TACO BELLSocial Media Strategy

Kelly HattonFebruary 19, 2017

Table of Contents 1. Executive Summary, February 20172. Social Media Audit

2.1. Social Media Assessment, February 20172.2. Traffic Sources Assessment, December 2016 - January 2017 2.3. Customer Demographics Assessment2.4. Competitor Assessment

3. Social Media Objectives 4. Online Brand and Persona5. Strategies and Tools 6. Timing and Key Dates7. Social Media Roles and Responsibilities 8. Social Media Policy9. Critical Response Plan

9.1. Scenario 19.2. Scenario 2

10. Measurement and Reporting Results10.1. Web Traffic Sources Assessment, February - May 201710.2. Social Network Data, May 201710.3. Qualitative KPIs and Proposed Actions

Executive Summary

Social media is a large part of Taco Bell’s company culture. It is the biggest way we interact with our core audience and customers. In 2017, our social media priorities will be expanding our platforms to better serve our audience. We will do this by: › Publishing more content on social media› Further developing our platforms to reach a

wider variety of customers 1

Social Media AuditSocial Media Assessment As of February 19, 2017

URL Follower Count

Average Weekly Engagement

Average Engagement

Rate

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/tacobell/ 10.4M 4 posts a week 5.3%

Twitter https://twitter.com/tacobell 1.8M 9 tweets per week, 20+

replies per hour 4.3%

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/tacobell/ 1M 1-2 posts a week Avg. Interactions Per

Post: 480

Social Media Assessment: While Facebook clearly reaches the largest audience, it rivals Twitter with engagement and interactions. Instagram campaigns could make the platform more viable, as there is good reach on there. 2.1

Web Traffic Assessment Timeframe: Monthly average, December 2016 to January 2017

Source Volume Percentage of Overall Traffic Conversion Rate

Facebook 20,000 unique visits 1% 1.3%

Twitter 2,000 unique visits .1% 2%

Instagram NO DATA NO DATA NO DATA

Traffic Summary: Only 1.8% of our overall web traffic comes from social media. A majority of that number comes from Facebook, as we have the biggest social following on that platform.

2.2

Audience Demographic Assessment Based on answers from a survey distributed in November 2017

Age Distribution

Gender Distribut

ion

Primary Social Network

Secondary Social Network

Primary Need

Secondary Need

70% 18-30

30% 31-40

10% 41-55

5% 56-80

Male: 55%

Female: 45%

Male: 55%Female: 45%

Facebook: 40%Twitter: 30%

Instagram: 10%

Instagram: 40% Facebook: 30%Twitter: 20%

Trying the newest,

trendiest food products

Good, quick food at a low price

Audience Demographics Summary: A majority of our audience are considered millennials, in the 18-30 age bracket. Facebook is a core social network. New, unique products and deals should be better promoted on Facebook to reach this audience.

2.3

Place your screenshot here

Our audience demographic, according to us...

2.3

Competitor Assessment Profiles Strengths Weaknesses

Subway FB: SubwayShort, ad-like videos promoting specials. Great customer service.

Lacking diversity in content

Wendy’s TW: @WendysHumanizes brand by

posting memes/funny tweets, a lot of customer

interaction

Could do more original photos, rather than just

promoting products

McDonalds Instagram:@mcdonalds

A lot of videos, photos true to classic brand image, accounts for

holidays

Almost no customer interaction in

comments

Competitor Assessment Summary: The above three competitors have a strong presence on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Some excel in customer service and interacting with customers on platforms. In terms of improvement, actual content diversity and campaigns could be improved. 2.4

Social Media Objectives

Some specific objectives include: › Provide links to the website in social posts› By December, web traffic from social platforms will increase by 40%› Publish more frequently on Instagram (4+/week)› Respond more frequently on Instagram, through comments and direct

messages

In 2017, the main goal of our social media platforms will be to increase traffic to our website. We will also grow our Instagram following.

KPIs› Number of unique visitors from

social platforms› Number of Instagram followers› Number of weekly posts to

Instagram › Number of comments/likes on

Instagram

Key Messages› Live Más› Fresh and Fun

3

Online Brand, Persona and VoiceIn 2017, the main goal of our social media platforms will be to increase traffic to our website. We will also grow our Instagram following.

Adjectives that describe our brand› Youthful› Lively› Fresh› Energized› Fun› Trendy

When interacting with customers we are› Relatable› Funny› Approachable

4

Online Brand, Persona and Voice

4

Strategies and ToolsPaidBoost Facebook content at night and over the weekend, specifically a post that links back to our website.

OwnedKeep promoting #LiveMas, specifically on Instagram.

Hold hashtag contests, posting people that show they’re living life to the fullest.

Earned Monitor popular food hashtags and reach out to followers of our competitors

Have deals for ‘liking’ Instagram page and sharing content

ToolsApproved Tools

› latergram.me› Buffer

Rejected Tools› N/A

Existing Subscriptions/Licenses› Hootsuite› Adobe Creative Cloud

5

5

Timing and Key Dates Holidays

› Cinco De Mayo› National Taco Day› National Breakfast Day

Internal Events› Taco Appreciation Week› Taco Bell’s Birthday

Reporting› Reporting occurs four times a year. Exact dates will be announced.

