Background of the company

Discuss about the Social Media Strategies for Democracy Empowerment.

Aims and Objectives of the report

Social Media has popped up as one of the most important forum or a powerful tool for meeting the needs of your marketing arsenal(Study on social media and social networking as agents of participatory democracy and civic empowerment, 2013). While it takes time for setting up a company and commencing with its function; it takes more time to ensure that the set-up group meets the desirable profit and outcome with the motive of which it had started performing. The best way to increase the popularity of one’s company leading to both sales and profit maximization; adhering to the social media strategies is the best option one has in hand. Almost all the leading successful companies of the world follow certain social media strategies which not only help in improving their promotion and marketing but also attract customers increasing the profit scale. Heading forward; this report gives an idea about the social media strategies taken up by Pizza Hut along. So here you go finding out which social media strategies do they adhere to and how efficiently these strategies are in use by the company.

Pizza Hut, a wholly owned subsidiary company (restaurant) making the sell of delicacies like Italian-American Pizza, pasta and Buffalo wings came into being on 15^th June 1958 which counts at least 57 years ago from the present day(Wu, Tsai, & Peng, 2013). The honor of founding the company goes to Dan Carney and Frank Carney, who started the company with the aim of offering delicious Pizza and Pasta to their countrymen. This company much unknown to others is a subsidiary of Yum!Brands, Inc., which is also counted as one of the largest restaurants in the world. With the technological development and innovation of new marketing trend; the company has extended its roots with more than 6,000 Pizza Hut locations in the United States only and over 5,139 more in the surrounding 94 other countries which counts for a total of 11,139 branches for this food brand only(Wu, Tsai, & Peng, 2013). Currently, this pizza selling house employs approximately over 1, 60,000 employees across the world and the US together make the company the largest Pizza retailer in the world.

The company which started with a mere $600 borrowed by the owner brothers Frank and Dan; Pizza Hut today thousand time more per day compared to the preliminary investment done for starting with the business (Flynn, 2012). The company today has 6,300 stores alone in the US and has been successfully able to maintain its position in the competitive market because of its social media strategies.

Social Media Presence

Analysis

Pizza Hut has expanded its business successfully across various parts of the country relying entirely on the social media campaign extensively. The brand has taken up steps for the social campaigning through the mode of the respectable and responsible online community making fair use of their social media accounts which helps in holding a stronger prominence among the follower of these online sites (Flynn, 2012). Being a fun filled company aiming to provide people a mode of entertainment and gathering; Pizza Hut makes proper use of social media platforms, mobile apps and other various forms which help in developing social communication and marketing. This helps the company in growing new relationships and efficiently meeting up new challenges by setting up a mode of connection.

Evaluation

Pizza Hut effectively follows the social media strategies for an up commercial growth reaching out to the public successfully using many popular social media forums such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Vine and its company website(“Maximize social media presence”, 2015). The invention of the smartphones has also helped the company developing its enterprise apps for reaching out to people very quickly thereby satisfying their needs. The company follows the social media strategies keeping into concern the existing trends prevailing in the news and social media market. It is because of such informative and planned social media presence followed by the brand which has helped it to save substantial advertisement charges. Some around 15,80,000 people like Pizza Huts Facebook page(“Maximize social media presence”, 2015). The brand’s FB page contains commercials, promotional, news announcements, hashtags by celebrities and newsfeeds. Maintaining the similar popularity; 1, 06,000 followers follow the Twitter account of Pizza Hut. Then come Vine and Instagram, which again is followed by nearly 1, 28,000 members who prefer the posts, pictures, videos and animated GIFS of their fans. The brand also enjoys a subscription from over 13,799 people over YouTube, which marks a steady social media presence for the Pizza Hut.

Analysis

With such an evident and strong social media presence; Pizza Hut has directed its services for reaching out to the mass. Its campaigning schemes like The Pizza Hut’s My Hut Moment Campaign has introduced several ways oriented towards the improvement of the digital Pizza Hut experience specifically designed for the target audience of the company. During the election period, the brand has been organizing several programs by adopting the non-media practices using social platforms, Web help, PR events, and mobile advertising (Litt & Hargittai, 2016). The Company has designed certain apps like The Pizza Hut App, which surrounds the preliminary vision of offering an easy order placement, and delivery mode to the customers. This app is available for download on all Android, iPhones, and Windows phones. The Pizza Hut Catch is another mobile game app designed to reach the custom audience who get access to this app using their smartphones. However to enjoy this game app facilities; one needs to step into a Pizza Hut restaurant making sure that the mobile device you are using is connected to the networking system of the Pizza Hut store you have been to without which this app is not liable to work. This not only provides an entertainment medium to the customers but also help the brand to analyze the number of customers preferring their services.

Social Media Audience

Current estimation says that Pizza Hut took into consideration small families and the present younger generation as their target audience. This means that the primary consumers shall comprise of those who come at the age of 18 to 34(Yoon, 2015). The company has divided this class into different groups namely the college students, The Ambitious Working Class, and The Millennial Families. The college students are considered the most pizza loving group and the brand give them the maximum priority as the target audience. They indulge in parties, lead night-0lifestyle, and when it comes to deciding on the food; they readily prefer ordering a pack of Pizza along with the side dishes the brand offers. This is why Pizza Hut also keeps an equal watch over the side dishes along with main pizza item. This is followed by the ambitious working class which forms another part of the media plan, and the brand looks after satisfying their big appetite need at the least price possible. These groups mainly order pizza items for their office and house parties and form the primary users of the online ordering and social media mode along with the younger generation(Yoon, 2015). Lastly, it is the millennial families forming a part of the company’s target audience. Such families prefer to the decision of the mother who is likely to be the target audience of Pizza Hut group whom the company persuades with its small budget big meal facility for making a leap let their children enjoy the delicacies of the brand. 

