Meet The Restaurant Social Media Index

When Chili's Grill & Bar decides to pull national television advertising for three weeks in September, and instead use social media efforts to drive attention to its brand, it couldn't be more obvious that restaurants are increasingly living in a digital world.

Television, billboard, local and in-store marketing still drive the majority of restaurants' marketing budgets, but social media efforts are getting all the attention. Executives still are striving to find what customers want through social media platforms, and what can build larger social communities of consumers that translate to restaurant sales.

With that in mind, Nation's Restaurant News partnered with DigitalCoCo, a leading analytics and digital branding firm in the restaurant space, to develop the Restaurant Social Media Index.

We want to provide readers with information on the top social media restaurant brands, and analysis on what makes them tick. The Restaurant Social Media Index is the industry leading, most comprehensive tracking system for social media efforts in the restaurant industry, aiming to help businesses understand and compete in the social world.

These first results, looking at third-quarter data, is our first of many top 100 listings, analysis of movers and highlight of segment stars. Just as social media techniques, platforms and efforts continue to evolve, so will the Restaurant Social Media Index, or RSMI, and its coverage in Nation's Restaurant News.

Today, the RSMI already moves beyond the standard tally of Facebook fans and Twitter followers. It looks at social media efforts on those two largest platforms but also on Foursquare, Google+, YouTube and others. It quantifies brand content, consumer engagement, consumer influence and overall reach of the brand. The RSMI also factors in third-party indexes, such as Klout, which quantifies Twitter influence, and then applies DigitalCoCo's own Social Insights algorithm.

More than 100 restaurant brands have submitted their profiles to the index — which already tracks 600 brands — since NRN and DigitalCoCo announced the project in August. If you haven't already, submit your brand today. The more brands tracked, the more accurate results become.

We're excited about this project and the value it can bring the restaurant industry and especially its social media and digital branding professionals. Learn more on the RSMI microsite, dive into third-quarter results and contact me with any questions or ideas.

Meet the Restaurant Social Media Index, including methodology, top 5 brands, and more information.

• Third-quarter top 100 social media brands
• Third-quarter overview by Mark Brandau
• A look at ROI by Ron Ruggless
• A Q&A with Domino's franchisee Ramon De Leon

Sarah Lockyer
Executive editor, NRN.com
Twitter: @slockyerNRN
sarah.lockyer@penton.com