Social Media and Facebook for McDonalds - Research Paper Example

Social media and Facebook ACADEMIC HONESTY MENT My signature below constitutes mypledge that all of the writing is my own work, with the exception of those portions which are properly documented. I understand and accept the following definition of plagiarism: 1. Plagiarism includes the literal repetition without acknowledgment of the writings of another author. All significant phrases, clauses, or passages in this paper which have been taken directly from source material have been enclosed in quotation marks and acknowledged in the text itself as well as in the list of Works Cited or Bibliography. 2. Plagiarism includes borrowing another’s ideas and representing them as my own. To paraphrase the thoughts of another writer without acknowledgment is to plagiarize. Plagiarism also includes inadequate paraphrasing. Paraphrased passages (those put into my own words) have been properly acknowledged in the text and in the bibliography. 3. Plagiarism includes using another person or organization to prepare this paper and then submitting it as my own work. I understand what plagiarism is, and I further understand that if plagiarism is found in my paper, my professor will follow the procedures on academic dishonesty set forth by the university Signed _________________________ Date ___________________________ Table of Contents Introduction……………………………………………………………………………. 4 Company Profile………………………………………………………………………. 5 Body…………………………………………………………………………………… 6 Discussion……………………………………………………………………………… 6 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………... 14 Recommendations…………………………………………………………………….. 14 References……………………………………………………………………………… 16 Introduction In the current setting, the social media now plays a huge role in businesses, in cultural and social exchanges, and even in political discussions. The social media which includes Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other sharing websites has allowed an avenue for the general public to share their opinions, preferences, likes, and dislikes, on most any product, event, politician, movie, music, celebrity, and the like. The accessibility of the internet and mobile devices has also made it possible for almost any person in any part of the world to connect to other people. Under this context, the rise or the fall of any person, possibly politicians or celebrities can unfold easily through the social media. The failure or success of any product in the market can also be easily determined by the social media. In the case of the McDonald’s Corporation, the social media has also had both positive and negative effects on the food chain. This research paper will assess and examine the role that the social media plays in the success of the McDonald’s Corporation USA. It shall examine the social media’s usage and the impact it has had on the vision and business strategies of the organization. It would also analyze the success/failure of their social media strategies in securing corporate goals. This paper would compare the usage of the social media in relation to traditional media and present an analysis of the benefits gained from each kind of media. McDonald’s Corporation Profile The official McDonald’s website (2014) presents the recent profile for the corporation. They state that the company is the global leader in foodservice retail with close to 35,000 locations covering 70 million consumers in 100 states daily. About 80% of their outlets are owned and being managed by local independent businessmen. Their goal has become a customer favorite place to eat and drink with their core food items including McDonald’s Fries, Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Chicken McNuggets, and other favorites. The direction of the corporation has been to secure success and they seek such success by leveraging their system, identifying and implementing ideas which serve the challenging needs and preferences of consumers. They are also aiming towards securing locally-relevant experiences for their customers. They have also focused on securing three main goals, including the optimization of their menu, the modernization of the customer experience, and increasing the accessibility of the brand. They believe they can achieve such goals by aligning their priorities, including convenience, menu variety, and geographic diversification for their clients. These practices are part of the sustainable growth drive. Their company profile also acknowledges that as a business, they are being managed based on three specific geographic groupings which include the US, Europe, Asia/Pacific/Middle East/Africa, and other countries which include Canada and Latin America. Discussion: Social Media Analysis The social media has various uses, but communication has become its primary application and purpose especially for companies like McDonald’s who have come to value its facets and utility. According to Rose (n.d), McDonald’s is a company which is firstly recession proof. McDonald’s has gained superior branding position, so much so that 88% of the global population recognizes the Golden Arches alone. As soon as Facebook and Twitter became popular, McDonald’s gained millions of