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Hardee’s has most of its locations situated in the US but also has a great number in Saudi Arabia and nearby countries. When it comes to social, there’s a noticeable difference between how customers in the east use online media to express their views on Hardee’s compared to those in the west.
According to Hardee’s official Facebook page, Hardee’s mission is to “live the premium life with premium burgers”. It appears many of its customers would agree that their burgers are good – perhaps not premium – if the restaurant chain’s positive reviews on Tripadvisor are anything to go by.
Hardee’s has over 1,900 locations spanning the globe. Whilst the majority of the restaurant chain’s locations are on American soil (at time of writing, 1797 locations are in the US), the company has 98 locations in Saudi Arabia and many others in neighbouring and nearby countries.
The most regularly reviewed locations of the Hardee’s brand on the Tripadvisor site are those that veer more to the east such as branches in Islamabad, Pakistan and Medina, Saudi Arabia.
US vs. The East
There is a noticeable difference between how US customers use social media to contact and connect with Hardee’s and how its more eastern visitors engage with their local branch of Hardee’s.
Branches of Hardee’s located in and around countries close to Saudi Arabia tend to be reviewed on Tripadvisor more than any other site whilst few US branches are even featured on Tripadvisor.
Whilst the more eastern locations of Hardee’s tend to score around four out of five on TripAdvisor, American locations generally score much lower on fellow review site Yelp. They also tend to have fewer reviews. No Hardee’s location appears to be using reviewing sites to help querying customers.
Hardee’s On Facebook
Hardee’s has its own official Facebook account besides having others specifically created for different locations. Despite the vast majority of Hardee’s locations being in the US, Hardee’s Arabia actually has more people talking about it and more likes on Facebook than the brand’s regular Facebook.
At time of writing, Hardee’s Arabia had 1,298,117 likes compared to the 1,002,825 likes the original Hardee’s had.
One of the differences between the two Facebook accounts is that one features mostly dull-sounding if not useful apps such as “Welcome”, “Locator” and “Menu” whilst the other has more promotion-oriented apps with names such as “The Mighty Latin Taste”, “Hotkicks” and “Spicy or Tender”.
Hardee’s Arabia has different promotions to US branches of Hardee’s and throughout June was encouraging its customers to send pictures of themselves in a moustache and sombrero hat to celebrate a new burger, “The Mighty Latin Taste”.
Meanwhile, the US/original Hardee’s Facebook and Twitter accounts promoted the #MondayBunday offer where customers could buy two Big Chicken Sandwiches for the price of one on a Monday. Both Facebook accounts posted every day and each post attracted a similar amount of likes and shares as ones made on the other account.
The vast majority of posts are picture-based with little accompanying text. Generally, posts tended to attract anywhere between 70 and 600 likes.
I wouldn't settle for anything less than a colossal amount of bacon;-) #eatlikeyoumeanit @carlsjr @hardees http://t.co/BVX6Z2cjaO
— daniel cudmore (@danielcudmore) April 28, 2014
Hardee’s On Twitter
Hardee’s content on Twitter is near-on identical to content posted on Facebook. The company has amassed over 30,000 followers on Twitter, and its posts are frequesntly favorited or retweeted - this #MondayBunday tweet had more than 80 favorites and 13 retweets.
Oh say can you see @LVHanley. Get 2 for 1 Big Chicken Fillet Sandwiches on Fresh Baked Buns http://t.co/2vKxfv2eF7 pic.twitter.com/mZLBrQRTRa
— Hardee's (@Hardees) June 30, 2014
Although Hardee’s Arabia has more likes and engagement on Facebook, it has significantly less success than Hardee’s on Twitter having 1,358 followers on the social media site. Its tweets don't get favorited or retweeted nearly as much as the US account.
Get into the Latin spirit with Hardee’s Arabia!! Enter our Mighty Latin Taste contest for a chance to win great... http://t.co/8sW2KSygLV
— Hardees Arabia (@hardeesarabia) June 25, 2014
Occasionally, Hardee’s will feature retweets from fans but you will rarely see Hardee’s addressing a querying customer via Twitter. It appears that customers favor review sites such as Tripadvisor over Twitter and Facebook when it comes to expressing their dissatisfaction or delight with Hardee’s.
Hardee’s On YouTube
Hardee’s also has its own YouTube channel. Over 4,000 have subscribed to the channel and within a week videos can amass over 1,000 views. The restaurant chain’s promotional videos featuring characters from the X-men movie franchise attracted the most number of views, one video amassing over 61,000 views within a month.
Bringing The East And West Together
Although Hardee’s uses its brands in the East and West very differently for the varying audiences, the US-arm could learn some very important lessons from its Arabian counterparts.
Replying to customer complaints on reviews sites and social media could help the brand build its reputation here in the States. A company must never deny the importance of social channels to connect with customers and although Hardee’s has a strong brand in the West, it could get a much better reputation and perhaps build its brand in the US to gain a larger market share of the fast food market.