CONTENT STRATEGY CAMPAIGN FOR T.MAC RESTAURANTS BY: BECCA MORROW
TOPICS IN PUBLIC RELATIONS
SOCIAL MEDIA FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION
SPRING 2015 DR. AMBER HUTCHINS
TABLE OF CONTENTS Content Strategy........................................................................................................................................Pg.3 Overview of Current Position.......................................................................................................Pg.3 Program Objective................................................................................................................................Pg.3 Target Public...........................................................................................................................................Pg.3 Campaign Theme.................................................................................................................................Pg.3 Influencers................................................................................................................................Pg.4 Brand Voice Chart.....................................................................................................................................Pg.4 Editorial Calendar.....................................................................................................................................Pg.5 Twitter ........................................................................................................................................................Pg.5 Instagram........................................................................................................................................................Pg.6 Facebook ........................................................................................................................................................Pg.7 Deliverables.....................................................................................................................................Pg.8 Blog Post...................................................................................................................................................Pg.8 Tweet Schedule...................................................................................................................................Pg.10 Facebook Post.....................................................................................................................................Pg.12 Instagram Post.....................................................................................................................................Pg.13 Conclusion.................................................................................................................................Pg.14
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CONTENT STRATEGY Overview of Current Position: T.MAC’s current social media efforts have flashes of brilliance. But, on average, there isn’t a lot of consistent interaction. That’s not to say there isn’t potential. There are over 41,000 likes and 268 people talking about T.MAC on Facebook. T.MAC also has over 3,600 followers on Twitter. The company regularly posts content multiple times a day that includes photographs of menu items, promotional opportunities and info on local T.MAC events. When the company started using Facebook in 2009, its page had a low amount of involvement; about 5-10 likes per post and 2-5 comments. From 2011-2013, the average amount of post likes ranged from 20-50 with some posts exceeding 100 likes. In 2015, the rare times that posts see over 20 likes or over 5 comments, the content revolves around some sort of contest. I believe that if T.MAC is willing to take a new approach to some of their current methods, it would see more followers interacting with the brand, and a wider range of influence. Currently, T.MAC doesn’t post much content that facilitates discussion. It doesn’t get people talking, and therefore the brand is not extending its reach. After thoroughly examining the interactions on T.MAC’s official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages, it can be established that interactions have significantly declined since the rates seen two years ago. Since T.MAC has undergone a major brand shift during this time frame, it is natural to want to correlate the two factors. And, it’s a fair judgment because it seems amidst the chaos of choosing a new logo, shortening the menus, and changing the name, that the social media accounts were left as an afterthought. T.MAC has been experimenting with new tactics without seeing better results. Program Objective:
Create content that facilitates informative and community-building discussions.
Target Public: The target public that this campaign with reach, specifically, is adults aged 21-45. This age group is comfortable using technology and are moderate users of social media. On the younger end of the spectrum 21-35, these people enjoy going out with friends after work for a sporting event or happy hour. The 35-45 age group tend to eat out on the weekends, perhaps with their families. This group is important to the brand because they are a lively crowd that gets into sporting events. These types of attitudes boost the atmosphere of the restaurant, as well as its social media presence. Campaign Theme: The overall theme is to build a community. Much like old friends chat over a beer at one of T.MAC’s stocked up bars, followers on social media should be willing to discuss ideas, trends, related topics and events through a digital platform. T.MAC is a local restaurant that was built around community, and that same approach should be taken when trying to build a social community. Enough with the small talk, give the audience better, deeper and more personalized content. T.MAC’s most popular type of content is centered around food and drinks. Instead of posting a photo of a new food item, the company should be describing it, pairing it with beverage options, offering samples, and engaging people somehow. When people interact with T.MAC on social media, they should be reminded of the familiar community atmosphere the restaurants have established.
