Social Media – COM-CLASS.WLC.EDU

No matter what generation you are, social media is virtually unavoidable. Social media is essential for organizations to thrive among all generations and can be used to enhance business to public relationships through creativity, content sharing and online engagement. Today, we will be discussing one of the most successful social media campaigns of our generation and dissecting the effectiveness of digital storytelling through the Chipotle Mexican Grill scarecrow case study.

Chipotle is a popular, American, fast food restaurant known for its fresh and organic ingredients. In 2013, the company launched an award-winning ad campaign, short film and mobile app with messages condemning the consumption of processed foods. The company successfully communicated to their followers online the negative environmental and health consequences of eating industrially grown and genetically altered foods.

The campaign, film and game feature a scarecrow that is meant to educate the viewers about the pollution, soil erosion and unsustainability of industrially food production. The scarecrow is shown working in a factory that is controlled by giant, robotic crows and they control all the industrially grown foods. How did this harsh message become a viral sensation? Chipotle used these 3 different public relations techniques to effectively communicate their brand qualities over social media. Chipotle used social media to turn a fast food restaurant into an environmentally conscious brand and advocate for the planet.

Technique #1
We first have to recognize that social media is by nature conversational. Nearly all social media platforms have a method for company-user interaction, this is typically done through comment sections. Successful campaigns will engage their audiences and use the individual conversations online to create a community and build relationships. Chipotle was successful with this campaign because they used all the PARC principles for success.
Participatory: They interacted with their online community and did not intimidate them with sales messages.
Authentic: They held genuine conversations about real issues and did not force attitudes.
Resourceful: They provided their online community with useful, helpful information and used that to earn trust.
Credible: They built a trustworthy reputation on the important environmental issues and acted as a source of knowledge on the matter.
Technique #2
Social media is designed to be a source of entertainment. The Scarecrow film and mobile game were used as entertainment through digital storytelling. Chipotle made their story resourceful, immersive and interesting which is one of the central features of social media.

Technique #3
The ultimate goal of Chipotle’s 2013 social media campaign was to create offline engagement with the company. Offline engagement leads to increased company sales and positive brand associations. The offline interaction led Chipotle to win two Grammy awards, 12 million views on YouTube and lead conversations about the impact of industrialization and the environment.

These techniques require patience, dedication and honest communication. As a business, it is necessary to have a presence on social media. To excel as a public relations representative in this field, however, you need to consider the impact of audience engagement, digital storytelling and offline interaction and act on behalf of your company’s target public on social media.

Interested in learning more? You can read more about this social media case study in Social Media for Public Relations: Lessons from Four Effective Cases by Ilhem Allaguia and Harris Breslow.

In a world where almost everyone is obsessed with technology and can’t help but check their phone every five minutes, everything said online can and will be used against you at some point. In the public relations world, you want to use the platform that you have to promote inclusive and engaging content that won’t be taken in a controversial manner.

Whether you’re working for a company with their social media department or just promoting your own page, you need to be careful and conscious of your content.

The first key to success is choosing the right channels to promote content on, depending on your target audience. You need to be aware of how the content will be received and interpreted by your key demographics.

The next step is planning ahead and having a schedule of when you’re going to post or promote content. Coordinating your posts with other current events is often a smart way to engage your audience and enhance feedback. Planning out an editorial calendar is a great way to know what needs to be posted along with how often content should be shared.

In order to keep your audience intrigued, you will need to vary your content and be creative. Sometimes being random, funny, or straight-up out-of-the-box with your content will make your target audience remember your page and keep them engaged.

Finally, analyze feedback and participation. You aren’t going to hit a home run with every post you promote. The best way to learn what works and what doesn’t is to analyze how many people saw your post and interacted with it. This is a great way to learn what works and gains positive attention from your audience.

We currently live in a digital world, whether we like it or not. Social media is how a lot of people get their current news and information. Practicing good habits online is a great way to establish a brand to build on.