Starbucks social media strategy

I am going to give a presentation on my social networking and technical communication course next Monday, and I plan to present Starbucks company’s example as the case to illustrate how an organization is using social networking and media as communication methods to support their products and service.

Without any doubt Starbucks is very successful in social media because Starbucks has over 1,346,751 followers on twitter and over 20,265,397 fans on Facebook.

So in the following part of this article, I will tag different key words as the order to show you every single aspect of Starbuck’s social media strategy: Facebook, Twitter, Mobile Applications, Instagram, YouTube, My starbucks idea, Blog.

Facebook

Over 2o million fans like Starbucks on Facebook, They share comments, photos and videos on its wall. Also, Starbucks posts blogs, photos, and videos on its page every day. Starbucks invites people to join their events online or offline. Fans can have open discussions virtual space on facebook.

Twitter

Starbucks engages with over 1 million followers on twitter, answering questions, retweets, and hearing what people are saying about the brand and creates an open communication channel to speak with the public. Moreover, Starbucks release their new products and publish their latest events on twitter very first time.

Mobile Applications

The myStarbucks App is here to help you search your closest Starbucks stores, build your drinks and provide you a detailed food menu. The store locator will display the closest stores, directions, store hours and you can share your location using Facebook and Twitter with your friends. The drink builder feature is to build your drink exactly how you like it and send it to a friend. The food menu is with nutritional information, as well as stories and facts about their whole bean coffees so you can discover what makes Starbucks coffee well.

Instagram

Instagram is also an iPhone application that snapshot photos with effect of old Polaroid cameras and sharing the photos with other users instantly. I learned it from Starbucks twitter because it is one of the users of Instagram. Most iPhone users including myself like playing around with iPhone’s camera and sharing pictures , mostly related with Starbucks coffee, with each other.

YouTube

Over 9351 people subscribe to Starbucks YouTube Channel. They upload videos of commercials as well as informational videos explaning the origins of the different coffee blends and some of their charity work videos. The video on Starbucks Channel usually received hundreds and thousands views. The company can also see how people feel about the brand, what’s their opinions about their commercials, whether they like them or not. I think the YouTube review can reflect the results instead of polls and survey taken by traditional ways.

My starbucks idea

This website is the Starbucks’ own version of a social network where customers are asked to share their ideas on anything related to Starbucks. The site gives users the ability to see what others are suggesting, vote on ideas. This site is a brilliant and important aspect of Starbucks social media strategy. Users who are part of this network feel that they have some role in the decision making process of the company and it makes them feel a part of it.

Blog

This blog is written by various Starbucks employees and talks about what Starbucks is doing with the ideas given by users on the My Starbucks Idea site. The blog keeps customers to know what’s happening with their ideas and increases their sense of loyalty to the brand.

Generally speaking, Starbucks’s social media strategy integrates many different elements into the mix and combined together, these elements create a social media plan that works beautifully to create millions of fans for the brand and keep them involved in the brand’s doings. I am certain that if each one of these elements was implemented alone then the strategy would not have been as successful and complete as with the rest of the elements on board.

The brand has also created a digital dialogue with its customers, enabling people to give their feedback and receive a response back from Starbucks about their concerns/comments. Starbucks is showing its customers and potential customers – “hey, we care about what YOU say.” It is really all a matter of priorities. Starbucks put communicating with their customers and potential customers as a top priority.

Here are my two questions for you:

Although the first question seems stupid, but I still want to ask how many of you like a company on your facebook?

Will you involve in Starbucks social media strategy, like my starbucks ideas or others? Because it is not you are only a fan of an artist or writtier, but you are a fan of a commercial company which is make profits from you customers. Will you feel weird or being taken advantage of when you are a part of its social media strategy?

Some elements of my post are borrow from the articles The Starbucks Formula for Social Media Success form thenextweb.com