Tacos for You And Me
2020 has been awful — I need not say more. So many things that we relied on day-to-day were suspended indefinitely, and we felt the pain each morning and each night. But one thing remained through it all: Taco Bell and their commitment to their customers.
Alright so that’s a big dramatic and very hyperbolic, but when looking at Taco Bell’s social media presence you can see that they care about their customers more than most brands in the social media sphere. And their customers love them too: With 1.4 million followers on Instagram and 1.9 million followers on Twitter, Taco Bell has a loyal fan base to communicate its message with.
So let’s delve deeper into the Taco Bell social media customer interaction model (woof that’s a mouthful — just like a cheesy gordita crunch!). On Twitter, it is very apparent what Twitter’s tone is. Taco Bell’s Twitter account constantly responds to its customers taco queries, and frequently posts responses even if they are not directly mentioned. So long their is a Twitter user tweeting about tacos, Taco Bell is there to respond. In terms of the tone of their responses, Twitter behaves in a way that is friendly and down-to-earth. They rarely make sweeping statements about their brand, opting instead to tweet like a regular person who just happens to be one of the biggest food chain brands in the USA. Below our just a few response examples of how Taco Bell interacts with its customers:
See? No brand promotion BS, just casual encouragement and interaction. One quick peek at #tacobell mentions on Twitter will show that fans are appreciative of the tone that Taco Bell takes on the social media platform, and find it a welcomed respite from the overwhelming world of brand advertisement. The one thing that is hard to find on Twitter is a dedication to customer service response strategy — while Taco Bell offers adequate channels to communicate issues on its main website, I found it hard to find any examples of Taco Bell responding to customer complaints. Thus, it’s hard to tell what their customer service strategy is past a dedication to communicating with their fan base frequently and with a consistent tone to leave an open channel ready for interaction.
As for Instagram, Taco Bell interacts with a similar tone but in a different manner given the different method of social media communication. Instead of commenting on a bunch of Instagram posts, Taco Bell instead highlights its users’ fandom on its personal page. That’s right — Taco Bell lets UGC do the talking for them!
By harnessing the power of user-generated content, Taco Bell shows their commitment to their customer base and appreciation for their brand loyalty. This isn’t a rare occurrence either — Taco Bell’s feed is filled with UGC alongside their own generated posts! Given just how much positive UGC there is out there for Taco Bell to use, it is clear that the Instagram community is also a big fan of how the brand behaves itself on social media. And check out the captions given to these posts — as with Twitter, Taco Bell takes up a consistent, casual tone to highlight its connection with its client base. Consistency and customer-centricity — that’s the social media tone that Taco Bell takes and it is effective by all accounts. Again, however, it was hard to find many instances of Taco Bell’s proactivity in answering customer queries and complaints on Instagram, and unlike with Twitter I did find a few instances in which a more customer service strategy might have been implemented to solve a consistent consumer base complaint. In particular, the last few posts that Taco Bell has released have all been met with comments about negative reactions to Taco Bell’s menu changes. But despite these complaints, I have yet to find an instance where Taco Bell is listening to their customers and actively searching for a solution to the issue on many customers’ minds.
My opinion of Taco Bell is a positive one: I love the consistent, casual tone they’ve taken across their different social media channels. I believe it is effective in creating an interesting, approachable brand on Twitter and Instagram and find it refreshing. I don’t feel overwhelmed or unwillingly coerced into buying their product, and yet I am made aware of them enough to be intrigued when a new offer comes out. I also love how the use UGC on Instagram — after doing research I want to create my own Taco Bell post in the hopes of being used in future Taco Bell content! The one problem I have is with Taco Bell’s customer service strategy: while I’m sure there is one in place, it’s not made apparent to their social media base and it’s not used effectively in a way that is transparent upon research. So many people have been complaining about Taco Bell’s menu changes, and not one mention of it from Taco Bell either in commentary or content creation despite Taco Bell’s penchant for casual customer interaction! It’s too much to assume that Taco Bell should respond to every customer comment, but when they comment on insignificant topics and stay silent on real problems it rubs me the wrong way. A casual tone is effective, but it becomes a less flattering one when the company neglects its customers real issues. If I was on the social media team for Taco Bell, I would introduce a 15-minute customer complaint response policy — as so many companies have committed themselves too — and would create an initiative or campaign to encourage customer interaction in regards to problems that Taco Bell needs to address. That way, Taco Bell becomes more helpful, more transparent, and a proactive problem-solver rather than a neglectful bystander.
Despite these issues, Taco Bell’s social media brand is still a positive one, and one that many companies would be smart to model after. They have created a unique, intimate relationship with their customers by featuring their content and responding to them in a casual manner of camaraderie. I continue to appreciate their brand on my feed, and will look to buy their products to help myself finish off this awful year with a sense of comfort and convenience.