The fast casual restaurant industry is highly competitive—and so effective marketing and branding is of utmost importance. Tapping into social media can help fast casual restaurants distinguish themselves from the pack. The taco and burrito chain Chipotle performs exceptionally well across social media sites. As measured by number of followers, its presence is top on Google+ (95,512), Instagram (18,214), Twitter (286,124) and YouTube (22,067). You may have noticed, however, that Facebook is missing from this list. American Chinese styled cuisine Panda Express dominates the “likes” with 3,234,049 of them. Chipotle also performs well on Facebook, as the chain has its own 2,147,816 likes.
Facebook is the undisputed heavyweight of the social media world, but Google hopes that Google+ can close the gap. It has a lot of work to do, however. Chipotle leads the category with just over 95,000 followers and Five Guys is next with only 2,000 followers. With over one billion active users, YouTube can’t be neglected. In terms of followers, Chipotle, Panera Bread, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Firehouse Subs, Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches, Noodle’s Company, Panda Express, Taco Cabana, El Pollo Loco and Zaxby’s all make the top 10 fast casual restaurants on YouTube.
Read more: Panda Express Introduces Chopsticks and Fork Hybrid
Please note that these statistics are accurate as of December 29, 2013. To learn more about top fast casual restaurants’ presence on social media, check out the full infographic below!