likes and followers on both websites. McDonald’s has now taken full advantage of what the social media can provide for it in order to increase its profitability. It has used the social media to further promote its brand. It has also been able to push against the constant criticism from health professionals, government agencies, as well as campaign groups (Rose, n.d). McDonald’s has also applied social media advertising in order to promote its brand and its products. The need to update its status in the social media has been a demand which has successfully been met by the corporation. It has also embraced photo captures of customers, allowing for these pictures to be shared in the Facebook or Twitter pages (Rose, n.d). There is constant engagement with customers through the social media. Through simply re-tweets to consumers, there is a feeling of increased involvement in the company. Opinions retweeted also allow for consumers to relate in real time to the product itself. In other words, the link between consumer and the company is somehow made closer. McDonald’s has also joined Pinterest and Google+ which is considered the more current trend for future social media (Rose, n.d). In a discussion by Moth (2013) where he studied how McDonald’s has used the social media as a tool of communication with its consumers and the general public, he discusses several applications for the social media as far as the corporation is concerned. McDonald’s has used Facebook to promote its brand and to attract more consumers. Its page has about 27 million fans and likes. However, even with its ability to draw in the likes, the company does not post much content on its page. There is a need therefore to increase its updates in order to maintain the interest of the people on the company and the Facebook page. In recent years, their hands off approach in Facebook have improved. It may not post too many updates in a month, however, it does attract thousands of likes and comments for its posts (Moth, 2013). However, McDonald’s does not make a strong effort to respond to the user comments, which may sometimes be complaints on food quality or service quality. Under these conditions, their Facebook page only seems to serve product promotions, not so a communication tool (Matthews, 2010). Other businesses also use the social media to project to the world a versatile image of its brand, however, McDonald’s seem to only be concerned in promoting its products and possible menu changes (Moth, 2013). In its Twitter page, McDonald’s has allocated a lot of time in order to keep its Twitter page active. Several updates a day are posed, however, most of its tweets seem to relate to quirky messages and ideas, which are still very much concerned about promoting their product (Moth, 2013). Their social media team however occasionally does respond to some tweets, but only those which are positive. The corporation however has an official corporate account with fewer followers and members. This account seems to answer more tweets from consumers with more engagement seen with consumers. The corporation also has a customer service feed which is assigned to answer consumer issues (Moth, 2013). However only about 20 consumers a day can be given attention. As for Pinterest, McDonald’s has one corporate account in this website. Most of their content is taken from their Flickr account and other McDonald’s websites (Moth, 2013). They have also used #FoodThanks in order to manifest their appreciation for wholesome foods. Their page has also invited the consumers to pin their food-related pictures to the board, mostly allowing the consumers to become more involved in their brand. As for Google+, McDonald’s has not posted in its feed which unlike other companies has been very busy. For other McDonald’s in other countries, only Brazil and Japan McDonald’s Pinterest accounts have become updated (Moth, 2013). McDonald’s Germany however seems keener in updating its Pinterest, with updates often done about once or twice a month. Based on the case study by Moustakis (2013), the McDonald’s Facebook pages in different countries mostly indicated the cultural traits of the countries where the food chain is located. For the high-context countries, like India, Egypt, and Russia, Facebook created a more inclusive environment. High context countries are those countries with specific cultural food preferences and prohibitions. For the low context countries like France, Norway, and the US, short explicit messaging was observed in relation to the brand. Thinking patterns, styles of expression, and cultural elements impacted on how individuals often behaved in the social and digital media (Chen, 2012). The Facebook pages also highlighted the importance of presenting the brand in such a way as to be understood within the context of the country involved. The Facebook pages also note how products, upcoming national holidays, and the recognition of cultural norms are part of the contextualization of Facebook for corporations like McDonald’s. The Moustakis (2013) case study also identifies how some country McDonald’s Facebook pages are better in promoting the brand, but are not so much into interacting with their users. In the case of Russia for