The Social Media Strategy for Taco Bell.

1. Taco BellSocial Media Strategy
Hannah Roza February 2017

2. Table of Contents
• 1. Executive Summary, February 2017
• 2. Social Media Audit
• a. Social Media Assessment, February 2017
• b. Traffic Sources Assessment, November 2016 - February 2017
• c. Audience Demographics Assessment
• d. Competitor Assessment
• 3. Social Media Objectives
• 4. Online Brand Persona and Voice
• 5. Strategies and Tools
• 6. Timing and Key Dates
• 7. Social Media Roles and Responsibilities
• 8. Social Media Policy
• 9. Critical Response Plan
• 10. Measurement and Reporting Results, February 2017 - November 2017

3. Executive Summary
• Taco Bell’s main priorities for 2017 are to increase online engagement with
consumers while increasing following across social media.
• In order to gain more revenue, we aim to increase our online influence and
presence through shares/likes/retweets/etc. by providing engaging
content that resonates with our consumers.
• Our major social strategies to support this objective are:
• Encourage engagement with our brand through promotions as well as
with “viral” content that resonates with our consumers.
• Creating a plan to increase earned media and consumer content in
relation to our brand such as sharing snapchat videos from consumers
engaging with the brand (either through a filter or by eating Taco Bell
products).

4. Social Media Audit
Social
Network
URL
Follower
Count
Average
Weekly
Activity
Average
Engagement
Rate
Facebook
https://
www.faceboo
k.com/
tacobell/
9,865,277
3 posts per
week
1.9%
Twitter
https://
twitter.com/
tacobell
1.8 Million
6 posts per
week
0.18%
Instagram
https://
www.instagra
m.com/
tacobell/?
1 Million
1 post per
week
2.5%
LinkedIn
https://
www.linkedin.
com/
company-
37,257
1 post per
week
0.27%
Social Media Assessment: Data as of February 2017
Assessment: Surprisingly, the most engagement occurs with Instagram, but that is because the numbers
being worked with are much smaller. Facebook does better than the rest in terms of engagement where
Twitter is lacking. Taco Bell would benefit greatly from increasing engagement in this channel.

5. Website Traffic Sources
Assessment
Source Volume
% of Overall
Traffic
Conversion
Rate
Facebook
10,000 unique
visits
24.5% 0.002%
Twitter N/A N/A N/A
Instagram No data No data No data
LinkedIn N/A N/A N/A
As of February 2017
A lot of information could not be found therefor an accurate assessment of website traffic sources could not be
made. However, Facebook has proven itself on multiple occasions to be the site with the heaviest traffic. Time
should be spent engaging the audience on Facebook.

6. Audience Demographics
Assessment
Age
Distribution
Gender
Distribution
Primary
Social
Network
Secondary
Social
Network
Primary
Need
Secondary
Need
16%: 18-24
25%: 25-34
18%: 35-44
17%: 45-54
14%: 55-64
13%: 65+
51.9%
Female
48.1% Male
Facebook Twitter
Wanting
something
to eat
because
they’re
hungry.
Craving
Mexican
food.
The majority of consumers are 25-34 year olds who are active on social media, specifically Facebook and Twitter.
They choose Taco Bell because they are hungry and craving Mexican food, so more content should be made
which entices consumers and influences them to crave Taco Bell.

8. Competitor Assessment
Competitor
Name
Social Media
Profile
Strengths Weaknesses
Chipotle chipotle
Well known and
well liked. Close
proximity to
college
campuses.
Less followers as well
as less annual sales.
Less engagement.
Posts are a little
awkward.
Moe’s moes_hq
Also well known
and liked. Also
very close to
campuses. Fun
Twitter posts.
Less followers and
significantly less
annual sales.
Their FB page has
only one post
While both of these competitors are well known and have location advantages, their annual sales do not
match up with Taco Bell’s, and their online presence is not as engaging. Chipotle is much more of a threat
than Moe’s, and Taco Bell should plan a strategy in the event that Chipotle decides to improve their social
media presence.

