Is Arby's the Best Social Media Restaurant Around?

Are you following Arby’s on social media? If you’re not, you should be.

The roast beef sandwich company is absolutely killing it with their social media campaigns. Their well-designed content and nerdy references garner tens of thousands of interactions across platforms. Just check out some of their content:

So, what are they doing right?

Pretty much everything. But here are some ideas to take home.

Their Content is Instantly Recognizable

If you’ve seen any of Arby’s social media pics, then you can spot others out of a lineup. Their branding is consistent while not limiting the team in their creativeness. 

Currently, their content tends to include using Arby’s cardboard sandwich boxes to make dioramas, at least one menu item, and a consistent color palate of red and browns.

Their images are also consistently in a square format, which looks great on Instagram.

They’re Timely

It seems like as soon as something becomes big or popular, they’re able to pop out a new image relating to it. Plus, they have GIFs, pictures, and videos ready for the major holidays.

They Understand Pop Culture

Arby’s makes some great references in their social media campaigns.

For example, the new season of Gilmore Girls just came out on Netflix and Arby’s was there promoting their “new location” in Stars Hollows (the fictional town of the show)

They've also referenced the new Final Fantasy game that was just released. We’re sure there were plenty of people who didn’t get the reference but those who did had to be ecstatic.

In fact, Arby’s is heavy into the nerd/gamer culture. A run through their streams show a high volume of nerdy references – be they TV, comics, or games.

They Know Their Guests

Arby’s is able to make these types of references with confidence because they know exactly who they’re marketing to. No doubt they went through the important process of building a buyer persona to learn who their core audience is.

They’re Genuine

None of their posts ever feels forced or faked. Their content always has an aura of being genuine because, well, they are genuine. Arby’s social media team works closely with Roar Groupe Art Director Jennifer Barclay who is a gamer and cosplayer. She knows her nerdom, and Arby’s is reaping the benefits.

"I think a lot of how we select stuff is based on kind of the things we all like or we would want to see," said Barclay, "which makes for good content, right? If you're going to like looking at it then chances are someone else is going to like it too."

They’re Responsive

Not only are they creating engaging original content to start conversations on social media, but they’re creating original content to respond to their followers, too. 

For example, Arby’s replied to Fireball Whisky’s tweeting them, “What’s on the menu that brings the [heat]?” with a great image:

That’s some A+ engagement.

They’re Having Fun

How could they not? They have a lot of leeway to have fun and show personality. And their followers are eating them up (no pun intended). Their tweets get thousands of retweets and likes on Twitter and (tens of) thousands of interactions on Facebook.

They’re definitely the team to look to for how to do social media right.

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