No, they don;t change the avatar. They use a McD logo but after each tweet they “sign it” like this ^MWS

Thanks for asking for clarity on this Jon. I should have made it more clear!

I feel like I’m the negative Nellie this week!!! I have had quite the opposite experience with McDonald’s.. Anytime that I have tweeted out to McDonalds, I have gotten zero response and I have tweeted out to them quite a few times. Now, I do not expect a big brand like McD’s to become BFFs with little ol’ me but as the mom to 3 kids and a unit 1 mile from my house we’re there more often than I care to admit. This particular unit is having a fair amount of growing pains but the one that kills me is that I have to ask for ketchup or will end up with none. As a matter of fact my last tweet to McD’s was this, verbatim – “@McDonalds – If there is something in my order made with potatoes, I should not have to request ketchup” .. I’m not tweeting for free fries but I would like some ketchup with them w/o having to ask. If I can help make them aware of little things out in the field, I’m happy to do it.

Well that certainly reflects the growing pains of social media, doesn’t it? To me, the fact that McD has a successful social media program at all is almost miraculous but your story shows the two-edged sword of social media and I think an issue all these brands will have to deal with — once you create an expectation of engagement, you can’t let people down.

Thanks for this very important insight today, Kristen.

He, haven’t watched it yet…but just had to say (in case I get side-tracked) that I’ve just won a bet with myself. I bet myself you’d interview Rick Wion at SXSW when I saw your Tweet exchange happening live.

I now owe myself 10 British pounds! Right, let’s see this video.

Good interview. Rick seems like a really nice guy. I’ve tweeted him a few times in the past (including to ask him if he gets free fries) and he always responds. I felt a bit bad for him when he got such a kicking over McDonald’s claims about increasing footfall with its Foursquare event last year.

My one reservation with what he said was this idea of using initials at the end of a tweet to signify a human being. Yes, it’s better than just having an anonymous corporate avatar/profile – people use social media to connect to humans – but there’s an even better way in my view.

Use a corporate profile to comunicate in a way that connects the tweets very strongly to a brand. But also use ‘face’ avatars with a logo, like Scott Monty’s at Ford: http://twitter.com/scottmonty as a layer of human engagement that’s slightly detached from the corporate brand. That way, you get the best of both worlds.

Great video. I came across your blog from the Klout article you wrote on Ragan. Now I will have to add you to my daily reads!

Great to hear of a company structuring their social media department right and as a social strategist, I’m glad to hear that it’s not just one person who owns it day in and day out! This keeps all the content fresh. (Although …I’m sure there are still organizational and content challenges to sharing the handle.)

Hi Michael, I agree actually. That’s what I do on Twitter too. Must update my Disqus avatar !!!

Touchee Sadly, most people are OK with being let down or letting others down, so there are companies present online via social media channels that probably will fail, for this reason alone.

What do you think: is this just my impression or gut feeling?

Great point. The link in our bio goes to “longer form” bios and pictures of each person. http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/media_center/mcdnlds_twttr_cntcts_092509.html

We are also looking at a new Twitter feature that will list the name of contributor of a particular tweet within the structure of the tweet itself.

I’m not sure I understand your question but in general I do not think people are OK with being let down, especially in this age where one small problem can lead to an online shouting match. There was a blog on the NYT today about one customer who is lodging a one-man attack on a restauant because of a long wait (that was, at least in part, heis own fault). This ubiquitous voice can wreak havoc with well-meaning businesses. The consumer is extremely powerful in this digital age. Thanks, Codrut.

That is HILARIOUS. Am I that predictable? Predictable good quality … that’s what you meant to say, right? : )

It’s a great case study, isn’t it? Thanks for the comment Thomas!

I am finally getting a free moment to check this out now. This is fantastic. I wish we had a year to listen to conversations. I have been trying to listen and talk and learn as I go along. This is just such a great concept for a larger company.

