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Top 10 social media performers includes mix of QSR, pizza, fast casual

Toronto, Ontario, Canada-based technology and data company Engagement Labs released its top 10 quick service restaurants based on social media performance on Facebook and Twitter.

April 9, 2015

Toronto, Ontario, Canada-based technology and data company Engagement Labs released its top 10 quick service restaurants based on social media performance on Facebook and Twitter.

Wendy's, Whataburger and Dairy Queen took the top three spots, while Pizza Hut, Burger King and Taco Bell ranked in the top three for Twitter. Chick-fil-A finished fourth for both sites, followed by Burger King, Little Caesars, Subway, McDonald's and Jack In The Box on Facebook and Chipotle, Krispy Kreme, Dairy Queen, McDonald's Arby's and Wendy's for Twitter.

"The competition has never been fiercer in the quick service restaurant sector than it is today with more options than ever before. On a daily basis, social media is used to introduce new products and promotions to build loyalty and stay top-of-mind," Bryan Segal, CEO of Engagement Labs, said in a statement. "As the QSR industry struggles to counteract a decline in sales and broad competition, it is important to stay relevant with consumers by interacting with them on social media.

"An interesting analysis we found was that niche brands like Chipotle and smaller chains like Whataburger, which is a family-owned restaurant that has locations in only a few states, were part of the top performers. This proves that no matter how big or well-known the company is, if their social media strategy resonates effectively with their audience, they will have an incredibly engaged fan base."

Pizza Hut took first place on both Facebook and Twitter for Responsiveness ranking, which measures how much, how fast and how well a brand responds to actual conversations amongst its users. Coming in at second and third were In-N-Out Burger and Chipotle for Facebook and Chipotle and Chick-fil-A on Twitter, respectively.  Wendy's took fourth for responsiveness of customers on Facebook, followed by Starbucks, Little Caesars, Chick-fil-A, Sonic Drive-In, Subway and Arby's at 10th place. For Twitter, Krispy Kreme ranked just above McDonald's, coming in at fourth and fifth respectively, followed by Wendy's Arby's, Starbucks, Dairy Queen and Papa John's Pizza.

Wendy's strategy of posting videos about how its salads are made and photos of different types resonated well with customers and increased interaction, Engagement Labs said.

The company attributed Pizza Hut's Twitter "responsiveness" performance to responding back to followers in a timely manner.