Social Media: The Language of Your Clients.
You don’t need flashy, big-shot advertising to bring in the bacon—or in Chipotle’s case, the burrito. Yes, while other fast-food franchises have been spending millions on traditional advertising, Chipotle has managed to make a huge impact on consumers without busting their marketing budget.
With an 11% increase in same-store sales throughout 2011, Chipotle gives credit for their success to their smart and savvy grassroots initiatives. Holding a major presence online, Chipotle and their 1.7 million social media fans have created the ideal relationship between a company and customers by simply starting a conversation. In a 2011 Nation’s Restaurant News study, it was found that Chipotle responds to 83% of their Facebook posts—more than any other fast-food restaurant. It was also revealed that about 90% of Chipotle’s Twitter activity is responses to customers. This personalized approach to reaching consumers has driven more traffic and creative opportunities to Chipotle, both online and off.
So how do they pull of this personal approach? By practicing a one-on-one engagement model that utilizes a three-person social media team who individually tweet and post to the Chipotle community. Each person has their own voice and makes an effort to actually talk and listen to Chipotle followers—creating a conversation and getting actual feedback.
Chipotle has also spent time creating video content to stir up the interweb with ideas of promoting positive behavior toward animals and the environment. The launch of their most recent video ad, “Back to the Start,” generated nearly 6 million views on YouTube and created plenty of buzz on Twitter and Facebook. This concept of changing the way people think about their food has played an important role in how Chipotle plans to evolve as a company and communicate with their customers.
As you can see, social media is a great way to communicate with your customers and clients about your business. It keeps you relevant, reputable and real—allowing you the ability to build a stronger, more personal relationship.