instance, it did not communicate much with the public, nor did it upload relevant pictures. In general, it lacked personality and ended up being a page only to upload facts and data. In context settings, the situation and context is very much crucial in ensuring effective communication. It is important to ensure a better understanding of the brand, especially when it is a brand not easy to understand (Hutton and Fosdick, 2011). Egypt was better in the contextualization of its Facebook use. McDonald’s Egypt did not simply promote the brand, it also posted stories, characters, as well as social values which made the brand more relatable and identifiable to the people. This is an important and crucial step towards guaranteeing effective and successful branding (Richelieu, et.al. 2008). The primary goal and objective of McDonald’s is to be a consumer favorite place to hang-out and eat. Different countries have different posts in relation to securing such goal; however, common threads in the posts for the different countries related to services and customer preferences on how they eat and tastes they prefer. The social media pages outside the US responded to negative feedback from customers on food quality. These pages also reacted to the negative comments by presenting data to further boost McDonald’s as a quality and nutritious brand (Moustakis, 2013). However, the changes and evolution in some of these Facebook pages also fell behind with limited updates on new items and old images uploaded in its pages. The India page was more interactive however, it did not promote new products, and only featured their basic items with basic imagery often used. In Egypt, France, and USA, their pages included changes in the McDonald’s brand, including its values, menu items, while also incorporating current imagery. Videos, magazines, and surveys have also been featured in these more interactive Facebook pages (Moustakis, 2013). In evaluating McDonald’s engagement in the social media, including Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, local culture and support for the brand have been considered important elements to corporate success (Wilken and Sinclair, 2011). Posts which usually get more attention from customers are those which directly refer to the brand and its related items. In order to secure effective global branding, McDonald’s has to communicate with its consumers within the context of their culture. They must effectively incorporate all the core elements of the McDonald’s brand, including its cultural dimensions within the local context. Gaining the participation of the users is very much crucial, however, success has been gained by McDonald’s especially where it updates its posts, its imagery and it exudes a personality with whom the consumers can easily identify with (Moustakis, 2013). Cultures which have been successfully translated to the McDonald’s brand include McDonald’s USA and McDonald’s Egypt, especially as they support the products, the cultural context, and use updated imagery for its posts. Despite the engagement of some Facebook pages with the cultural elements of their country, the engagement seems to be lacking in relation to the core values of the brand. In relation to effective branding, it is important to adapt a more contextual and cultural approach to the social media use. The importance of relevant content has also emerged as an important element of social media use for corporations, including McDonald’s (Chen, 2007). Regardless of its various failings in social media use, the McDonald’s brand is still very much intact and bankable. It is identified by a great number of people and will likely gain more recognition if its use of the social media would be placed in the proper context and within the appropriate communication and interactive setting. The social media, through its various incarnations like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google Plus have helped companies in reputation building (Levco, 2013). This has mostly been accomplished through regular posts in the pages or walls of the companies, allowing them to connect directly and immediately with their consumers. Such process also represents a shift from the traditional method of corporate communication (Matthews, 2010). In the past, the corporations released advertisements in the TV, radio, magazines and newspapers and the consumers simply absorbed such information without having the ability to actually interact with the corporation (Coursaris, et.al. 2013). In the current social media setting, the communication process has become more dynamic and engaging. There is actually a shift from corporation to consumer. The corporation does not anymore call the shots, consumers are now the more dominant stakeholders in the corporate growth and possible failure (Camal and Karl, 2013). The social media is based largely on public perception. The opinions of stakeholders, consumers, and employees, including communities or countries where the company is based are all important to the long-term success of the company and must be perceived in that context by the company executives (Harris, et.al., 2013). Social media supports corporate links and opportunities which would not have been