Many residents are aware of a Facebook post and page that went viral over the weekend. It was claiming that Chick-fil-A, a popular chain restaurant, was going to open in Madill.
The post, which was created at approximately 1:00 a.m. on June 11, caused quite a stir in the area. Many people commented on the post either commenting that they hoped it was true or trying to debunk the possible rumor. Many of the Facebook commenters were wondering where the post came from and who created it.
Turns out, the creators of the post were Stevie Love, a Madill alumnus, and a few of his colleagues. The post was for a social experiment. Love said he and his colleagues wanted to set up an experiment to find out how fast news travels on a social media platform. The post went beyond anything they expected.
Within a 24-hour period, the Facebook page reached over 43,000 people, had over 18,000 post engagements and over 500 likes. The experiment even reached Durant.
Many people were upset by the Facebook page. Even Durant residents were upset to think that Madill might get a Chick-fil-A before their town did. However, Love and his colleagues did not create the page with any bad intentions.
He said they just wanted to do the social experiment and they hoped the Facebook page would reach the company and spur them to open a franchise in Madill. He said the group “had a thought that what if it blows up, maybe Chick-fil-a will build one in town.”
Unfortunately, Chick-fil-A has population requirements for a city to get a restaurant, and Madill just does not meet those numbers. Chick-fil-A also has other strict criteria to become a franchise.
According to Business Insider, it costs $10,000 to open a franchise. Even though the startup is lower than most restaurants, the odds of actually opening one are slim to none.
Out of the approximately 60,000 applications that Chick-fil-A receives annually for a franchise, only 80 are chosen. That makes the odds .13 percent of getting chosen to open a franchise. For reference, the odds of getting drafted into the NBA are .03 percent.
If the applicant is one of the chosen few, they pay the $10,000 startup fee. Chick-fil-A pays for everything else from building the store to doing everything to open it.
Why does the company ask for such a low initial investment? The applicant is considered the operator of the store, not the owner. The applicant cannot sell it or pass it down as part of an inheritance. Chick-fil-A owns the restaurant, the physical and intellectual property.
Even though Love and his buddies started the page in hopes of getting Madill their very own Chick-fil-A, it doesn’t look like that is going to happen anytime soon.
This may have been only a social experiment and about a fast-food restaurant, but it proves the power of social media, regardless of whether the subject matter is factual or not. Normally, Facebook would shut down phony posts like this, but they may have some heavier issues to combat right now.
Words obviously spread quickly in this day and age, but words also matter. Always check the sources.