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Influencers: Because of the restaurant’s local nature, community news outlets such as Creative Loafing are a great source of local influencers. While Creative Loafing has reviewed T.MAC before, this campaign will offer new story angles to bloggers such as events and restaurant beat writer Jennifer Zyman. With the deliverables of this campaign, there will be more content being created that will facilitate discussion such as new monthly beer lists, menu upgrades, and local events. Zyman will be inspired to write follow-up content to T.MAC’s web stories that will be delivered in blog format. Zyman has considerable reach and influence in Atlanta, with over 7,000 Twitter followers and countless articles written for both Creative Loafing and her personal blog. Creative Loafing writers are influential because they are trusted sources of local Atlanta information, so T.MAC’s content should cater to this group as well. Beth Clark is an Atlantan lifestyle blogger who posts to her blog The City Dewller weekly about upcoming events and places to see around Atlanta. She is a great influencer for T.MAC to reach out to because she has a high female audience, and her endorsement for a fun night out could potentially bring in a great new set of customers to T.MAC. If T.MAC were to get involved in more events and sponsorship opportunities, it would influence Beth to reach out to her publics about the restaurant and the exciting happenings it offers. This is a great endorsement because the blog may see high traffic from locals as well as visitors to the Atlanta area.
brand voice chart
tone
character/persona inspiring playful chatty relaxed
language fun casual jargon savvy
direct personal
neighborly knowledgeable
t.mac restaurants social brand voice entertain inform engage
slang in-the-know informal 4
humble community playful lighthearted
purpose bring together excite delight sell
Tweet about a new menu item.
Tweet about a new special Brewniversity beer release.
Tweet a link to a new blog post.
Interact with 5 followers.
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Tweet out info for an upcoming event.
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28
Announce winner of T.MAC selNie contest..
Tweet about spending father’s day at T.MAC Tweet out new beer arrivals.
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Tweet a link to a new blog post.
Follow 10 people that are talking about T.MAC.
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Interact with 5 followers.
Tweet a new menu item and best beer pairing.
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Tweet a link to a new blog post.
Tweet out info for an upcoming event.
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Launch a contest over Twitter for the best T.MAC selNie.
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Tweet a link to a new blog post.
Promote tonight’s sport events.
Tweet about the Brewniversity app.
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Follow 10 people that are talking about T.MAC.
Tweet about tonight’s sport events.
Retweet 2 interesting tweets from followers.
Tweet out a special offer.
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Tweet: “I’ve got a case of the Mondays, with your name on it.”
Tuesday
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Monday
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Sunday
5
5
Friday
Tweet about the Brewniversity app.
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Interact with 5 followers.
Tweet a link to a new blog post.
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Tweet about last Pint Night in June and glass giveaway.
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Tweet out a special appetizers offer.
Promote tonight’s sport events.
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Tweet about Pint Night Tweet out a link to an and this week’s glass interesting local story. giveaway.
Interact with 5 followers.
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Interact with partners via Twitter.
Tweet a photo of the pint glass giveaway of the day.
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Tweet about Pint Night Tweet: “Happy hour is and the new beer of at our place tonight. the month. Come by, hang out.”
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Thursday
Tweet about the Brewniversity rewards Tweet photos from a program. past event.
Interact with 5 followers.
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Remind people of contest deadline via Twitter.
Promote tonight’s sport events.
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Tweet out info for an upcoming event.
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Interact with 5 followers.
Tweet about a new special Brewniversity beer release.
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Wednesday
June 2015
EDITORIAL CALENDAR - Twitter
Interact with other breweries or partners via Twitter.
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Tweet a link to a new blog post.
Post preview of a new menu item.
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Tweet out the new beers that are on tap.
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Interact with other breweries or partners via Twitter.
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Saturday
2
Tuesday
30 Instagram a photo of the latest event.
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Re-‐gram post from a local sports team about tonight’s game.
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Instagram photo with information about an upcoming event.
Instagram photo of the newest beer release.
Instagram photo about Announce winner of Father’s Day. T.MAC selIie contest..
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Instagram video of people cheering for a game at T.MAC.
Launch a contest over Instagram for the best T.MAC selIie.
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Instagram photo of T.MAC’s famous wings.
Instagram photo of the Re-‐gram post from a T.MAC patio. local sports team about tonight’s game.
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Monday
14
7
Sunday
24
6
Re-‐gram post from a local sports team about tonight’s game.
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Instagram photo with information about an upcoming event.
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Instagram photo of new beers lined up a the bar.
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Wednesday
June 2015 5
Friday
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25 26 Instagram photo of this Instagram photo with week’s pint night glass. of T.MAC appetizers.
