as media plays a significant role it could be recommended to have a good relationship with media and their representatives. Media representatives could be given sponsorships and they could be involved in certain activities that McDonald’s organizes.

Social media strategy

Timing – summer holidays could be targeted.

Audience – women, men, children, media, existing McDonald customers and potential customers.

Sender - Manager – social media marketing

Key message – Suitable burger for summer with a beverage added.

This could be an ideal food item in the summer to reduce the heat.

Desired outcome – McDonald’s need to be identified as a food provider for any season.

Medium – social media, TV, Radio, website of McDonald’s

Materials – radio commercials, TV advertisements, newspaper advertisements, advertisement on websites and emails and mobile phone text messages.

Frequency – starting before the summer time and continuing everyday till the summer ends.

Conclusion

The recently failed Twitter campaign shows that a Twitter campaign without a proper plan could harm the reputation and image of an organisation. From the above discussion it is shows that a company needs to have a proper plan when initiating social media campaigns. McDonald’s need to identify their audiences properly before implementing the social media marketing campaign and precautionary actions need to be taken if the campaign fails. Company needs to get consultation advice from a consultation firm to organise social media campaigns and customer complaints and reviews need to be linked with complaint management system in order to make them satisfied customers.