How 10 Food Brands Are Killing It On Social Media With Video

Food brands are regularly the source of some of the most engaging, eye-catching video content on social media. They choose specific audiences to engage with, develop a unique tone, and often set off viral sensations that set social media alight with waves of discussion centered on their brand.

It takes a keen eye to create the kind of content that users deem worth a like, follow, comment or share. Content marketers and social media managers with the best track records tend to keep a keen eye on what the most successful brands are up to -- not to copy, but to get a feel for what works and what doesn't.

With that in mind, here are 10 food brands that are absolutely killing it with incredible video content on social media:

Arby's Targets Young Audiences With Wacky DIY

Arby's once had a somewhat poor reputation out of line with the quality of its offerings, due to being something of an outlier in the fast food space. They've rapidly changed that perception by creating content with a handcrafted vibe that demands to be shared, for young Gen Z consumers to develop their own perception of their brand.

They regularly reference video games, wrestling, and comic book films. Their videos pivot in a slightly different direction, with a Pinterest-style DIY vibe presenting absurdist costumes and crafts inspired by their food offerings.

Burger King Goes Where the Discussion Is

Burger King's social media presence is constantly morphing from one tone to another. Why? Because their guiding principle is to put their fingers on the pulse of online discourse, and cook up content acknowledging that directly.

They run strange, built to go viral campaigns for raising awareness on mental illness. They even created a video prank sketch that comes out in favor of net neutrality. They're willing to take stances on particular topics, an uncommon move for any brand, and it's given them a great deal of heat on social media.

Dunkin' Donuts Brings Their Test Kitchen To the Masses

Video advertising has been about entertaining the viewer, or reaching out to their emotions in some way, since before the Internet era. The social media era creates opportunities for longform promotional content that wasn't possible in the past, and Dunkin' Donuts are taking full advantage.

Their Facebook Live Test Kitchen streams rake in views with an interactive live show full of fun buzz-worthy moments. It puts a personal touch on their brand, putting friendly faces in front of viewers who aren't necessarily there just because of the brand itself.

McDonald's Puts the Focus On the Food First

McDonald's has a long-running "I'm Lovin' It" campaign that centers mostly on young adults being humorous in a pleasant, straightforward sort of way that goes against the grain of the many weird campaigns targeted at slightly younger demographics that surround them.

For their social media presence, they take an even more buttoned down approach, preferring to showcase their food directly in short clips. It's a welcome supplement to their lighthearted commercials that differentiates them from the over-the-top antics of several of their competitors.

Kraft Uses Video To Take Classic Recipes To the Next Level

Kraft Foods leverages decades of experience focusing on accessible recipes for families in their marketing to craft a social media presence that doubles as a valuable cache of content.

Their recipes regularly appeared in books and magazines, but social media gives them the opportunity to also put together great step-by-step video supplements. Self-aware marketing is popular on social media, but tried-and-true content creation like this remains a potent method of getting eyeballs on your brand.

Chobani Solidifys Aesthetics Through Video

Chobani has a similar approach to Kraft, with a twist: their social media presence is packed with recipes from their customers.

That's where a good amount of their video content comes from. Their in-house stuff, though, is more about a vibe. They have a calming, flat, artsy aesthetic associated with their brand, and the videos anchor their social media presence in this wonderful style.

Happiness, With Oreo

Like Chobani, Oreo's social media style is rooted in pleasantness. They don't have many limits on what type of content they make, beyond a vague hypnotic and enjoyable quality like this popular series of drawing process videos.

They're the Bob Ross of brands on social media, with slickly-produced, short, simple videos that people love to share.

Get Quirky With Califia Farms

Califia Farms' social media is packed with quirky, cute videos alongside product and brand announcements.

Rather than angling for going viral, their content is informative about their brand and enjoyable to watch, making their social media pages serve a function similar to an official website -- except on a platform people are more likely to visit their content on!

What's an "IHOB"?

One of the more confounding, funny, and all-around strange ad campaigns in recent years was the International House of Pancakes' branding about-face to "IHOB" -- yeah, that "B" is for "Burgers".

Eventually they rolled out hilarious ads to back up the wild campaign, but it all started with clean and simple videos announcing the change in suitably spartan fashion. This led to waves of discussion, as the whole routine was taken seriously by many and confusing to many more.

MoonPie To the Moon 2024!

MoonPie is a strange brand to attempt to promote. It's main allure is that it's a classic treat from decades in the past, nostalgia for the elderly and a curiosity for the young.

Going with an over the top hyperactive Gen Z type campaign could very well undermine that. On the other hand, appealing too directly to that old time imagery positions the product as a try-it-once type of curiosity. So their ingenious approach is to simply lean into both of these concepts at once.

Their campaign to have a MoonPie delivered to the actual moon by 2024 is an ongoing social media barrage, including tons of lighthearted videos that have the tone of a YouTube video directed at a younger audience, yet aesthetics reminiscent of the bygone era when MoonPies were the talk of the town.

It's a fun, attention-getting campaign that shoots for a broad audience and appears to be succeeding.