Instagram photo of this Instagram screenshot week’s pint night glass. of the Brewniversity app.
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Instagram photo of this Instagram photo of week’s pint night glass. T.MAC fries “Happy Frie-‐day”
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Instagram photo of this Instagram photo of all week’s pint night glass. of T.MAC’s burgers for National Burger Day.
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Thursday
EDITORIAL CALENDAR - instagram
Instagram photo of a long Brewniversity credit list.
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Instagram photo of the T.MAC patio.
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Instagram photo of people watching the game at T.MAC.
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Saturday
Share a link to an interesting story.
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Announce winner of T.MAC selDie contest..
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Post about the Post about a new menu Brewniversity rewards item and offer a program. promotion.
Launch a contest over Facebook for the best T.MAC selDie.
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Share link to a blog post about Father’s Day.
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Share a post from a local partner.
30
Post a new photo album from a recent event.
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Share a post from a local partner.
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Share a post from a local sports team.
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Tuesday
Post a new photo album from a recent event.
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Post a link to T.MAC’s event page.
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Monday
Post about the Share a post from a Brewniversity rewards local partner. program.
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Sunday
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Share a post from a local sports team.
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Feature one of T.MAC’s locations and write post to introduce the manager/staff.
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Share a picture of Post a link to T.MAC’s tonight’s pint night and event page. glass giveaway.
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6
Saturday
Share a link to an interesting story.
27
Share information about an upcoming event.
20
Share the list of new beers that are on tap.
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Post about a new menu Share a link to an item and offer a interesting story. promotion.
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Friday
Share a picture of Share a post from a tonight’s pint night and local sports team. glass giveaway.
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Share a link to a blog post about tonight’s Pint Night.
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Thursday
18 Post about a new menu Share a link to a blog item and offer a post about tonight’s promotion. Pint Night.
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Share a link to a new blog post.
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Post a link to a brewery’s website.
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Wednesday
June 2015
EDITORIAL CALENDAR - Facebook
Deliverables Deliverable 1: • Sample blog post and list of five blog post ideas.
Purpose: Beginning April 1, T.MAC is celebrating ‘IPApril,’ a month long event that celebrates the IPA style of beer. This post is meant to be informational about IPAs, introduce the campaign and generate buzz about T.MAC and restaurant events.
april showers bring ipa hop flowers April 1, 2015
Spring is nearly in full swing, and with the changing of the season comes new seasonal beer releases! That’s something we feel is worth smiling about, and we’re here to make sure your beer knowledge is up to par for spring. We at T.MAC love our IPAs, especially when the weather warms up. To catch you up to speed, IPA stands for India Pale Ale and it is a type of beer that has three distinct characteristics; high gravity (meaning high alcohol concentration, usually 5-9%), bitterness (an acquired taste for most), and hoppiness (the hop plant is used in high concentrations for this style). If you want to become a real expert, read up on All Things IPA. Now, we know IPAs are a year-round beer, but session IPAs tend to pop out around April. No wonder, because these low-alcohol IPAs are made for the outdoor seasons full of barbecues, ball games and Shootin’ the Hooch. Sessions still have all of the great IPA flavors, but are brewed lighter for easy allday drinking. Some of our favorites are making their way back to our taps here at T.MAC (Founder’s All Day IPA, Lagunitas DayTime, and Terrapin Recreation Ale, just to name a few). Be sure to check our beer menu for the latest releases next time you come in. You don’t want to miss these! (Continued)
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Speaking of Terrapin, four beers from the long-loved local brewery are our featured Beers of the Month for April. Terrapin is among the best in the Southeast when it comes to IPAs, which is why they are the perfect brewery to kick off #IPApril! Together, we’ll bring you the best IPAs including Hop Selection Ella, Hopsecutioner, and Hi-5 IPA. If that wasn’t good enough, on Thursday April 23 at 5pm, T.MAC Kennesaw will be hosting a tap takeover, where the brewers at Terrapin will be pouring you nine different beers including old favorites and a new special cask.
April is looking to be a good month! Be sure to tell us which IPA you love most below, or better yet, come by and hang out. We’ll have the taps ready.
