Taco Bell's Social Media Success

Reflection #3

Taco Bell has definitely had its ups and downs as far as its image is concerned. The false rumor that its beef is of "grade D quality" is still circulating in the American consciousness. On top of this there is a stigma that all fast food will make you fat and sick, a belief that all fast food chains must battle.

Taco Bell's constantly evolving menu keeps its fans engaged. Personally, I liked their page on Facebook just so I don't miss new items like the Quesalupa, the Quesarito, or the Naked Chicken Chalupa. The last item disappeared less than a month after its release, ending on March 1st of this year. The Naked Chicken Chalupa's popular debut is not only because of the fried chicken shell but also because of Taco Bell's aggressive social media campaign. The company started to hype up the limited edition item two weeks before its launch on January 26th. Enticed with a new shell not seen since the Doritos Locos Tacos campaign of 2012, consumers jumped at the opportunity to try the new addition to the menu.

Taco Bell's experimental side is also expressed through attempts to make the menu options healthier. The company recently published an article to Facebook, "How to Eat Taco Bell When You're Counting Calories," which explained how consumers can order off the existing menu to suit their dietary needs. Apparently, ordering most menu items "Fresco style" will replace any mayo-based sauces, sour cream, cheese, and guacamole, reducing the fat content up to 25%. It also features the calorie counts of fresco-style items like the Crunchy Taco With Seasoned Beef at 140 calories. In 2012, Taco Bell added the Cantina menu, showcasing better quality meats and lower calories. These menu options were quite popular with women and the elderly, demographics the brand did not particularly target before.

Taco Bell's Facebook presence exemplifies two of "five points of being social," created by the media scholar, Adreas Kaplan: "be active" and "be unprofessional." Taco Bell consistently replies to people's comments on their posts. Whether the company is promoting a new product, fan video, or showcasing its employees, the social media team finds entertaining ways to engage with the audience. Taco Bell is active enough to reply to two or three comments per thread, but they do not reply to everything. MONQ, a seller of essential oil diffusing pens, replies to every comment on their Facebook posts. However, their audience is much smaller, at around 190,000 likes. Taco Bell could not afford to reply to every comment when they receive a few thousand per post. Taco Bell follows the "be unprofessional" point by not being overly formal in their responses. A good example of this is shown above. Staying personable makes a massive entity like Taco Bell still appear accessible.

DeJesus, Erin. "Taco Bell Is Taking the Naked Chicken Chalupa Off Its Menu." Eater. Eater, 23 Feb. 2017. Web. 07 Mar. 2017. <http://www.eater.com/2017/2/23/14711802/naked-chicken-chalupa-taco-bell>.

"How To Eat Taco Bell When You're Counting Calories." Taco Bell. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2017. <https://www.tacobell.com/feed/how-to-eat-fewer-calories>.

Lee, Jolie. "What's actually in Taco Bell beef?" USA Today. Gannett Satellite Information Network, 30 Apr. 2014. Web. 07 Mar. 2017. <http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/04/30/taco-bell-meat-ingredients/8501981/>.

Kaplan, Andreas M., “Users of the World, Unite! The Challenges and Opportunities

of Social Media,” Business Horizons (2010) 53, 59-68.

MONQ. Facebook. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2017. <https://www.facebook.com/MyMONQ/?hc_ref=PAGES_TIMELINE&fref=nf>.

Morrison., Maureen. "Sales are Going Loco at Taco Bell, Ad Age's Marketer of the Year." Ad Age. N.p., 02 Sept. 2013. Web. 07 Mar. 2017. <http://adage.com/article/special-report-marketer-alist-2013/taco-bell-ad-age-s-marketer-year/243852/>.

Rosenfeld, Everett. "Taco Bell’s Doritos Locos Tacos Are an Insanely Huge Hit." Time. Time, 05 June 2012. Web. 07 Mar. 2017. <http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/06/05/taco-bells-doritos-locos-tacos-are-an-insanely-huge-hit/>.

Images

https://www.facebook.com/tacobell/photos/a.81097684696.68431.18595834696/10155133934829697/?type=3&theater

http://www.referralcandy.com/blog/taco-bell-word-of-mouth-marketing/