“Convincing a large organization to change what it’s been doing very successfully for decades can be a bit of a struggle,” says Brandon Rhoten, Wendy’s Director of Digital and Social Media in his presentation at our SocialMedia.org Brands-Only Summit.
He explains that with a heavy focus on TV commercials for over 50 years, Wendy’s was very comfortable with traditional advertising — and getting the company on board with social media took three things:
- Headlines: Use external press — both the good and the bad. Brad says he shares the cringe-worthy stuff to show why Wendy’s should be a part of the conversation and the good coverage (like winning a Silver Cannes Lion, a Shorty award and Facebook Silver) to show where it’s working.
- A simple plan: Empower a person to build and take responsibility for the channel. Make simple rules for a clear voice and tone. Don’t start with your business objectives — start with your customers’ habits.
- Using language the organizations understands: Ultimately, Brad has to show these social media efforts sell cheeseburgers. He uses traditional metrics, like TRPs (target rating points), to explain social media measurement in the TV-ad language the company feels comfortable using.
Watch Brandon Rhoten’s full presentation in the video below.
To learn more about Wendy’s social strategy and Brandon’s career in social media, check out our interview with him.
Want to see more social media case studies like these? If you’re a social media leader at a big brand, we’d love to have you at our next Member Meeting in San Francisco, Feb. 4 to 5.