available years ago. Public relations help build company reputation as consumers would continue to express their pleasure with a company as they experience positive experiences with the firm. Social media is constantly changing through its public relations campaigns programs which allow for stakeholder control and expression (Cardona, 2004). The shift relates to an engaged dialogue with consumers, forcing companies to act on specific concerns of consumers as fast as they can before even more negative feedback is sent out to consumers. A single unfortunate and sometimes isolated incident with a single McDonald’s branch can immediately go viral through the social media and breakdown the reputation of the brand (Harris, et.al. 2010). Boycotts can be called and in the current setting when most individuals have camera phones, negative images can immediately posted online and destroy the reputation of the company. In other words, the social media can be unforgiving in this regard and most times, there is no way for companies to reason themselves out of such incidents (Powell and Nguyen, 2013). Only by using the social media again, admitting fault and making visible and radical changes in the company practice can the corporate image and brand be restored. Complaints on the health impact of McDonald’s for example has been brought to the attention of the company and at some point, McDonald’s health impact became a trending topic in the social media (He, et.al., 2012). Laws and regulations relating to supersized portions were suggested and passed. Regulations on fast food branches near schools were also considered and passed in certain territories. For a while, McDonald’s faced much criticism through the social media and the media in general (Andreyeva, et.al. 2012). McDonald’s has had its menu for many years already and has also been criticized for its unhealthy menu in the past, but only with upfront criticism through the social media and the media has it made a more concerted and committed effort to make changes in its menu. Healthier changes have been introduced. Although it remains a fast food chain with its high caloric and cholesterol-content burgers and fries, it has proven that it is equally vulnerable to the social media and to the latter’s demands and the consumers’ public perception (Dar and Baylis, 2011). In considering ethical principles in social media strategies and applications, there are different elements and perspectives which need to be considered. For one, based on the utilitarian perspective, hacking of social media accounts and negative comments which are often derogatory against other people highlight issues and dangers of social networking (Santa Clara University, 2013). The social media has also opened up users, including corporations and consumers to online predation and bullying. Some comments may only be based on comments which are general untrue and unfounded. However, it is also the same technology which allows people to connect with one another, often securing more engaging relationships with other users and with consumers. Balancing such issues is therefore important for the company, in this case, for McDonald’s, ensuring that they are able to manage online bullying in their social media pages. Ensuring such efforts would allow them to enjoy the benefits of the social media without causing harm to their consumers (Santa Clara University, 2013). The ethical conundrum also in the use of the social media is on whether or not social networkers have a right to privacy. Users of Facebook and Twitter are often discovering that possible employers are also using their Facebook pages, even if their pages are generally considered their personal space (Patterson, 2012). This is an issue because it is difficult to determine if a person has the right to control images and data about them being posted online. Policies meant to protect privacy are still unable to cope with problems being met in the online setting. The online publication of pictures which may be considered sensitive are instances which present new issues relating to consent from social media users (Maranto and Barton, 2010). McDonald’s however has attempted to ensure ethical use of images by using publicly posted images in order to prevent any copyright issues or to ensure the privacy of social media users (Moustakis, 2013). In terms of fairness, individuals believe that social networking sites are a way towards securing egalitarianism. In interacting with other people online, there is no actual way of knowing whether the users would be male or female, white, black or Asian, young or old, fat or thin. It is unclear if this actually supports a fairer and egalitarian society (Santa Clara University, 2013). However, the lack of knowledge may also represent limited knowledge and engagement with each other which does not necessarily help consumers and corporations eliminate differences. In the case of McDonald’s, it has so far attempted to secure ethical practices in the social media. It has used the social media as a tool for company promotion, and it has also used the social media to engage and communicate with consumers. There have been no significant unethical practices in social media use observed