Social Media Sass – On Wendy’s and Building an Online Personality

Social media, even for business, is all about personality. Giving your brand a voice that will call positive attention to your business and connect with your customers can be a huge strength in terms of marketing. While it is common practice that businesses make their online personality professional, informative, or at the very least, polite– that’s not always the case. Even if you aren’t a fan of fast food or you haven’t visited the chain in person lately, chances are, you’ve heard about Wendy’s Twitter personality.

Known for snarky comebacks, harsh comments, and spiteful callouts to other fast food chains, Wendy’s Twitter personality has been causing a huge stir this year already. Contradicting how most businesses prefer to spread their message online, their direct and sassy attitude is not only shocking but for many, it’s been an entertaining campaign to watch unfold. This sarcasm and new take on marketing is actually drawing the fast food chain positive attention, despite the contradiction of typical behavior, and probably even because of it!

News outlets have been quick to pick up and begin to cover Wendy’s online moves, meaning more visibility for their business, and an even wider spread of popularity. Within the past quarter, according to Bloomberg Markets, Wendy’s not only met their sales goal, but overshot it! Company shares have also demonstrated sizeable increases over the past months, exceeding financial goals in at least two crucial aspects. This marketing strategy may be off-putting to many, but there’s no doubt that it’s been grabbing positive attention.

This social media sarcasm may not be the best approach for businesses to mimic, but mark it as a lesson in online personality. How you broadcast your message and what voice you’re putting it out there with can make a huge and lasting mark on your business reputation and marketing success– consider what sort of personality you want your brand to embrace, and take the reins with it! Business with personality is crucial in connecting to customers over social media, no matter how you decide to do so.