Taco Bell's social media strategy focuses on growing their presence on Snapchat. Their objectives are to reach 3.7 million Snapchat followers by January 2018 and become a top brand on the platform. Their strategies include capitalizing on their successful Snapchat lenses, providing excellent customer service, and publishing entertaining content. Key dates include launching their Snapchat account in May 2017 and migrating 25% of other followers by December 2017. Progress will be measured using metrics like Snapchat traffic, followers, and engagement rates.

1. Taco Bell
Social Media Strategy
Adrian Cibran
03/19/2017

2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Executive Summary………………………………….Page 3
2. Social Media Audit…………………………………….Page 4
a. Social Media Assessment……………………..Page 4
b. Traffic Sources Assessment…………………..Page 5
c. Customer Demographics Assessment………………..Page 5
d. Competitor Assessment………………………………….Page 6
3. Social Media Objectives…………………………………….Page 8
4. Online Brand Persona and Voice…………………….Page 10
5. Strategies…………………………………………..Page 11
6. Timing and Key Dates…………………………Page 12
7. Tools & Social Media Roles and Responsibilities…….Page 13
8. Social Media Policy………………Page 14
9. Critical Response Plan…………………Page 15
10. Measurement and Reporting Results…………….Page 16
2

3. 3
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
_________________
Effective immediately, the company’s primary social media
objective for 2017 will be to establish a robust and vibrant
presence on Snapchat.
Building off of our wildly successful Cinco de Mayo 2016 “Taco
Head” sponsored lens campaign – in which our lens was
viewed an incredible 224 million times (making it Snapchat’s
top campaign to date) – our efforts will be concentrated on
boosting our immediate/current revenue numbers, as well as
laying the foundation for increased market share in the
future by fostering a highly engaged and loyal Snapchat fan
base among heavy users ages 18-29, in addition to creating a
base of loyal followers among un-engaged/infrequent users
ages 25-44 (Snapchat’s fastest growing demographic). Name
of the game: poaching wide swaths of users who’ve yet to be
claimed organically by our competitors on this young
platform. Long-term goal: become the brand with the most
followers on Snapchat by 2020.
Strategies:
1. Capitalize and organically build the funest brand
community on Snap from scratch while the opportunity
still exists + publishing and curating hilariously quirky
and clever content in the Reddit-esque fashion of humor
(sarcastic, smart, sharp, dorky, over the top, ‘hipster
meets troll/frat bro’) similar to what we already
promote on Facebook and Twitter.
2. Solicit community-wide, “Real” engagement via a highly
responsive/helpful and elite Snapchat customer service
team operating 24/7 to help customers facing issues or
just engage in genuine/substantive dialogue in order to
forge lasting relationships + strategic usage of the
hottest new branded lenses, filters, sponsored live story
event features, and regularly hosting Snap contests
giving away awesome prizes, deals, promo codes etc.

4. 4
SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIT
_________________
The following is an audit of Taco Bell’s social media
presence to date. It includes an assessment of all
social networks, web traffic, audience
demographics and a competitor analysis.
Social Media Assessment:
Data as of March 19, 2017
Social
Network
URL Follower
Count
Average
Weekly
Activity
Average
Engagement
Rate
#interactions
/Reach
Facebook https://goo.g
l/9si7nF
10,448,521 2-3 posts .00159%
Instagram https://goo.g
l/RYLvBP
~1 Million 1 post 1.68%
Twitter https://goo.g
l/5lsnLZ
1.8 Million 7 posts 1.5%
YouTube https://goo.g
l/IDt2RJ
59,135 2 posts 2.33%
Social Media Assessment:
At present time, the highest number of interactions per
post occurs on YouTube, with an approximate
engagement rate of 2.33%. Twitter and Instagram come
out to around the same, with Facebook notably lagging
(proportionally).

