The subject of today's online audit is Burger King
As you are likely aware, Burger King is an American Fast Food Hamburger chain, created in the 1950's. Today it operates more than 12 000 restaurants across 79 countries with 60% of its locations being based in the United States.
Burger King's online presence extends to a number of major social media platforms in addition to its website. These include a Facebook profile, a Youtube Channel, a Twitter account, and a Google+ page. A quick look at these pages show that there is a lot to be desired from Burger King's social media efforts. First, their website, while having a clean aesthetically pleasing design, lacks obvious considerations such as a personalized map to find store locations close to the user, or any kind of search engine optimization. Its Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, and Google+ efforts, while attracting some 10 000 to 81 000 followers depending on the platform, do little to engage their audience. The Facebook profile and Twitter feed are updated with identical posts which mostly consist of pictures of Burger King products to entice their followership to go out and buy their products. The Youtube Channel simply displays Burger King advertisements made for TV. The Google+ page serves as little more than a somewhat more neglected version of their Facebook page.
Some online influencers have been identified whose endorsements and mentions could greatly benefit Burger King. Arguably the most effective of these would be the Youtube Channel, Epic Meal Time. It is not uncommon for one of their
videos to depict the stars of the channel visiting a fast food restaurant and
ordering obscene amounts of food to be used in elaborate and ridiculous food concoctions. They are a
major influencer because their channel, with more than 3.5 million subscribers,
is wildly popular (Youtube n.d.). Additionally, the creator of Epic Meal Time,
speculates that their viewers are largely young males in the 15 to 30 age
range, which is BK’s target demographic.
Other online influencers include The Huffington Post and Seriouseats.com. The Huffington Post is a good potential influencer for Burger King because it reports on fast food, in addition to a wide range of other topics, and it boasts a huge readership (54 million unique monthly visitors). Seriouseats.com is a good potential influencer because it has a section dedicated entirely to hamburgers, making it the most popular blog dedicated to Burger King's core product.
Recommendations
Burger King's website should use IP tracking technology to identify where the user is accessing the site from. If the user is Canadian, the site can now redirect to the Canadian site to avoid confusion. If the user is looking for nearby locations, the map can display these automatically, rather than the user having to correct the sites assumption that the user is in Florida, which is currently the way the location finder is presented.
Burger King's Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter Feeds should be more engaging and less about pushing products. This will attract more people to follow them on these platforms as well as encourage people to continue following them. Burger King should also acknowledge that Facebook and Twitter are unique platforms from one another and try to take advantage of their differences by posting different content to each. This will attract fans of the brand to subscribe to both, rather than just one. Additionally, more content should be posted to Burger King's Youtube channel. Burger King should take advantage of the nature of Youtube videos being distinct from television advertisements. Burger King could make changes as simple as posting old burger kind ads from the 70's to inform their audience of their history.
Sources:
Burger King.
(n.d.). About BK. Retrieved February 8 2013, from
Youtube. (n.d.) BK.
Retrieved February 8 2013 http://www.youtube.com/user/bk?feature=watch
Facebook. (n.d.) BK
Retrieved February 8 2013 http://www.facebook.com/burgerking?fref=ts
Twitter. (n.d.)
Retrieved February 8 2013
Google+ (n.d.)
Retrieved February 8 2013
Kids Media Centre (May
16, 2011) Ian Checks Out Epic Meal Time Retrieved from http://kidsmediacentre.ca/2011/05/16/ian-checks-out-epic-meal-time/
Ebizmba (n.d.) Top 15 Most Popular Political Websites | February 2013http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/political-websites
Serious Eats (n.d.) Retrieved February 8 2013
http://aht.seriouseats.com
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