I even bet it could work for a smaller company too, by getting a couple of Tweeters instead of only one.

What great input to end the day. Thanks for this post, Mark.

Rick.. I have a loooong F&B background so believe me, I know food cost issues. I love our new little McD’s Cafe and want them to succeed but every time I’m there, feel like I need to run in with my F&B managerial skills that are peppered with rah-rah customer service! Thanks for taking the time to respond to my comment of Mark’s blog..that means a lot to me.
And really. I would love to see your social media/marketing war room. I’m a geek mom..what more could you ask for???

Hi Mark. Love this interview. I give McDonalds a lot of credit on Social. Is it moving Burgers? No. Do they have tons of engagement on Facebook? No. Not in the scheme of things when you take into account how many customers they have world wide. I have blogged about this.

BUT they do things right that at key. They listen and they engage. I have followed them for 18 months and they respond on Twitter. Now just like starbucks I bet half the Twitter and Facebook mentions are people just saying ‘I’m at McDonald’s eating’ which really has nothing to do with the Brand other than the fact they have so many stores and serve so many people. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t filter and analyze that data.

Second their tweeters I am pretty sure are college grads (or in college). I had a great experience with one last summer when I tried to joke with McDonalds about the fillet o fish (maybe I told you this). The joke is that at a store the workers are clueless about what kind of fish. Someone in Australia told me this on Twitter. So I tweeted it. @Kty_McD answered in less than a min with the actual fish composition. But the point is Katy might be an intern but she is smart.

Lastly as I end my blog on your blog 8) they got smart and devolved twitter to local levels. Just do a search and you will see how many accounts they have.

Cheers

I think the McD SM war room would make a great blog post. I may have to make a trip to Chicago with my video camera! I ahve actually been to their campus several times for trainign programs and it is a wonderful environment.

You’re welcome Nancy. It was a great opportunity to meet somebody like Rick who is doing it right.

Well said. I’ll bet they think think this effort does move hamburgers on some level though, otherwise why do it? Everything you do and everything you don’t do communicates about your brand. McDonalds is nurturing a friendly, wholesome, humanized brand and this approach makes a lot of sense as an extension to that. My only question is, what IS the limit to this? When do you hit a point of diminishing returns and “engagement” and problem-solving devolove into idle chat with millions of people around the world. Tough calls ahead I think for companies scaling along this model.

Hi Mark,
I love everything about this! I’m so impressed by all the things McDonald’s is doing right – monitoring and tracking, humanizing their brand, combining PR and customer service…all really smart. I thought it was interesting that they monitored for a year before joining the conversation; as a PR firm that represents mostly tech companies, we’re seeing more of our clients opting for that route. While not as popular as “fries”, their products are getting talked about, and it’s important for our clients to monitor and track the conversation for a period before jumping in.

Great real life example of best practices. Hope you got some more free fries!

~Lexy at @ClearpointPR

Thanks for this interview, I’m going to show it to my social media and PR class at the University of Central Missouri. We’re looking out to see what kinds of PR careers might be available for new grads…maybe professional tweeter? Great to hear about the listening experience too, speaking in the same voice as those who are talking about you.

Great interview. I just wrote about how Air France failed to react to a massive increase in #AirFrance trending last weekend (200 tweets per hour) and I think they could learn a few things from the Golden Arches.

I love how they really humanize the brand with different profiles for their twitter managers. Their Twitter team is really a great example.

Now I wonder how reactive are they if a crisis or a negative sentiment abt the brand pops up on Twitter?

Great article! I tried that with @ScottMonty though I didn’t get a free Ford! I loved the interview. Thanks for sharing it!

Yeah, we could have gone on with a lot more questions. An interesting view. Thanks Bo

I think this is an enlighted and practical view from McDonald’s. They are simply tuning in to the “new” conversation. It’s still fundamental good marketing, isn’t it? Thanks, Brad.

I love seeing this from a major corporation. We can all learn so much from this. Thanks, Mark!