2011 Most influential restaurants in the U.S. (Infograph)

Last week we teased about new data on the most influential restaurant brands in the U.S. and who that would be.  The data was being compiled from more than 2000 restaurant concepts being tracked and more than 6 million consumer interactions to determine the most influential restaurant brands in the area of social media and engagement. 

The research is ongoing and is tracking the main social epicenters of Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, Yelp and even Youtube.  Most look to Klout as the primary indicator of influence we took the process quite a bit further.  Though Klout was part of our scoring system the real impact of influence is based on engagement and reach but more importantly the relevance of the engaged audience in relation to the brand. 

Our research is an ongoing and is being updated each week so the results that we see this month could change as restaurant brands start the push to become more relevant to their guests with the use of social media. 

Consumer interaction made up for most of the scoring with Klout and Peer Index helping with their algorithm. What is interesting is that the playing field although still controlled by the big leagues’ of brands in the restaurant business like Starbucks, McDonalds and Taco Bell was not dominated like other media or engagement outlets.  The gap was not as far apart as we might expect.

Enjoy this infograph and be on the lookout for some more great data on this industry as we track the detailed and competitive landscape of the restaurant industry from our Social Insights Listening & Analytic Center in South Florida.