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List of 5 Blog Post Ideas: • All Things IPA - A guide to the India Pale Ale style of beer. • NBA Finals - Game recap video, showing crowd’s reaction to crucial plays and final scores. • Summer Patio Series - A playlist of the songs being played out on T.MAC patios in the summertime. • Brewniversity Pledge - A guide to the newbies of the Brewniversity rewards program. • Know Your Tapper - Spotlight on one of the bartenders or brewmasters that work at T.MAC. Deliverable 2: • Tweet schedule of 10 sample tweets. Date%and%Time
Message
Monday, April 6. 2 p.m.
It’s #IPApril, and we’re celebrating all month long with over 50 different IPAs on tap! Come by and get your ale on.
Tuesday, April 7. 2 p.m.
Get ready for a #TapTakeover from @sweetwaterbrew! Tonight at 5p.m. only at T.MAC Lindbergh featuring special @Brewniversity beer credits.
Thursday, April 9. 3:15 p.m.
Don't miss out on #PintNight tonight! Our brewery of the month is @TerrapinBeerCo, so come by and get a free glass!
Friday, April 10. 12:30 p.m.
Need a pregame spot? The @Braves #HomeOpener is tonight at the Ted. We've got all the food your tailgate is missing.
Tuesday, April 14. 5 p.m.
Did we mention we love bacon? Especially when it's beer battered.
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Media Photo of tap wall.
Saturday, April 18. 11:45 a.m.
Our friends @sweetwaterbrew are hosting the annual #420Fest in Atlanta today! Good food, music and beer? Count us in.
Wednesday, April 22. 2 p.m.
In honor of #EarthDay, we're serving up a special menu of our earthiest beer selections with new beer credits. Come by and check it out!
Thursday, April 23. 1:45 p.m.
Time for another #TapTakeover! Our friends @TerrapinBeerCo will be tapping special releases & classic favorites at T.MAC Kennesaw at 5pm.
Monday, April 27. 2:30 p.m.
We've got a case of the Mondays.. with your name on it. Grab some friends and come by tonight!Â
Thursday, April 30. 1:00 p.m.
You've got the best seat in the house for tonight's #NFLDraft. Come by and hang out.
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Deliverable 3: • Series of Facebook posts.
Purpose: An effective suggestion for increasing fan engagement is to implement contests. Contests are often fun and interactive ways to create a discussion or generate content on social platforms. T.MAC has an established history, and a fun way to display this is through asking trivia questions. By offering incentives, social media users are more likely to interact with T.MAC as a brand. This new engagement will extend T.MAC’s social reach tremendously. Below is a sample Facebook post for T.MAC Trivia Tuesday.
T.MAC Restaurants Time for #TriviaTuesday! Whoever is first to comment below and name the oldest T.MAC location in Atlanta will win a $20 T.MAC gift card!
T.mac trivia tuesday
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Deliverable 4: • Instagram a photo of this week’s #PintNight glass giveaway.
Purpose: Pint Night is a current marketing effort that is highly successful. It partners T.MAC with local breweries and encourages people to come in to get the free pint glass that comes with the ‘Beer of the Month.’Each Thursday there is a new glass to get, so T.MAC should post a photo on Instagram that is both eye-catching and creative to display the glass. There have been successful posts such as this in the past, but it would be most effective if each glass were displayed each week to promote Pint Night.
What a long strange trip it’s been. @sweetwaterbrew Roadtrip is featured at T.MAC’s #PintNight tonight. Come by, hang out, and take home your own.
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conclusion Overall, there are several ways in which T.MAC can improve its social media presence. Suggestions include creating a corporate blog, which will compliment social media and give users interesting links to click, read, share and comment about. Blog posts will help generate discussion as well as encourage relationships and improve brand positioning with publics. T.MAC should also consider creating a Twitter protocol package that promotes synergy between the various sub accounts. Cohesive branding is critical for any company, but particularly a midsize company such as T.MAC. In terms of content, the company should return to its relaxed tone that built up its social media following in earlier years. T.MAC will see more engagement and a resurge in brand loyalty if it takes into consideration the tone of its content. The company should also better utilize the video sharing capabilities that Instagram offers. Video content should reflect the excitement and atmosphere that customers feel when visiting the restaurants. This will encourage others to come and join in the fun. If T.MAC began to adopt any of these suggestions, there would be a great improvement in the amount of interaction from followers and sustained interest in the brand.
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