Analyzing KFC's Social Media Marketing: Business Professional Practice

This report analyzes the application of social media platforms, such as Facebook, YouTube, and Snapchat, in the business operations of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) in Australia. The report examines how KFC utilizes these platforms for marketing, sales, recruitment, and brand awareness. It details the specific strategies employed on each platform, including the use of Facebook fan pages for customer engagement and sales promotion, YouTube for viral marketing campaigns, and Snapchat for youth-oriented campaigns. Furthermore, the report discusses KFC Express Application and job advertisement strategies, as well as the impact of these social media tools on customer behavior and sales. The report concludes with recommendations for improving business performance through the use of social media and suggests alternative tools to enhance their online presence.

USES OF SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS IN BUSINESS 1
BUSINESS PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
Student’s Name
Course
Date

USES OF SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS IN BUSINESS 2
Table of Contents
Executive summary.........................................................................................................................2
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Online marketing.............................................................................................................................4
Facebook..........................................................................................................................................5
YouTube..........................................................................................................................................7
Snapchat...........................................................................................................................................8
KFC Express Application..............................................................................................................10
Twitter............................................................................................................................................10
Google plus....................................................................................................................................11
Job advertisement and e-recruitment.............................................................................................12
Recommendation of alternative social media tool.........................................................................13
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................14
Bibliography..................................................................................................................................15

USES OF SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS IN BUSINESS 3
Executive summary
The purpose of this article is to examine the use of social media platforms such as the
LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and others to facilitate marketing and sales, recruitment purposes,
and presence and awareness creation by business institutions. The article picks on the Kentucky
Fried Chicken in Australia that is majorly a fast food restaurant. The article further recommends
more internet tools used to improve the business performance.
Introduction
In every business arena, technology has become the language of communication, with its
impacts affecting the international business community both directly and indirectly. The use of
internet has increased globalized the business community leading to increased performance,
productivity, efficiency, and competition in the business arena1. As a result, every business
organization focuses on the best strategies adopted with the aim of reaching a large base of
customers in the global market. The business adopts tools such as social media platforms as
advertisement opportunities to help the business reach the global market. This paper hence
evaluates and presents the use of social media in business with a focus on Kentucky Fried
Chicken as a case study organization. It focuses on the social media channels adopted by the
company in carrying out its business and how each channels is applicable. It then concludes with
recommendations for a planning strategy on how improvements are achievable.
1 Lindsey-Mullikin, Joan, and Norm Borin. 2017. "Why Strategy Is Key For Successful Social
Media Sales". Business Horizons 60 (4): 473-482. doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2017.03.005.

USES OF SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS IN BUSINESS 4
The rate of internet usage in today’s life has increased transforming the whole world both
in the personal and the business activities as it connects the business with the consumers
directly2. Many small businesses such as Kentucky Fried Chicken have embraced the use of
internet network in conducting their daily activities such as marketing, recruitment, sales, and
creation of presence awareness3. Social networking sites are definable as a group of internet
based applications that developed on the ideological and technological foundations of Web that
allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content. Social media, on the other hand, is
the environment that allows the social networking to take place hence connects the brands and
consumers to offer a personal channel and currency for user-centered interaction4 .With the
assistance of the Web, internet users are capable of creating their accounts and uploading
different contents on the particular websites “. It is observable that among the Australian
population, 90% of the internet users are on Facebook, with 41% on Twitter. Facebook is a site
that tells others who you know while twitters a site that shows others whatever you is doing.
Kentucky Fried Chicken is the world’s second largest an Australian fast food restaurant
after McDonald's that mainly specializes in fried chickens. KFC founded in 1930 by Colonel
Harland Sanders today has 20,000 global locations in almost 123 countries serving more than 2
million customers a week5. KFC embarks on social media platforms to conduct a number of its
activities such as marketing and sales, job advertisement, a creation of presence among the
Australians. According to Yellow Pages Social Media Report 2012, a large number of
Australians of about 71% have integrated with the different social media, making it easy for the
business in Australia to engage with potential stakeholders directly. The purpose of this article is
2 Bucher, Taina. 2015. "Networking, Or What The Social Means In Social Media". Social Media
+ Society 1 (1): 205630511557813. doi:10.1177/2056305115578138.
3 Ibid.,8
4 Ibid.,3
5 Ibid.,8