5. 5
Website Traffic Sources Assessment:
Timeframe: Monthly average, January 2017 to
February 2017
Source Volume % of Overall
Traffic
Conversion
Rate
Facebook 2,400,027
unique visits
20% 15%
Instagram 145,080
unique visits
14.5% 9.7%
Twitter ~49,000
unique visits
2.7% 1.4%
YouTube 334,483
unique visits
565% 165%
Traffic Summary:
At present time, YouTube is by far the highest traffic
platform for the company, brining in 565% more non-
subscribed viewers to the channel than subscribers.
Demographics Assessment:
Assessment taken in January/February 2017 via
Hootsuite Analytics.
Age
Distrib.
Gender
Distrib.
Primary
Social
Network
Secondary
Social
Network
Primary
Need
Secondary
Need
70% 18-34
20% 34-45
10% 56-80
60%
Female
40% Male
77%
Facebook
6.5%
Twitter
3.35%
Instagram
1.60%
YouTube
50%
Twitter
25%
Instagram
15%
Facebook
10%
YouTube
Preferred
social
media
channel
due to
content
preference
Different
but still
appealing
content

6. 6
Audience Demographics Summary:
The grand majority, if not almost all, of our social
media followers fall within the 18-34-year old
millennial demographic, with almost all of them
opting to use Facebook as their primary social
network. Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, though
populous, are almost negligible by comparison.
Competitor Assessment:
Competitor Name Social Media
Profile
Strengths Weaknesses
Chipotle Grill Facebook,
Instagram, Twitter
and YouTube:
@Chipotle
Extremely high
production/cinem
atography/animat
ion value to
videos.
Extremely low
engagement; i.e.
204 likes/27 vs.
2.1K likes and 400
comments. One-
way, no company
feedback
Moe’s Southwest
Grill
Facebook,
Instagram, Twitter
and YouTube, G+
and Pinterest:
@Moe’sSouthwest
Grill
Superb HR photos
of savory-looking
menu items.
Consistent
content and
voice. Relevant
use of hashtags
re. promotions
and holidays.
Completely
lacking relevant
content; account
is stock photos
with cheesy
captions. Zero
Interaction with
commenters.
McDonald’s Facebook:
@McDonaldsUS
Instagram,
YouTube, Tumblr
Spotify and
Twitter:
@McDonalds
Very strong
description w/
CTA (none re.
Taco Bell). Much
higher
concentration of
video/gif content.
Account cross-
promotion.
Exceptional two-
way
communication.
No glaring
weaknesses to
speak of. By
comparison to
Taco Bell, social
media content is
very bland and
not funny nor
enticing.

7. 7
Competitor Assessment Summary:
The above analysis focused on three of Taco Bell’s major
competitors with strong social media presences on Facebook,
Instagram and Twitter.
Sans critiques on particular account features, it’s important to
note that two of the three have active accounts on G+,
Pinterest, Spotify and Tumblr. *More research should be
conducted to determine whether or not it’s in the company’s
best interest to pursue these platforms, as many of Taco Bell’s
engaged followers may also be active on these networks.
Analysis of our competitors brought to light the indisputable
pull and advantage of extremely high-resolution video and
product photography in enhancing the narrative storytelling of
their brands, as well as formidably driving their engagement
numbers – something we employ effectively, but not at the
same production value.
Our analysis also highlighted comparatively lacking aspects of
Taco Bell’s Twitter profile, which at present lacks a strong
description or any call-to-action. Some of our competitors
displayed a higher concentration of video/gif content, but
matched us in the amount of account cross-promotion and
two-way communication with commenters we practice.
According to our examination, Taco Bell’s engagement rates
are still monolithically higher than the competitors addressed
here, as well as offering content that was/is significantly
better received by the 18-34 year-old demographic. *Moe’s and
Chipotle’s customer interaction rates are non-existent and
one-way only; McDonald’s engages in good two-way
communication, but not as vigorously nor as often as Taco Bell.

