Pepsi or Coke: The Winner was really Great Scott's Pizza

Scott Chapman of Great Scott's Pizza, Mt. Horeb, WI shared with us his surprise engagement on Facebook with a simple question: Coke or Pepsi.  

Q: You were contacted by a rep from Coca-Cola trying to get you to switch. You decided to pose the question to your customers on Facebook. What was the response like?

A: I expected around 20 votes, I figured my customers who engage with my page the most would vote and that's about it. After 24 hours we had about 600 comments and 21,000 people saw the post. I have about 2300 fans so this expanded my page to many more people.

Q:  What prompted you to put the question on Facebook? Have you had a response this large before on any question?

A: I was explaining to the coke sales rep that I know Pepsi and Mtn. Dew do very well in Wisconsin and I didn't want to just change on a whim. He was being very pushy so I told him I'd put it up on Facebook and let the customers decided. I pretty much said it to get him off the phone since it was 5 o'clock on a Friday. 

Q: Did the answers help you decide what to do?

A: It did, I plan on keeping Pepsi. Although I think it will come out to about 50/50 when I actually figure count all 700+ votes.

Q: Did you see with the large engagement online a cross over into discussions in the pizzeria? Did people come in because of the post? 

A: I don't believe people came in because of the post, I think it just helped bring some brand awareness to us and helped us gain some new fans. Also Pepsi called because they saw it and asked to get the results and offer anything they can do to keep my business.

Q: Why is it important to engage people with questions like this on social media? How does it help your pizzeria?

A: Social media marketing is often used too much as direct advertising and not a social tool that allows customers and businesses to interact with each other in a public setting. It allows a brand to be more human than just an ad and show it respects it's customers opinions and when they are engaged they become more brand loyal and feel a since of belonging to that organization or business.  

Q: What advice would you give to other pizzerias not yet on social media?

A:  Do more then just advertise your business. Whenever possible congratulate a local team, highlight your employees, be funny but not obnoxious, follow other pizzerias to get inspiration for posts, and be a positive face for your business.