Analysis

The social media marketing strategies adopted by Pizza Hut has helped the brand to stand out as one of the most rated Pizza Restaurants in the United States as well as the entire world. The brand today has successfully been able to carry on with its services because of its ever growing popularity among its target audience who have made all the steps taken up by the brand in conducting its business successful(Armstrong, Delia, & Giardina, 2014). From high rating the company page in Facebook till being a stringent follower of the company’s Twitter account; Pizza Hut has gained support from its target audience at each and every stance in its taken towards the expansion of its business using the social media marketing schemes. 

Coming to an assessment of the social media marketing efforts of Pizza Hut; first, it calls for mentioning the competitors the brand has in the world market. Though Rated top; but Pizza Hut faces intense competition from its competitor companies like Papa John’s and Dominos which two also deals with the same food item i.e. Pizzas and pasta(Hastings, Angus, & Bryant, 2011). The company no more relies mostly on the number of Likes it gets on the social media pages but look out for the number of comments and shares so evaluate the interest and preference of the customers for the brand. Current social media marketing evaluation has estimated that Pizza Hut enjoys a conversion ratio of 1, Amplification ratio of 0.7 and Applause ratio of 11.8 which makes it the leading pizza brand of the world closely followed by Dominos.

Social Media Marketing

When it comes to Ethics, confidentiality and safety; Pizza Hut maintains an existing guideline to meet them so as to prevent the company from facing a legal setback at the same time ensuring that both the employees and customers enjoy taking their services.

Ethics

Ethics: Yum! Brands Pizza Hut maintains compliance with the laws and regulations of their functioning country. It also supports the legal provisions related to the employment practices in regards to working hours and conditions, strictly stating an NO to child labors as well as forced and indentured laborers(Lee & Yoo, 2012). There is no indiscrimination followed by the company regarding both recruitment and services. 

Privacy

Privacy: Pizza Hut maintains strong guidelines to protect the personal details that you input when getting registered with the company for availing its services using the mobile app. While placing the order using the app; customers are required to put in the address details for the delivery needs(Wu, Tsai, & Peng, 2013). The company has designed the app in such a way that there is no chance of internal theft for stealing the customer details.

Security

Security: Pizza Hut takes into concern enough strategies for looking after the safety of the customers availing the service by getting registered online. The company provides each of its registered clients with a password which they are supposed to keep confidential for maintaining the security needs(Sheehan, 2014).

Pizza Hut has ruled the pizza market with its ever new social media technologies and this time it has come up to formulated partnership with Blinkbox for offering the customers with a discounted film voucher on every order they make. This voucher will be available for use for eight movies (Akser, 2015). This campaign has been taken up by Pizza Hut with the mission of integrating the online and offline strategies providing the customers with an incentive mode using a direct marketing channel.

Conclusion

All the social media marketing strategies adopted by Pizza Hut helps the company to stand successfully out as the top rated pizza restaurant over the world. With ever new innovative items and additional discount offers; the company has been able to draw the attention of the customers for their product. Hence, the social media strategies adopted by Pizza Hut can never be left un-applauded.

References

Akser, M. (2015). Social movements and their technologies: Wiring social change. New Media & Society, 17(7), 1194-1196. https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1461444815579890a

Armstrong, C., Delia, E., & Giardina, M. (2014). Embracing the Social in Social Media: An Analysis of the Social Media Marketing Strategies of the Los Angeles Kings. Communication & Sport, 4(2), 145-165. https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2167479514532914

Flynn, N. (2012). The Social Media Handbook. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.

Hastings, G., Angus, K., & Bryant, C. (2011). The Sage handbook of social marketing. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage.

Lee, S. & Yoo, S. (2012). Return on marketing investment: Pizza Hut Korea’s case. Management Decision, 50(9), 1661-1685. https://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00251741211266741

Litt, E. & Hargittai, E. (2016). The Imagined Audience on Social Network Sites. Social Media + Society, 2(1). https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2056305116633482

Maximize social media presence. (2015). Dental Abstracts, 60(5), e137. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.denabs.2014.08.010

Sheehan, N. (2014). Pizza, Pizza, Pizza: A Competitive Strategy Exercise. Organization Management Journal, 11(1), 40-46. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15416518.2014.897928

Study on social media and social networking as agents of participatory democracy and civic empowerment. (2013). Brussels.

Wu, C., Tsai, Y., & Peng, J. (2013). Consumers’ Cognition and Satisfaction Level Toward Pizza Hut.Journal Of Applied Sciences, 13(21), 4754-4758. https://dx.doi.org/10.3923/jas.2013.4754.4758

Wu, C., Tsai, Y., & Peng, J. (2013). Consumers’ Cognition and Satisfaction Level Toward Pizza Hut.Journal Of Applied Sciences, 13(21), 4754-4758. https://dx.doi.org/10.3923/jas.2013.4754.4758

Yoon, S. (2015). Forbidden audience: Media reception and social change in North Korea. Global Media And Communication, 11(2), 167-184. https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1742766515588418