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| This pizza is from Toppers Pizza, a regional chain, which is why I did not cover them in this blog. But doesn't that look like a yummy taco pizza? |
How did I arrive at that combination of pizza places? Well, I wanted to use Papa John's or Little Caesar's as the third choice instead of CPK (since Papa John's and Little Caesar's are also national "fast food type" pizza chains), but each brand chosen had to have:
--Facebook --Twitter --Instagram --Google+ --And at least one of the following: LinkedIn/Pinterest/YouTube
Papa Johns and Little Caesar's were each missing one of these requirements. Since I have a little background knowledge of pizza (I may have worked for one of these chains at some point) and social media, I thought I'd examine these chains' social media strengths and weaknesses.
Domino’s can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, Pinterest, YouTube & LinkedIn)
By taking part in and being relatively active on all major social channels, Domino's takes an integrated marketing communications (IMC) approach that's in line with their humorous, sometimes irreverent tone. Even their pizza boxes get in on the IMC act and encourage social participation. The box provides instructions on the best tips for Instagramming a Domino's pizza with #pizzapics. Pretty much all of Domino's IMC messaging and imagery is consistent. In most of their social photo posts on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram, they have their logo in one of the corners of the photo as a sort of watermark.
The company tweaks its message to be appropriate for each channel. On LinkedIn, Domino's profile has a much more buttoned up tone, reflecting the company's business goals:
However, on Facebook, the tone is much more playful (below right):
The Domino's Pinterest page is cool but a little confusing: The main page is called "Domino's Second Hand Logos." The idea behind it is cool: showcasing artists re-purposing signage with the old "Domino's Pizza" logo. However, it's a little confusing to have this project be the name of the main Pinterest page instead of being the name of a board. Users will question if they're on the right page -- I know I did. On most of Domino's social channels, the content is up-to-date. However, the glaring exception is Google+: The most recent post is four months old. (Content on the Pinterest page is about two months old, but this is less obvious because you have to click on pins to see how old they are.) The lack of Google+ posts is probably because, like many other businesses and users, Domino's hasn't quite figured this channel out yet. The easiest remedy to this would be pre-scheduling Google+ posts.
One great example of Domino's driving users from social channel to social channel is shown in a recent post on their Instagram. Users with the best filtered pic tagged with #pizzapics have a chance to get their picture used in Domino's next Facebook cover photo. The most glaring missed opportunity for Domino's to steer users to its social channels? Its website. The most emphasized call to action on the site is to sign up for a "Pizza Profile," which lets you save your regular order and takes only five clicks to place. The only social channels that are teased on the website are Facebook, Twitter and Google+.
Though Domino's may not have caught on to pushing social in all of its places, they have caught on to hashtags. #PizzaPics, which seems to be the hashtag Domino's has staked out, isn't just limited to Domino's Instagram. They use it on Twitter as well.
Another item of note: It was pretty impressive that someone was responding to customer complaints and compliments on the Domino's Facebook wall on a Sunday afternoon. Because as we learned earlier this semester, social media keeps a business open 24-7.
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Pizza Hut can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, Pinterest, YouTube & LinkedIn)
Pizza Hut, the No. 1 Pizza chain in America based on sales, tops No. 2 Domino's by just a smidgen overall when it comes to IMC. This is mostly because branding-wise, The Hut's imagery across platforms is probably a bit more consistent.
Pizza Hut's branding, including the use of company's iconic red and #makeitgreat, is very consistent across its channels almost to the point of being matchy-matchy.
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| Did you notice Pizza Hut is following me? |
The consistency carries over to the messages posted on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram. For example, Pizza Hut held an event to preview its new 3-Cheese Stuffed Crust, and content about this event "Discover Great" was posted on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.
Like Domino's, Pizza Hut is having trouble with Google+, but they're even worse off. There are NO posts on Pizza Hut's Google+ page. Also like Domino's, Pizza Hut's Pinterest page is a little less fresh than, say, its Facebook or Twitter. The best example of Pizza Hut driving users to their other social channels is its branded Twitter background, which shows off that its Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube and even Vine. However, like little brother Domino's, Pizza Hut is missing an opportunity in this area: pushing users to social channels from its website.
When you visit Facebook and Twitter with the consistent branding (see above), there's no mistaking that Pizza Hut's iconic slogan #MakeItGreat is the company's main hashtag. Like Domino's, Pizza Hut is good about using hashtags, though they may take it to the next level by doing this to feature new products, like #3CheeseStuffed Crust.
Like Domino's, Pizza Hut's social media efforts match up with its overall IMC tone: We like to help you celebrate fun occasions with our pizza, yet we're serious about making quality pizza.
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California Pizza Kitchen can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, Pinterest, YouTube & LinkedIn)
CPK is a bit more of an upscale restaurant chain compared with Domino's and Pizza Hut, and that's reflected in their IMC approach. For goodness sake, they shared a photo of a pizza with edible gold on their Facebook, Google+ and Instagram pages (below right).
Given the fact that most of the content posted on CPK's Facebook, Twitter and Google+ is the same, the messaging and imagery is consistent. Some of the content on CPK's social channels even matches up with their website. An ad for their Salted Caramel Pudding is in the right rail on their website, and it's also posted on their Instagram (below right).
Not only does the content on the CPK pages match, it is also up-to-date. Unlike Pizza Hut and Domino's, the CPK's Google+ page is up-to-date! Obviously, whoever is manning all these pages is adept at consistently posting or consistently scheduling.
CPK's hashtag of choice is #PizzaReimagination and they regularly use this on their Facebook and Twitter. It would probably be a good idea for them to get into using the hashtag more often on Instagram as well.
CPK seems to be doing everything right when it comes to social media, yet has less followers/fans overall than Pizza Hut and Domino's. This is probably because CPK has less brand recognition than PH and Domino's. CPK has only been in existence since 1985 and The Hut and Domino's have been around since the late 1950s and early 1960s respectively. The more and more CPK extends its brand reach through new locations and grocery store sales -- and the more and more the company keeps up its diligence on social media -- the better they will be.
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