in relation to McDonald’s (Sinclair and Vogus, 2011). Nevertheless, among other corporations, the social media represents a very open and public resource which the company can actually use for its purposes. Balancing the use of the social media between the ethical and the corporate profiteering goal has so far worked for McDonald’s. In the years to come, it shall continue to be judged for its use of the social media. Conclusion and Recommendations The social media has had a significant impact on McDonald’s. The company has embraced social media and accepted it as part of the current trend in corporate practice. In general, its efforts to use the social media have been geared towards the promotion of its brand, its products, and its various offers. The company has achieved some success in this regard, however, more concerted efforts seem to be needed in terms of engagement with consumers. The company cannot simply lean back on its traditional practices of simply putting itself and its products into the public’s vision, it also needs to respond to the specific needs, comments, and reactions of its consumers. The social media is meant to secure an active engagement between the corporation and its consumers. At present, McDonald’s has not fully taken advantage of this potential for the corporation and for the social media. By taking full advantage of the social media, it can stay updated and it can be more appealing to the users and consumers, thereby supporting longevity and sustainability. References Andreyeva T, Kelly IR & Harris JL (2011). Exposure to food advertising on television: Associations with childrens fast food and soft drink consumption and obesity. Economics & Human Biology, 9(3), 221-233. Cardona, M.M. (2004) Mass marketing meets its maker: McDonald’s chief espouses ‘brand journalism’ approach. Advertising Age. 21 June, p.1. Chen, G.M. (2007) Media (literacy) education in the United States. China Media Research, 3(3), 87-103. Chen , G. M. (2012) The impact of new media on intercultural communication in global context. China Media Research, 8(2), 1-10. Coursaris, C. K., Van Osch, W., & Balogh, B. A. (2013). A Social Media Marketing Typology: Classifying Brand Facebook Page Messages For Strategic Consumer Engagement. Proceedings of the 21st European Conference on Information Systems. Retrieved from http://www.staff.science.uu.nl/~Vlaan107/ecis/files/ECIS2013-0297-paper.pdf Harris, J., Schwartz, M., Munsell, C., Dembeck, C., Liu, S., LoDolce, M. (2013). Fast Food FACTS 2013: Measuring Progress in Nutrition and Marketing to Children and Teens. Retrieved from http://www.fastfoodmarketing.org/media/FastFoodFACTS_report.pdf He M, Tucker P, Gilliland J, Irwin JD, Larsen K & Hess P (2012). The influence of local food environments on adolescents’ food purchasing behaviors. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 9(4), 1458-1471. Levco, J. (2013). Social media helps McDonald’s change public perception. Retrieved from http://www.ragan.com/Main/Articles/Social_media_helps_McDonalds_change_public_percept_46721.aspx# Maranto, G., & Barton, M. (2010). Paradox and promise: MySpace, Facebook, and the sociopolitics of social networking in the writing classroom. Computers and Composition, 27(1), 36-47. Matthews, L. (2010). Social media and the evolution of corporate communications. The Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications, 1(1), 17-23. McDonald’s Corporation USA (2013). About: Company Profile. Retrieved from http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/investors/company_profile.html Moth, D. (2013). How McDonalds uses Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+. Retrieved from https://econsultancy.com/blog/62329-how-mcdonald-s-uses-facebook-twitter-pinterest-and-google#i.1g0ksot19r2eil Moustakis, A. (2013). A Cross-Cultural Analysis of the McDonald’s Brand and Consumer Relationship on Facebook. Retrieved from https://www.american.edu/soc/upload/SOC-Athina-Moustakis-Capstone.pdf Patterson, A. (2012). Social-networkers of the world, unite and take over: A meta-introspective perspective on the Facebook brand. Journal of Business Research, 65(4), 527-534. Powell LM & Nguyen BT (2013). Fast-food and full-service restaurant consumption among children and adolescents: Effect on energy, beverage, and nutrient intake. JAMA Pediatrics, 167(1), 14-20. Richelieu, A., Lopez, S., & Desbordes, M. (2008) The internationalisation of a sports team brand: The case of European soccer teams. International Journal of Sports Marketing Sponsorship, 10(1), 29-44. Rose, D. (n.d). Social Media Case Study: How Do McDonald’s use it? Retrieved from http://giraffesocialmedia.co.uk/social-media-case-study-how-do-mcdonalds-use-it/ Santa Clara University (2013). Unavoidable Ethical Questions About Social Networking. Retrieved from http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/submitted/social-networking.html Sinclaire, J. K., & Vogus , C. E. (2011). Adoption of social networking sites: an exploratory adaptive structuration perspective for global organizations. Information Technology Management, 12(1), 293-314. Wilken , R., & Sinclair , J. (2011) Global marketing communications and strategic regionalism. Globalization, 8(1), 1-15. Read More