Recently, I had opportunity to speak with Alicia Thompson, VP of Communication and PR for Popeyes, the fried chicken restaurant chain started in New Orleans years ago by restaurateur Al Copeland, regarding their social media marketing communications strategy. (Popeye’s corporate offices are now located in Atlanta.)
Strategy Centers Around Facebook and Twitter
Thompson said they started incorporating social media into the marketing mix mid-year 2008 utilizing Facebook and MySpace. Later, they set up a Twitter account as well. They eventually discontinued the MySpace page because, according to Thompson, “unlike with Facebook, we could get no traction.”
She indicated that Popeyes has a “cult-like” following and there were already a number of Facebook groups devoted to the brand. The company saw an opportunity to connect with those fans and engage them in a more personal, direct way.
Popeyes now has two official Facebook Pages, one for the brand itself, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, and one tied to a special promotion for their bone-in chicken, called Bonafide. The company chose that term for two reasons: First, the word means “authentic,” something that fits very well for use in social media. Second, it’s a play on the word “bone.”
In regard to their use of social media, “We don’t do a lot of marketing via Twitter,” Thompson said. “It’s a tool for engagement to engender conversation with our customers, not for marketing promotions.” While that philosophy pervades all their social media interactions, product promotions are run on the Facebook Pages.
The company uses online reputation monitoring services from Radian6 to keep an eye on references to their brand. “Most of the conversation is on Twitter, though we see some discussions on blogs, mainly in reference to customer service,” she said.
Though the company’s strategy revolves around Facebook and Twitter for the time being, there are plans for additional foray’s into the medium, including the creation of an online community to replace their brand promotion site, Bonafide Krewe. No timeline has been set for that transition, however.
Sharing Social Media Marketing with Franchises
Popeyes is a franchise-oriented company. In fact, Thompson indicated they’re trending toward 98% of the restaurants being franchise owned. That led me to inquire as to whether they have a strategy for co-opting social media marketing with franchisees.
To that, Thompson indicated there is ongoing debate about how to work with franchisees and that they are having discussion with leadership on the franchise side. The chief concern, as you might expect, is protecting the integrity of the brand.
That topic is one that should be discussed by other large franchise-oriented brands. Should a local franchisee be given liberty to do their own social media marketing? Or, should there be a coordinated strategy that takes advantage of both what corporate has to offer on a national scale and what the franchise brings to the table from a local perspective? Developing such a strategy makes perfect sense and I’m hopeful Popeyes will take the lead in creating such.
Benefits to Popeyes
As to the benefits of using social media, “For Popeyes, first and foremost it’s about engaging with customers and giving them input into the brand,” said Thompson.
(NOTE: If you don’t mind me giving a little plug for the brand, as a Louisiana resident and long-time Popeye’s customer, let me tell you, it’s hard to beat their chicken. If you have a Popeyes restaurant in your locale, do yourself a favor and give it a try. If not, then next time you’re down my way, it’s my treat!)
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