KingvKentucky

Our comparison of the two companies revealed that KFC is slightly better when it comes to social media. In terms of frequency of their posts we found that both companies could`ve done a better job. It is important to put up new content regularly to keep reminding followers that you are there, but at the same time you don´t want to overload them with posts. KFC should start posting more regularly, especially on their Facebook account.   Both did well in terms of engagement, and customer service. Good at answering questions and comments, and their posts do get comments and likes so they are both engaging well with their followers. KFC is very good at putting up varied and interactive content, as for Burger King most of their posts on social media were promotional messages and pictures of burgers. So we think that they should put up more funny material and fewer posts of food.  

Burger King has a slightly wider outreach than KFC and can attract high profile celebrities to help with advertisements. For example this piece with everyone's favourite ex man united player David Beckham. 

Here’s to the next 10 years of social media.

On the other hand, I personally feel that the government taking control of social media would be an invasion of our privacy. But I don’t think it can be prevented from occurring – I believe that the more advanced technology becomes, the more all of our personal technological gadgets will become connected to the Internet – our phones, TV’s, games consoles and maybe even our kitchen appliances. The result will be an interrelation of all the information about us as individuals and it will ultimately be stored and analysed by the government. Social Media is just the beginning and the more prevalent it becomes throughout the world, the more our entire lives will be displayed online. Sana Akram 

I believe that mobile technology will continue to grow, and that we will see an increase in firms shifting from web – based marketing to mobile apps and so on. At the moment shopping online is very popular, and in the future I believe that this will move to social media platforms. Just imagine being able to buy clothes and food through the Facebook app on your phone. Or even use an app to order your meal on your way to Burger King or KFC. Nowadays, it is normal to own a mobile phone and from there one can access everything one might need and desire with a few clicks. In my opinion, this is the future!       

A spokesperson for KFC said in an interview that interacting with people and putting up fun and engaging content are two of the main reasons why the firm uses social media. And after looking at KFC´s presence on particular Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram one can clearly see those elements reflected across all platforms. Their posts are interesting, varied, fun and definitely interactive. In the interview it was also mentioned that the company looked at platforms like Facebook and Twitter as great ways to further enhance customer service. KFC is very good at answering queries and comments from followers and fans, if the comment is a negative one they don´t shy away from it, but rather apologizes and asks for more details so that the issue can be handled. Their strategy is to first build relationships with fans, and then the followers will be more open for the occasional promotional message, the spokesperson argues. 

Burger King decided to use Twitter to promote their new French fries called “Satisfries” to the public. These fries were the result of two years of secret development carried out by the company. Burger King came up with the hashtag 'WTFF' which was meant to stand for ‘what the French fry’. However, this hashtag already existed and it stood for 'what the f**king f**k'. As a result, Burger King’s hashtag was hijacked and did not produce the desired outcome for the brand. The occurrence of this hashtag fail could possibly raise the question of whether or not twitter and social media are the best way to promote and market new products to the public. Due to the vast number of followers a big global brand like Burger King would have, a mistake like this would inevitably take place on a very large scale and could potentially result in massive negative outcomes for the company if not fixed quickly

As part of the NCAA championships in the US this year, Burger King ran a campaign for March Madness. The campaign included 30 second spot advertisement (shown above) which featured former professional basketball player Chris Webber. On the social media side of the campaign there was a competition where fans could follow and tweet @BurgerKing why they deserve to watch like a king or they could post photos of their own NCAA themed photos with the hashtag #watchlikeaking. The chosen winners received various prizes which included mobile phone projectors and flat screen TVs, tickets to the NCAA Final Four and much more. Through this campaign with the use of social media, not only would Burger King be getting marketing and advertising benefits, but also an improved corporate image for their brand.

As a part of KFC´s #howdoyoukfc campaign, followers are encouraged to upload pictures and videos of them eating KFC. To supprt this campaign the company has uploaded videos to YouTube of people enjoying their meals whilst doing unthinkable things. This videos is of professional motorcrosser Bryce Hudson doing a backflip. 

KFC has 45.000 followers on Instagram, and is using the account to engage and interact with their fans through competitions, pictures and videos. When the firm launched the go cup, they encouraged their followers to upload pictures of them with the new go cup, and using the hashtag #gocupgo. By doing that they are not only able to engage and interact with their fans, but also listen to and learn from them as well.

A negative aspect surrounding the reality of social media is that your account could potentially be hacked. This is what happened to Burger King's Twitter account after it was hacked by a McDonald's fan. If not fixed soon after it occurs, the results could be disastrous - Burger King managed to fix this problem with the help of administrators who suspended their Twitter account until they could get back Burger King's original postings.

To accompany the TV commercial, KFC created the hashtag iatethebones and used social media channels like Twitter, YouTube and Instagram to promote their new boneless chicken item. By doing that they integrated their social media strategy with their traditional marketing strategy. KFC encouraged followers and fans to upload pictures and Twitter post with the #iatethebones

KFC has 17 530 491 million followers on Facebook. As the pictures above suggest their Facebook account is being used to post engaging content, as well as interact and build relationships with their fans! KFC is very good at answering both negative and positive questions and comments from their followers. The frequency of their posts are not that good, and it can go days without any new posts on their account. 

One of Burger King's most effective campaigns via social media took place on their Norway Facebook page. To remove the negativity linked to their Facebook page, Burger King gave their fake fans the following two options: either like the page or, in exchange for a free big mac voucher, agree to be banned from the Facebook page for eternity. The result - the Facebook page lost 30,000 followers but gained just under 8500 true, loyal fans. Engagement with these genuine fans also became 5 times higher! Burger King's overall purpose for this initiative would have been to improve interaction with genuine fans in order to increase constructive and positive feedback surrounding their brand and the products they offer.  

KFC´s "it doesn´t count if" campaign. Found that young women looked at the brand as a guilty pleasure, and they were ignoring messages about lighter menu choices. Put up an unbranded video on YouTube. When someone clicked on the link at the end, the KFC brand was revealed along with information about the healthier menu options, for the times that it actually does count. Encouraged women to post their it doesn´t count if - excuses and share on Facebook and Twitter with the #itdoesntcountif. The video got over a million views in the first two weeks.