USES OF SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS IN BUSINESS 5
to look at the impact of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and
Google+ on the KFC operations such as job application and recruitment, sales, marketing, and
advertisement. It also looks at the additional social media tool adopted to enhance the
performance of the business .
Online marketing
Online marketing is definable as the group of Internet-based applications, built on the
ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, thereby allowing the creation and
exchange of user-generated content6. The marketing strategy is a new concept embraced by KFC
and other companies through social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube,
Instagram, and Google+7. The online marketing has been prone because of the today’s increase
of the consumer's technological use in both home and workplaces thereby giving the marketers
opportunity to use it to reach the various targeted groups with their products and services. The
study shows an increase of online marketers from 29% in 2009 to 38% in 2016.
6 Watfa, Mohamed K., Nima Najafi, and Mahmoud Bakkar. 2013. "Targeted Online Marketing
Using Social Networking". International Journal Of Online Marketing 3 (3): 37-50.
doi:10.4018/ijom.2013070103.
7 Conti, Marco, and Andrea Passarella. 2017. "Online Social Networks And Media". Online
Social Networks And Media 1: iii-vi. doi:10.1016/s2468-6964(17)30045-9.

USES OF SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS IN BUSINESS 6
Facebook
38%
30%
22%
10%
Method of awareness
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube
Figure 1 shows how KFC uses social media to create awareness
KFC Restaurant has great number of customers that visit the various locations, among
that great number 38% of the customers came awareness of the restaurant through their
Facebook fan page, 30% through twitter, 22% and 10% through Instagram and YouTube
respectively 8. KFC’s Facebook fan page has the greatest significant number of followers of
about 389,486 than any other social media tool making it the most efficient method used by KFC
to do the marketing in Australia. The fan page helps the restaurant to create awareness of its
presence thereby new customers who might not know its existence, through uploading various
updates and references from the potential customers. It is observable that many customers tend
to buy particular food after seeing the delicious photos uploaded in the Facebook fan page.
8 Ibid.,7

USES OF SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS IN BUSINESS 7
20%
25%
55%
sales of fried chicken
June
July
August
Figure 2 shows rate of sales of fried chicken after uploading the pictures on Facebook fan page
Figure 3: Fried chicken
Through, the account, the restaurant uploads fried chicken, French fries and any other fast
food items that are on promotions; as a result, customers get attracted by the delicious and
yummy foods, turning up to the restaurant. The uploading of the pictures of the food exposes the

USES OF SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS IN BUSINESS 8
business to a large number of consumers, creating awareness and improving on sales9. The
marketing personnel, through the Facebook page, address all the questions asked by consumers
regarding the prices of the food items posted, creating a personalized online customers service.
When customers get responses on the issues they raise, they tend to feel valued by the
management of the restaurant, thus creating a virtual community. The virtual brand community
created by KFC share same business interests thereby promotes the name of the business through
referring friends to buy food from the restaurant; as a result, the number of customers increases.
In totality it is observable that the restaurant sales rate increases from 20% in June to 55% in
August, due to the marketing done through the fan page.
The virtual community creates a greater degree of communication among the customers,
who thereby tend to persuade or influence others to buy from the restaurant, who automatically
accept because of the trust among them. It is observable that people with more positive attitudes
and comments on the fan page are more likely to buy from the restaurant and are more likely to
maintain a strong brand commitment than those that have negative comments.
From the KFC Facebook page, the management can tap the wisdom, personal feelings,
and attitudes of the consumers towards certain food products, enabling them to create a concrete
conclusion on what to address on the products to grab more customers10. KFC management
believes that the best food product results from the critics of the customers on the taste,
presentation, and service as a whole. Facebook provide consumer to consumer approach that
9 Ibid.,8
10 Faisal, Abu. 2016. "Marketing Strategies In Online/Digital Marketing". Account And
Financial Management Journal. doi:10.18535/afmj/v1i8.01.

