Disadvantages of Social Media Marketing for McDonald's

This report discusses the disadvantages of social media marketing for McDonald's, including negative stories and misinterpretation of words. It also suggests methods to manage the company's reputation on social media through better reporting and endorsements. The report addresses the advantages and disadvantages of social media marketing for McDonald's.

McDonald's Twitter Campaign

Title: Disadvantages of Social Media Marketing for McDonalds
To: The Managing Director, Senior Managers, Deputy Managers, Assistant Managers of
McDonald’s
From: Director of Social Media, Rick Wion
Date: 31/08/18
Subject: Establishment of better ways to manage the reputation of the company
Purpose: To identify probable methods that would be helpful in managing the various issues
that have led to the deterioration in the reputation of the fast food company known as
McDonald’s with the better and efficient utilisation of social media, reporting and
endorsements (Mcdonalds.com, 2018).
Questions
Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Media
Advantages
 The social media became a necessary portal for the company to increase its brand
awareness on the different networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter (Rishika,
2018).
 With the integration of the social media the company found a cost effective way to
deliver it services to the diverse number of customers.
 The social media will play an important role in addressing the diverse needs of the
individuals and the various requirements of the individuals.
Disadvantages
 McDonald’s was subjected to a number of disadvantages on the social media
platform. There were numerous negative stories that portrayed the problems of the
customers. Customers hijacked the hashtag and vented out their grudges, some of
which went to the extent of accusing the company of food poisoning. The lack of
proper communication and trust also led to misinterpretation of words, which led case
going viral without a cause. Therefore, this was the major backlash faced by the
company with in regards to the tweets posted by Twitter on MacDonald’s.

 The Social media played a significant role in the case and also had a negative impact
on the operations of the business organization (Chaffey, 2016). A click on the hashtag
had the ability to take a visitor to a recently visited tweet which was filled with angry
messages.
 Social media posed another disadvantage on the company by portraying the marketing
team of the company as disorderly and a number of individuals commented on the
food quality of food, which spread more hatred on the individuals who were
connected on the company a virtual platform (Tuten, 2017).
Audience /Stakeholders
Internal: The main audience that would be targeted for the course of the work would
comprise of the managers and the employees working in the organization. They would play
an important role in the comprehension of the needs and the requirements posed by the
customers in the company. It will also inculcate the utilisation of the delivery staff to meet
the daily requirements of the individuals.
External: The external stakeholders in the company would comprise of suppliers, customers,
investors and media activists who would have a positive impact on the dynamics of the
company (Carroll, 2014).
Twitter Campaign Design
Audience: MacDonald’s will address the issues of their valued customer in their social media
campaign. The company targets the teenagers and the fast food lovers who portrayed a
significant preference towards burgers. The business can earn profit by the high number of
teenagers and overcome all the barriers put forward by the twitter campaign. The support of
the teenagers would play an important role in cleansing the company out of the entire
allegation. The grievances of the investors will also be addressed in regards to the food
quality of the company. The team will endorse its campaign and make the efficient use of the
website and customization cards to redirect the site. The company should also integrate the
creation of a different endorsement to relate with its customers and form an emotional
bonding with them.

Social Media Limitations: A communication plan will be worked upon to make better
relationship with the media and establish and effective and better form of reporting. The
company will make the utilisation of the social media to ensure that there are no degrading
actions with relation to the Twitter Campaign in the company. This would have an impact
on the better marketing endorsement of the company and will address the important issues.

Communication Plan
Timing 06-09-2018
Audience The main audience that the company would target are:
 Teenagers
 Young Kids
 Adults who gorge over fast food
Sender The manager of the company McDonalds’s will be the key
sender of this message to the targeted audience.
Key Message To endorse the food products of the fast food company and
also form better emotional connection with all the customers
who partake of the company.
Desired Outcome The desired outcome from the set up of this meeting will
ensure better relationship with the customers. There will be
an increase in the brand awareness of the company. There
will be the formation of better relationship with the media
and improve the reporting of the company.
Medium The communication channels that will be utilised in the
course of the meeting will include the following:
 Meetings
 Campaigns
 Endorsements
 Seminars
The company will communicate with its shareholders
investors and customers through the better and effective
utilisation of the online meetings, seminars, meetings in the
hall conference of the company and so on.
Materials There will be the limited utilisation of the social media for
the campaign.
Frequency The key message about the social media endorsement will be
communicated through the utilisation of the video chat for
the investors and the customers on Fridays. There would be
regular sessions for the employees working in the company
on a regular basis.

Reference List
Carroll, A. and Buchholtz, A., 2014. Business and society: Ethics, sustainability, and
stakeholder management. Nelson Education.
Chaffey, D., 2016. Global social media research summary 2016. Smart Insights: Soc
Mcdonalds.com. (2018). McDonald’s UK: Burgers, Fries, Salads & More. Quality
Ingredients. [online] Available at: https://www.mcdonalds.com/gb/en-gb.html [Accessed 3
Sep. 2018].
Rishika, R. and Janakiraman, R., 2018. 13. Social media and retailing: a review and
directions for future research. Handbook of Research on Retailing, p.273.
Tuten, T.L. and Solomon, M.R., 2017. Social media marketing. Sage.