These Fast Food Companies Are Killing It On Twitter

Just about every company has some sort of Twitter presence these days, and if they don't, they should. It's a great way for a firm to connect directly with its audience, and being able to boast hundreds of thousands of Twitter followers brings with it serious bragging rights (and probably customers).

Fast food chains, in particular, seem desperate to attract as many Twitter followers as possible, and some have been far more successful at it than others.

These Fast Food Companies are Killing it on Twitter (Slideshow)

There's something about fast food chains that makes them especially suitable for building a robust social media presence. They're eager to maintain a reputation for being "by the people, for the people," selling food that's accessible to everyone. They're also constantly looking to grow their clientele and let as many people as possible know about new products — and connecting with someone on a personal level via Twitter is pretty much the best advertising they're going to get.

Fast food companies try all sorts of different tactics to boost their social media presence, and to engage with their followers. Some efforts are more successful than others. For example, when the McDonalds social media team asked Twitter followers to share inspiring McDonald's stories with the hashtag #McDStories, it quickly became a textbook exercise in the dangers of social media, as Twitter users took advantage of the opportunity to tell not-so-uplifting stories, like the one who posted, "Once when I was little, I was playing in the McDonald's playhouse and a rusty nail stabbed me in my foot. #McDStories." The chain pulled the hashtag after two hours.

While every company makes its missteps, on the whole fast food chains have been very careful — and very smart — about what they post on Twitter. If one stupid Tweet is sent, not only does it put the social media manager's job in danger, it makes the entire company look bad. So read on to learn which fast food chains are doing this whole Twitter thing right.

#10 Chipotle: 576,000 Followers

Aside from a bogus Twitter hack last year, Chipotle has been running a very tight Twitter ship, using its account to hype up new menu items like Sofritas and films like Farmed and Dangerous.

#9 Wendy's: 688,000 Followers

Wendy's has been quite creative with its use of Twitter, using the service to call on followers to contribute songs that it could use to help promote its Pretzel Bacon Cheeseburger, for example. And to promote their Pretzel Pub Chicken sandwich, they launched a campaign called #PretzelLoveStories in which actors were hired to recite diners' tweets about the new menu item in silly, telenovela-style scenes.