The social media strategy of McDonalds

The evolvement of social media has led to a revolution. Many prominent brands have made an effort to make their presence felt on social media. Be it Facebook, twitter or Pinterest, these tools have helped brands across the globe to reach in every nook and corner. The presence of a particular brand on social media and making use of social media effectively is a different issue.

The reputation on social media is build day by day, the small baby steps can allow you take big strides at a later stage. It is something, which cannot be ignored in today’s business era and it can be a make/break situation for a firm. 

Taking the case of McDonalds, the corporate success of the fast food chain has allowed in engaging many of the activities. These activities focus on engaging with the customers, tend to gain trust of the costumers. On social media platforms like Facebook, McDonalds comes up with regular updates. These updates might be an effort to promote product change, introduction of new dishes and lastly, feedbacks are always welcome.

The hashtag McDStories became a big hit in a short period and as a result, customers revealed many happy stories related to McDonalds. This is a classic example of cause and effect, the efforts of McDonalds led to the engagement of several customers coming forward to get associated with ‘McDonalds family’. 
  
The McDonalds has many Facebook accounts, it is due to the fact that the different accounts serve for different regions or countries. Whereas on Pinterest, the fast food joint, McDonalds has only one corporate account to interact with the customers and the tag #FoodThanks allowed customers to appreciate the efforts of McDonalds. This tag touched all time high records and it is amongst one of the most commented tags worldwide under the credit of McDonalds.

The public relations firm behind the scene directs McDonalds to take measures, which can help them in the long run. The corporate social responsibility undertaken by McDonalds has helped them in creating an image, which is accepted, appreciated, and loved by all sections of society. With this appreciation, McDonalds is able to connect with its lovers in a big way. There is no looking back for McDonalds and they managed to make their presence felt in every part of the World. More and more doors are there, that need to be open by this grand fast food joint.

Should you go with words of mouth when hiring PR firm?

Well not always! Trusting blindly can take you and your business in trouble.

Reputation is not easy to gain, especially when it comes to business, it is a difficult thing to maintain.

Market is full of competition and when you are on the peak of your success, everyone out there in market is trying their best efforts to pull you down. They take all those efforts, which will not just ruin your or your business reputation, but would put such an adverse effect that it would take years for you to get back into the field.

Looking at the ever-rising competition, importance is not just to be emphasized on good product delivery, but to presentation of work in front of targeted audience, reputation in market and turning of negative into positives.

This is where a crisis PR agency comes into the picture. They have the capability to do wonders for the organizations that are either facing negative reputation trauma or are trying to safeguard their position in market. To the benefits which PR companies provide, there are many small and large-scale business firms, which are making use of public relations today.

However, while choosing a PR company, one cannot just randomly pick any one (because an unprofessional firm can make things even worse than before). This is the reason why its important to make a wide decision when hiring a public relation company. Following are few of those things to keep these things in mind-

Do not just rely on words of mouth: Though, it is always considered a good idea, but completely relying on it can put adverse effects as well. Proper research is required and based on handful of options one must choose a company that is known for delivering quality results.

Customize your priorities: Before making up your mind for a specific PR company, prioritize your requirements. Once determining those, look for a company which can fulfill your needs on time.

Size of your pocket: Cost is an essential factor to consider, when hiring a service. This is because many PR firms costs a lot just because of their popularity and expertise in the field. Therefore, one must not hire on the basis of these two factors, instead look for a company that give good services at affordable prices. In addition, you must not miss out to look into the size of your pocket; after all, you are the one who have to pay for the expenses.

Summarizing the diversified nature of public relations

One cannot explain public relations in one single definition. This field is so diverse that it is difficult to confine it in a universal definition.
PR refers to and revolves around planned promotion of a product or service. The end goal of every single practice under this field is to secure goodwill of a brand, business or individual.  Hollywood celebs need it to earn the admiration of fans, while politicians need it for the pursuit of their political goals because if public is not happy with their image, it will be hard for them to rule.

Public relations, is all about winning the trust of public. Public can be any audience that is important to an organization or a person in any way. It can include present and potential clients, employees, vendors, suppliers, opinion leaders, investors, etc. An audience can be external as well as internal to an organization.

The kind of work that any PR agency does can be divided into three kinds: event management, publication design and publicity. The aim of all these three activities is to influence public’s opinion and modify it in a way that is supposed to benefit the associated brand.

Publicity: it refers to the communication and all types of work that PR professionals handle. It is intended to make the client’s image look favorable and positive among both internal and external public. The type of work done in this category can take textual, video and audio form presented as news.

The news is created and distributed to media channels such as magazines, television, radio and newspaper, internet websites, etc. Production costs are involved while preparing a piece of news, but PR professionals are not charged with any fee for placing the information in any media. That is what makes this type of publicity different from advertising, considering the latter one is a paid form. 

Event management: It involves conceptualizing, developing, scheduling, logistical coordination, production, promotion, and talent sourcing for the execution of events like press conferences, road shows, opening events, corporate meetings, product launches, educational conferences, film premiers, fashion shows, concerts, festivals, award ceremonies and various other meetings. Event management is intended to enhance a brand’s goodwill.

Publication design: It involves creating an appealing layout for the promotional media like brochures, catalogs, videos, flyers, stage props, manuals, DVD covers, film credits, logotypes, and event t-shirts etc.

How innovation can take you ahead of your competitors?

Remember the story of IBM, in late 80’s, they were on the verge of entering the dooms day. All their business across the globe was in danger. They had nothing new except the introduction of new manager, who after taking his position took some harsh decisions. The decisions come under the column of harsh due to the reason that many employees lost their jobs. Those harsh decisions are also called bold decisions as they allowed him to be more flexible and most importantly, cut the cost. 

IBM, one of the biggest companies of its times, did which others never thought about. They were not only able to revive but also able to reach the apex in few years of time. The word innovation kicked them so hard that they not only clinched the first position in the Information Technology but also became the number one makers of the computers of their era.

What matters the most is how innovation is looked by you?

Taking the above case, they need to innovate because they had no other option. However, in others case, it might be a way to compete, beat the others, and get out of the race. This race is not meant to be a rat race; it is a race, where competitors have no chance to come near you.

Take the case of Expedia; this website came out of a strategic notion. There was a requirement of website, where we can see all the things together at one place (Hotel bookings, air tickets, accommodation, itinerary etc.). It was available to us but it was scattered and Expedia was the first one to introduce all of these things at one station and others followed the suit. This innovation was need of the hour and they were able to anticipate the need accordingly.

To maintain this kind of platform and to introduce various new aspects, public relations firms can play a big role. A PR firm is aware of the business needs and their networking holds the key for the progress of their clientele. The public relations firm keeps a close eye on the recent outbreaks, acquisitions, mergers etc. to help their clients businesses to grow in the desired direction. The role of a marketer closely watching the market is of much importance in today’s time.