6

Social Media Roles and Responsibilities Director of Digital and Social Marketing: Tressie Lieberman

› Leads innovation and digital strategy› Manages social team› Heads and develops social campaigns

Social Media Community Manager: Erika Johnson› Creates content across all social channels› Tracks monthly performance on social channels › Delivers company voice to social audience

Manager of Social Strategy: Ryan Rimsnider› Develops strategic vision for social platforms› Manages content strategy team

Manager of Brand and Media Relations: Sharon Royston› Seeks out brands to create campaigns that helps develop our personal brand› Works with colleges and universities to push ‘live más’ events› Direct media contact for all campaigns, news and events

7

Social Media PolicyAt Taco Bell, social media is embedded into our everyday operations. It is a part of our company culture, and the culture of our audience. However, guidelines are necessary to ensure our brand is appropriately reflected on all social platforms. As employees, you are expected to adhere to the following guidelines:

› Be polite and respectful at all times› Content will never contain offensive materials› Avoid controversial subjects› Don’t disparage the company in any shape or form› Don’t slander the competition› Be sensitive› Look for solutions› Use common sense

Have a question about a social media post? Ask a team member for help.Remember: Violating the social media policy could result in disciplinary actions, or termination. 8

Critical Response PlanScenario 1: Inappropriate message (Twitter, Facebook or Instagram post) sent out from company platform

1. Once message is detected:1.1. Screen capture message1.2. Delete message1.3. Notify Social Media Community Manager Erika Johnson (If Erika is not

available notify Director of Digital and Social Marketing Tressie Lieberman)

2. Erika will evaluate the reach, and possible impact of the message (number of people who saw it, what audience it could impact relationship with etc.)

3. If message has reached media, Erika and Manager of Brand and Media Relations Sharon Royston will write a press release to be sent out

4. Erika will draft a follow-up message on appropriate social platform5. Erika and Tressie will determine plan of action and possible disciplinary actions

for employee who drafted and sent out messageNO PREAPPROVED MESSAGE: Message will depend on platform/the inappropriate message that was sent out

9.1

Scenario 2: Food recall or bacteria outbreak at restaurants1. Restaurants or food processing contacts CEO Brian Niccol

1.1. Niccol sends out company wide email addressing matter2. Director of Digital and Social Marketing: Tressie Lieberman holds social team

meeting to address concern3. Social Media Community Manager Erika Johnson drafts messages for all social

media platforms addressing the issue and assuring the public we are doing everything to prevent the situation from happening again/impacting restaurants

4. Manager of Brand and Media Relations Sharon Royston sends out press release, will hold press conference if necessary

5. Entire social team continues to monitor issue on all platforms, dealing with customer concerns

NO PREAPPROVED MESSAGE: Messages sent out on social platforms must be tailored to address the scope of the issue

9.2

Measurement and Reporting

Source Volume Percentage of Overall Traffic

Conversion Rate

Facebook 30,000 unique

visits50% growth

1.6% 2.1%

Twitter 5,000150% growth .5% 1.2%

Instagram NO DATA NO DATA NO DATA

Quantitative KPIsReporting Period: 3 months Data as of May 19, 2015

Web Traffic Sources AssessmentTimeframe: Monthly average, February 2017 to May 2017

10.1

Social Network DataAs of May 19, 2017

URL Follower Count

Average Weekly Engagement

Average Engagement

Rate

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/tacobell/

10.6M19% increase

12 posts a week 300% increase 6%

Twitter https://twitter.com/tacobell

2M11% increase

18 tweets per week, 40+ replies per hour200% increase

5.1%

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/tacobell/

1.2M19% increase

4 posts a week200% increase

Avg. Interactions Per Post: 600

10.2

Social Network Data

On Instagram, we have been posting at a rate of 4 posts per week, up 200% from the previous quarter. This has caused our follower count to increase by 200,000. Our interactions per post have also gone up by an average of 180. We have also made a bigger push to respond to customers via Instagram, which has improved our overall presence on that platform.

Web traffic from our social networks has gone up substantially. On Facebook alone, we have seen 50% more people clicking to our website. While less people go to our website from Twitter, we have seen 150% growth in the last three months. This is partly due to including website information in the content we post.

10.2

#LiveMás Hashtag Performance› #LiveMás has seen growth in usage over the past three months.› Between February 19th and May 19th, 2017, the hashtag has been used over 30,000 times on

Twitter, and 5,000 times on Instagram. › Days where college events were sponsored by Taco Bell showed a spike in the hashtag usage.

Qualitative KPIsSentiment Analysis100 Facebook, 100 Twitter and 50 Instagram posts revealed the following:

› Positive sentiment was most showed following a visit to the restaurant, normally paired with photos of food

› Negative sentiment, however, was also shown following restaurant visits, particularly in relation to quality of the food, wait times and customer service

Proposed Actions › Continue to promote #LiveMás, particularly at promotional events› Consider new #Fresh&Fun campaign for summer events and products› Continue promoting website on social channels› Continue to post more frequently on Instagram and interact with customers

10.3