9. Social Media Objectives• Overall business goals:
• In 2017, we aim to gain more revenue through increasing our online influence and presence through shares/likes/retweets/
etc. by providing engaging content that resonates with our consumers.
• Specific Objectives:
• Increase followers on Instagram and Twitter by 300,000 in 6 months
• Increase unique visitors to Taco Bell website by 40% in 7 months
• Gain 40% more shares/likes/retweets across all social media platforms in 8 months
• Increase active engagement with online consumers through social media contests by 30% in 5 months.
• KPI’s
• Qualitative
• Facebook reactions
• Positive vs negative earned media and what the consumers say specifically
• Quantitative
• Number of followers on Twitter and Instagram
• Number of likes/shares/retweets
• Key Supporting messages
• Taco Time is Any Time
• Treating Isn’t Cheating

10. Online Brand Persona and
Voice
Adjectives That
Describe Our Brand:
• Fun
• Quirky
• Bold
• Funny
Examples of Brand Voice in
Social Media Interactions
• Casual
• Friendly
• Direct/Straightforward
• Satirical

11. Strategies and Tools• Paid:
• Facebook Boost, Twitter Ads
• Boost Facebook posts at the end of the week and closer to the evening. These posts must have an organic reach of at least 55
and at least 5 likes.
• Owned:
• Incorporate people into Instagram posts. More exciting and visually stimulating photos with people eating tacos, enjoying each
other’s company, etc.
• Host online caption contests for Taco Bell promotions.
• Create quick and easy step-by-step cooking videos that can be shared across social media (specifically: Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, and Snapchat).
• Earned:
• Monitor Twitter for key words: taco, Mexican food, hungry, Live Más, Give out worthwhile promotions at contests to create buzz.
• Tools
• Approved
• Buffer
• Hootsuite
• Rejected
• N/A
• Existing Subscriptions/Licenses: N/A

12. Timing and Key Dates
• Key Dates
• Tuesdays (Taco Tuesdays), International Taco Day (October 4), Cinco de
Mayo.
• Internal Events
• Founder’s Day, milestone anniversaries (75th is the next on March 21, 2037)
• Lead Times
• We will need about three months to prepare and then deploy our strategies
• Reporting Dates
• Reporting will occur once a month for every month.

13. Social Media Roles and
Responsibilities
Social Media Director: Dana Garcia
• Responsibilities: She is in charge of higher level planning, final approval
over Taco Bell’s social media budgets, campaigns, and strategies
Social Media Manager: Erika Johnson
• Responsibilities: Plans and oversees the execution of the social media
strategy and will manage the campaign to make sure things are running
smoothly and on time
Social Media Coordinator: Chris Crawford
• Responsibilities: In charge of publishing social media content like tweets
and Facebook posts. He is in charge of monitoring the brand’s
engagement with consumers and responds to questions and comments.
As such, he will also be in charge of the social media contests we hold.

14. Social Media PolicyAs an employee of Taco Bell and, therefore, a representation of our brand, you must be aware of the acceptable and unacceptable
ways to engage with consumers on social media. In order to uphold company values and reputation online, please always adhere
to the guidelines below:
• Be polite, never rude
• Be respectful
• Use common sense
• Be engaging and friendly
• Be funny when appropriate
• Help people with questions they may have
• Be patient and calm
• Do not leak confidential company information
• Do not talk ill about the competition
• Do not be hurtful
• Do not use sarcasm which can be easily misinterpreted
• Do not act in an immature manner when dealing with someone difficult. If trouble can be avoided, avoid it.
• Feel free to share our social media content on your own blog if you find it aligns with your interests
• Also feel free to share your own Taco Bell pictures and content in order to promote the brand where appropriate
• If you have questions or need help, contact a supervisor, we will assist you
Failure to abide by these guidelines will result in immediate disciplinary action and, depending on the severity of the situation,
termination of employment.