USES OF SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS IN BUSINESS 9
enables the users to share experiences and create a shared knowledge on a particular brand, and
at the same time, it provides the manager an opportunity to have a direct communication with
clients through the traditional consumer approach11. For the success of the program, there has to
be a healthy positive attitude and trust between the business and the customers.
YouTube
KFC uses YouTube in marketing the food product through uploading the short videos of
events; customers experience on the restaurant hospitality or even a testimonial by a celebrity
about the restaurant that goes viral 12. A large number of people that access the videos create a
pool of potential customers that are more likely to visit the restaurant to have the same, thereby
increasing awareness and sales of the restaurant13. The YouTube marketing approach is
significant because the message targets different customers and is more entertaining than the
pictures of the foods. KFC launched a viral marketing video is known as “Finger Lickin” a
campaign meant to urge consumers to go for the high-quality Australian free Chicken that is
11 Ibid.,16
12 Aggarwal, Manav. 2012. "Online Advertisement". International Journal Of Scientific
Research 3 (6): 215-216. doi:10.15373/22778179/june2014/72.
13 Ibid.,8

USES OF SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS IN BUSINESS 10
yummy and delicious14. It created an influence on a great number of consumers who turned up in
the KFC restaurant to lick their fingers too.
those who saw the
video of finger
lickin video
those who liked
video of finger
lickin
those who are
likely to buy after
observing the
vedio
those who are not
likely to buy after
observing the
video
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
percentage
Figure 4 shows the impact of YouTube on customers' behavior
From the data, it is observable that many people about 80% watched the video of “finger
lickin” in Youtube, and 60% of them liked the video. Among those who liked the video, 50%
were likely to buy the drink with only 10% who were not likely to buy from the restaurant. From
the statistic, it is derivable that the social media tool was applicable since videos make more
impacts than pictures.
14 Nilan, Pam, Haley Burgess, Mitchell Hobbs, Steven Threadgold, and Wendy Alexander. 2015.
"Youth, Social Media, And Cyberbullying Among Australian Youth: “Sick Friends”". Social
Media + Society 1 (2): 205630511560484. doi:10.1177/2056305115604848.

USES OF SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS IN BUSINESS 11
Snapchat
Snap chat is an image messaging and multimedia mobile application that enables the
users to upload a picture of a preferred item and share it with other users that access them for a
short time before they become inaccessible15. KFC has chosen a youth-oriented social platform,
snapchat to launch its Double Soft Shell Zinger Taco making the snaps to be viewed for over,
3000 times within the first three hours of activation. KFC realized that most of the consumers
are millennial and therefore tries to create moments and memories of the best foods that are
available in the restaurant16. For example, the selfie pictures of KFC founder; Colonel Sanders
and followers, blended harmoniously with the “out of home” campaign. A campaign aimed at
persuading people to embrace the trend of dining away from home. As a result, many people
turned up with their families in different locations of the restaurant for their lunches and supper
and have the in-restaurant experience.
Another snapshot campaign organized by KFC was the “Freeze Frenzy” that aimed at
marketing a carbonated drink to capture the young adults. The snapshot aimed at reaching the
targeted audience, which was the young adult to have an outdoor freeze experience with the
drink. It required them to participate in a game entitled Freeze Frenzy, a mobile application that
allowed the users to see a ten-second video and access the game through swiping up the video
ad. During the game, the users assumed to be a KFC staff offering service to customers who
15 Ibid.,17
16 Kuruzovich, Jason. 2013. "Sales Technologies, Sales Force Management, And Online
Infomediaries". Journal Of Personal Selling & Sales Management 33 (2): 211-224.
doi:10.2753/pss0885-3134330205.

USES OF SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS IN BUSINESS 12
make a combination of menu including the frozen drink17. The user was to correctly add the
order to the KFC serving tray and serve the customer by tapping. A correct order earned the
player points with the shift of 60 seconds. The game progresses through different levels and
becomes complicated when the user has to serve varying number of menu items. The other
objective was to provide an opportunity to showcase the products and resulted in about
3,260,798 participants which converted to an average swipe rate of 14.43%. from the data , it is
observable that the rate of participants was very law of about 10%, that had effect on the rate of
sales of the carbonated drink, but through the weeks, the rate of participation increased gradually
to about 35% , as a result, the number of those who bought the product increased too.
week one week two week three week four
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
5
participants of the game
those who bought the product
Figure 5 shows the number of participants against the number of those who purchased the product
17 Ibid.,17