8. 8
Social Media Objectives
___________________
In 2017, the main focus of our social media strategy will be to
tangibly boost revenue by driving large amounts of traffic to
our restaurants, as a directly attributable result of our
community terraforming efforts on Snapchat. To accomplish
this, our priorities will be to aggressively grow our Snapchat
follower base by migrating our current fan base engaged on
our other social media, fostering large scale organic poaching
of the infrequently engaged but rapidly growing 25-44
demographic that’s already on Snapchat, evangelizing the
already stellar type of content we publish on all our other
social media on a massive scale (by tailoring it specifically for
Snapchat using it’s own features and functions), as well as
instituting an elite and large customer service team hired
specifically to ensure that 100% of our customer
grievances/inquiries/dialogue go answered and addressed by
an actual human being in a timely manner. The ultimate goals
are to become “The” name in Snapchat customer
service/relationship building, and to be the brand with the
highest number of followers on the platform by 2020.
2017 Specific Objectives:
1. Launch @tacobell Snapchat account by May 2017.
2. Migrate 25% of all non-Snapchat Taco Bell Social Media followers
by December 2017.
3. Solidify number of new unique visitors to the account to 50,000
people every month consistently by July 2017.
4. Reach at least 3.7 million followers on Snapchat by January 1,
2018.
5. Receive a 95% satisfaction rate from our users at the end of a
three-question survey offered at the end of the year.

9. 9
KPIs:
1. Number of total unique views
2. Number of story completions & screen shots
3. Number of weekly content (photo and video
posts) published
4. EOY sentiment analysis
5. Number of Snapchat followers
6. Hashtags
Key Messages:
1. A ridiculously entertaining, food/pop culture meets
relevant sketch comedy experience.
2. Free food promo codes and dank memes-type place
3. The funnest place to spend time on Snapchat, with
great deals and great content

10. 10
Online Brand Persona and Voice:
 When interacting with customers we are –
1. Dedicated
2. Selfless
3. Helpful
 Adjectives that describe our brand -
1. Dorky
2. Sharp
3. Trollish
4. Hilarious
5. Smart

11. 11
Strategies and Tools
___________________
Paid:
Every day, sponsor the three most successful posts to pick up
any stragglers or non-followers newly to be converted. Only
posts with at least 45- 50% positive completion rates. Establish
strategic partnerships with other brands using discover.
Owned:
Adopt and aggressively push the hashtags #tacosnap and
#tacochata across all Taco Bell social media platforms with a
link to the new Snapchat page. Ask followers to repost, regram
and start snapping the account. Migrate all our other followers
on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube via cross-platform
promotion by publishing scan-able ghost avatar QR code posts
also with direct links to the Snapchat sign-up page for (new
users). Monitor Snapchat metrics using Snaplytics and
Delmondo. Begin content evangelization. Start blasting out
promo/discount QR codes to people for two free soft tacos
immediately upon following the new account - *only applies to
the first lucky 10,000 nationwide. Issue new lenses once per
week, along with one video and one photo/text post daily –
minimum.
Earned:
Monitor all accounts using Hootsuite for keywords and terms
Taco, Taco Bell, Taco Snap, #tacosnap and #tacochata. Contact
internal list of press contacts.

12. 12
Timing and Key Dates
___________________
Specific Dates:
May 31 - Launch @tacobell Snapchat account
July 31 - *TBD, Solidify the number of new unique visitors
to the account consistently every month to
50,000 people
January 1 - *TBD, Reach at least 3.7 million followers on
Snapchat
December 10 - *TBD, Finish migrating 25% of all non-
Snapchat Taco Bell Social Media followers
December 28 – Close end-of-year a, three-question
sentiment analysis and begin measuring results
Holiday Dates:
January 1 - New Year’s Day
January 15 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
May 5 - Cinco De Mayo
May 28 - Memorial Day
July 4 - Independence Day
September 3 - Labor Day (Long Weekend)
October 8 – Columbus Day
October 31 – Halloween
November 23 – Thanksgiving
December 25 – Christmas
December 31 – New Year’s Eve

