The much-anticipated Q2 2013 Restaurant Social Media Index (RSMI) data has been released, and a lot of brands have moved around in Q2.
The RSMI currently tracks 52 Million Social Restaurant Consumers and 6,200 brands on 17 social platforms, and continues to grow. RSMI scores are determined by three core measurements: influence, sentiment and engagement. As you may recall, two new elements have been added as of Q1 2o13: mobile and location-based activity.
Brand love
When it comes to Top Social Consumer Sentiment, Starbucks makes a comeback to the No. 1 spot after getting bumped to No. 5 in Q1. Chipotle, at the top spot last quarter in this category, moves down two spots to No. 3 and Taco Bell squeezes in at second place. Also making the list are: Shake Shack (4), Buffalo Wild Wings (5) and Wendy’s (6). Some new competition also managed to creep into Top 10 territory: Einstein Bros Bagels (7) and La Boulange Bakery (10), both of which hadn’t made the Top 50 Consumer Sentiment list last quarter, and Smashburger (8, up from 15) and Sweetgreen (9, up from 23).
Going mobile
Mobile engagement has increased over 300% in the past year, proving that this platform has become an integral component in brand strategy. Dominating the Q2 Top 10 list in this category is Chipotle. Their app is all-inclusive, so this comes as no surprise. What’s interesting is Chipotle was down at No. 10 in Q1 and made quite a jump in the past quarter. Starbucks has made its way to No. 2 from No. 15, Firehouse also jumped in the Top 10 at No. 3, followed by Wendy’s (4), Shake Shack (5), Native Foods Cafe (6), Jamba Juice (7), Jimmy John’s (8), Wow Bao (9) and Corner Bakery Cafe (10).
All about location
Location-Based Actions (LBAs) are the ROI of the social sphere, and are defined through three primary elements: return and refer; direct LBA, like a check-in; or intent to visit, such as an organic conversation on social that is removed from the brand, like a tweet to a friend saying, “I loved that restaurant, let’s go tomorrow!”
Holding strong at No. 1 in LBAs for Q2 is Chipotle. The only other brand that’s secured themselves in the Top 10 from Q1 is Buffalo Wild Wings at No. 2, up from No. 7 last quarter. Additionally, McDonald’s (3), Pinkberry (4), Einstein (5), Peet’s (6), Five Guys (7), Wow Bao (8), Shake Shack (9), and Sweetgreen (10) made the list.
Top 10 overall
And now, for the list you’ve all been waiting for: the Top 10 overall brands.
#10 Sonic
Rank Status: Up from No. 16
Badge: Social Fan Performer
Twitter followers: 76K+
Facebook fans: 2.7 million+
#9 Jimmy John’s
Rank Status: Down from No. 6
Badge: Engagement Performer
Twitter followers: 203K+
Facebook fans: 2 million+
#8 Chipotle
Rank Status: Up from No. 13
Badge: Location Performer
Twitter followers: 238K+
Facebook fans: 1.4 million+
#7 Subway
Rank Status: Up from No. 9
Badge: Social Growth Performer
Twitter followers: 1.5 million+
Facebook fans: 23 million
#6 Hard Rock
Rank Status: Up from No. 10
Badge: Social Fan Performer
Twitter followers: 269K+
Facebook fans: 3.3 million
#5 Buffalo Wild Wings
Rank Status: Holding steady at No. 5
Badge: Location Performer
Twitter followers: 282K+
Facebook fans: 10 million+
#4 Starbucks
Rank Status: Starbucks holds its No. 4 spot
Badge: Mobile Performer
Twitter followers: 4.1 million+
Facebook fans: 35.1 million+
#3 McDonald’s
Rank Status: Down from No. 2.
Badge: Mobile Performer
Twitter followers: 1.4 million+
Facebook fans: 29 million
#2 Wendy’s
Rank Status: Up from No. 3
Badge: Social Fan Performer
Twitter followers: 351K+
Facebook fans: 3.9 million
#1 Taco Bell
Rank Status: The Live Mas brand claims the top spot for the second quarter in a row.
Badge: All-Around Performer
Twitter followers: 709K+
Facebook fans: 1o million
The speed of social
The social and digital world are very fluid. If you don’t keep up with consumer trends and integrate them into your social strategy, people will notice — or even worse, they won’t. The RSMI rankings above reflect this, which is why no quarterly ranking is ever predictable. With that being said, congratulations to the brands that made it into the Top 10! If you haven’t submitted your brand into the Index yet, you can do so for free right here.
Paul Barron is a Web entrepreneur who launched several successful restaurant and hospitality trade websites, events and think tanks. He is credited with starting the fast-casual restaurant revolution when he launched FastCasual.com in the 1990s. He is the founder of DigitalCoCo, a social media analytics and creative agency in South Florida.
Jessica Bryant is a digital brand analyst for DigitalCoCo and leads research for the Social Insights platform. DigitalCoCo is the leading firm for social consumer research and digital brand development for the restaurant and hospitality business. Bryant is a seasoned researcher with a specialty toward consumer trends and culture shifts in the restaurant business.