That’s Right, We’re Cool: Toppers Progresses Itself Into Social Media

Every brand seems to have an increased interest in jumping head first into Social Media, however, few actually create a plan of attack when doing so. For us, Toppers Pizza, we wanted to take a calculated approach that combined a mixture of attainable goals and fun.

Using a contest, our weekly specials (known as Toppers Tuesdays), we crossed over the 10k fan mark on our Facebook Fan Page. Not too bad for a 26-unit pizza chain.

From the get-go, Social Media was so attractive to us because it allows us to make personal connections with all of our Toppers fanatics. We get to interact with them in a fun way in their own personal space. The Toppers brand then becomes more than just a functional brand it becomes a friend, a friend for life. The big benefit of interacting with our fanatics on social networks is it is real time. We can put out a special offer and see immediate results. We can ask our fans a research question and get instant feedback.

Toppers we use social media to make all kinds of different personal connections with our fanatics. We use social media to announce new products, new store openings, conduct research, special offers social media only offers, fun interactive contests, giveaways of Toppers merchandise and most of all we use it to continue to build the culture of a fun, irreverent brand. If one of our fanatics is having a bad day we try to brighten it by giving them a special offer or simply telling them a joke.

Additionally, Social Media has provided us with a glimpse of the future. We believe that Social Media will completely change the advertising landscape. Consumers, today, are bombarded by brand messaging. They are getting more and more numb to traditional “sell me” type advertising. Today’s consumer picks brands for more than just their functional benefit (what the product/service does for them). Customers today and in the future are going to associate themselves with brands that align with their own personal beliefs and value structure. Social Media allows brands like Toppers to be a part of their daily lives in a way that traditional advertising will never be able to accomplish.

Social Media definitely is more than just another form of retail advertising; it helps educate people on our franchising opportunities. We use our Topperspizza Guy profile on Facebook as a day in the life of a Toppers franchise owner. So when a person is interested in learning about the Toppers franchise opportunity and they do a search of the web our social media sites help to educate the potential owner on the power of the Toppers brand. Social Media really helps us sell the difference of our brand compared to our closest competitors.

If you take a look around our Social Sites, you may be impressed on first glance, but this is just the beginning, as we learn more about us as a brand and most importantly, how our consumers see us.