13. 13
Tools:
Approved Tools Rejected Tools Existing
Subscriptions/Licenses
Snaplytics N/A Buffer
Delmondo Hootsuite
Tweet Deck
Social Media Roles
and Responsibilities
___________________
Marketing Director: Social Ads Support:
Adrian Cibran Hunter Whitehurst
Jackie Guthart
Social Media Managers: Victoria Najmy
Destiny Woods William Janey
Anna Molinaro Andy Hopson
Social Media Coordinator: Customer Support/Social Media:
Sally Greider Keiran Sheridan
Jahi Khalfani Jacob Atem
Keyla Ferraro Kemly Rodriguez
Elle Beecher
Bernard Marger
Kent Fuchs
Elena Castello
Geena San Miguel
Ralph Rivera
Jacob Morrison
Eduardo Rijos
Olivia Bowman
Lauren Arfaras
Approved Tools Rejected Tools Existing
Subscriptions/Licenses
Snaplytics N/A Buffer
Delmondo Hootsuite
Tweet Deck
Google Analytics
Facebook Analytics

14. 14
Social Media Policy
___________________
Social media is deeply rooted in every aspect of our daily
lives. As an employee and brand representative of Taco Bell
you are expected to comport your self respectfully online
with poise and respect at all times. Please follow these rules
while using company or private social media at all times.
‹Treat others with respect
‹Exercise your better judgment
‹Do not break the law
‹Talk about solutions, don’t dwell on problems
‹Be doting and attentive with customers
‹Be the polite and take the high road
‹Don’t mention the competition in a negative light
‹Publicize company events in a tasteful way
‹Don’t engage or instigate fights
‹Unsure if your current accounts are company-friendly?
Consult before you tweet – we got your back
Taco Bell is highly invested in the appropriate use of social
media by our employees. Violation of the Taco Bell social
policy may result in corrective action, up to, and including,
termination. You may also be subject to legal action,
including criminal prosecution. The company also reserves
the right to take any further action it believes is appropriate.
Should you have any questions or concerns please speak to
your Manager or anyone on the HR team.

15. 15
Critical Response Plan
___________________
Scenario 1 –
Inappropriate Snap sent from @tacobell Snapchat
Action Plan
When Snap is detected:
‹Take screenshot
‹Delete Snap
‹Alert Destiny Woods (Social Media Manager). If Destiny is
unavailable, alert Adrian Cibran (Marketing Director.)
‹Allow Destiny to develop appropriate follow up Snap, and
Adrian to approve.
‹If media has picked up the Snap, Adrian to manage all
direct contact.
‹Destiny and Adrian will then convene with employee
responsible for publishing the Snap to see if disciplinary
action is required.
Pre-approved messaging:
NO PRE-APPROVED MESSAGING IN THIS SCENARIO
Messaging will be dependant on the nature of the Snap -
to be developed by Adrian and Destiny.
__________________________________________________
Scenario 2 –
@tacobell Snapchat hacked into
Action Plan
When scenario is realized:
‹Take screenshots
‹Alert Destiny Woods (Social Media Manager). If Destiny is
unavailable, alert Adrian Cibran (Marketing Director.)
‹Allow Destiny to develop appropriate follow up Tweet
publicly addressing situation and Adrian to approve.
‹If media has picked up the Snap, Adrian to manage all
direct contact. Issue statement immediately, and
schedule live tweeting press conference.
NO PRE-APPROVED MESSAGING IN THIS SCENARIO

16. 16
Measurement and Reporting
___________________
Quantitative KPIs –
Reporting period: 3 months
Data as of September19, 2017
Snapchat Traffic Sources Assessment:
Time Frame: Monthly average, June – August 2017
Social Network Assessment: Snapchat @Tacobell
Data as of September19, 2017
Source Volume % of Traffic Conversion
Snapchat 300,000 unique
visits + 25%
growth
45% 39%
Story
Completions &
Screen Shots
Total
Unique
Views
Follower
Count
Average
Weekly
Activity
Hashtag(s)
engagement
rate
100,000 : 69,000 3 million 1 million, 21 posts per
week, + 11%
increase
25%
Qualitative KPIs:
Partial sentiment analysis (full analysis in December): 75% positive
Data as of September 19, 2017
*Survey of 3,000 followers on Snapchat
Hashtag Performance:
#tacosnap and #tacochata were both mentioned 4,500 and 2,000 times
respectively on Twitter as of date.