15. Critical Response Plan
• Scenario One: Health Violation (undercooked food, unsanitary objects found in food, etc.) (individual unharmed)
• Action Steps
• 1. Address consumer in an apologetic manner, express the apology of the company.
• 2. Assure it will not happen again and that the situation will be looked into and dealt with accordingly.
• 3. Offer compensation such as a coupon or a free taco/meal.
• Pre-Approved Messaging
• Facebook:
• Oh no! We are deeply sorry for this mistake. Rest assured, the situation will be looked into and
dealt with. Please DM us the address of which location of ours you visited so we can fix this. We’d
also like to make it up to you. We will be sending you a coupon code through Messenger. Please
take it for a free Taco Bell meal. Once again, we apologize for this happening and can assure you
it will not happen again.
• Twitter
• We are so sorry, and will look into this situation immediately. Please DM us the Taco Bell location
so we can fix this and make it up to you

16. Critical Response Plan
(cont.)
• Scenario Two: Employee sends offensive tweet/post using the company handle
• Action Steps
• 1. Chris Crawford (Social Media Coordinator) takes a screenshot of the tweet/post
• 2. Deletes it
• 3. Chris notifies Erika Johnson (Social Media Manager), and if she is unavailable, he contacts Dana
Garcia (Social Media Director)
• 4. Chris and Erika/Dana assess the situation and come up with the appropriate way to handle it.
Chris creates a response, and Erika/Dana approves.
• 5. Chris executes the strategy and contacts the person/people affected, and apologizes for the
situation, offering a brief explanation. If media has caught wind of it, however, Dana and Chris are to
execute direct contact together.
• 6. Dana contacts employee responsible and determines disciplinary action.
• Pre-Approved Messaging
• There is no pre-approved messaging that can be created for this because each situation is unique
and must be dealt with in the relevant and appropriate manner demanded by the situation.

17. Critical Response Plan
Contacts
Social Media Director: Dana Garcia
• Telephone: 305-965-0682
• Email: danagarcia85@gmail.com
Social Media Manager: Erika Johnson
• Telephone: 786-959-2371
• Email: erjohnson@gmail.com
Social Media Coordinator: Chris Crawford
• Telephone: 352-304-6992
• Email: chriscraw@gmail.com

18. Measurement and Reporting
Results
• Quantitative KPI’s
• Reporting Period: Every month
• Data as of November 2017

19. Social Network Data
Social
Network
URL
Follower
Count
Average
Weekly
Activity
Engagemen
t Rate
Facebook
https://
twitter.com/
tacobell
10 Million
6 posts per
week +50%
increase
41%
Twitter
https://
twitter.com/
tacobell
2.1 Million
8 posts per
week
40%
Instagram
https://
www.instagr
am.com/
tacobell/
1.3 Million
5 posts per
week
43%

20. • Our Instagram and Twitter followers increased by around
300,000 in the time allotted
• We also gained around 40% more shares/likes/retweets in
the 8 months we specified.
• Engagement with our audience has been incredibly
effective and has driven massive interest towards our
social media sites.
• A huge factor in our success was our social media
contests! Our prizes of coupons and other cool perks
brought a lot of attention and involvement to our brand.

21. Website Traffic Data
Source Volume
Percentage of
Overall Traffic
Conversion
Rates
Facebook
13,852 unique
visits +25.5%
growth
34% 0.75%
Twitter
10,000 unique
visits
43.5% N/A
Instagram
8,000 unique
visits
35.6% N/A

22. • Qualitative KPIs
• Sentiment Analysis
• An analysis of the interactions on 100 Facebook posts, 100 Instagram posts and 100 Tweets
revealed the following:
• Positive interactions with consumers, including more positive Facebook reactions on posts
• A dramatic increase in shares/likes/retweets as well as comments with positive sentiments,
especially in Instagram
• Proposed Action Items
• Continue social media contests on Twitter
• Keep incorporating people into the Instagram photos, but even more engaging and exciting
• Maintain the frequent posting of relevant content paired with media
• Prepare a strategy for LinkedIn, as efforts this time around were not focused too much on it.