ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the communications of one US-based company, but the implications of an ethic of social listening apply to non-profits and to companies in non-US contexts. One example of a company that has been highly successful at dialogic listening and reciprocal relationship engagement with customers is Taco Bell. That ethic of friendship is key to Taco Bell's social media strategy. Taco Bell's actions around the taco emoji were part of a savvy marketing strategy, and a key reason why Taco Bell continues to be tops in fast-food restaurant sales with their target demographic. In response to social media listening, Taco Bell bought Numero Uno and put it on a flatbed truck and moved it 45 miles to their headquarters. However, the paradigm for corporate social media communications has shifted with some recognition, finally, that social media has its own distinct dynamic that is quite different from broadcast media.
