Starbucks is known for lots of things: great coffee, friendly baristas, and a near-complete takeover of practically every street corner in America. Did you know it’s also known for it’s killer social media strategy? It’s true! Take a look at some of these stats:
37.32 million Facebook likes
6.56 million Twitter follower
7.7 million Instagram fans
2.86 million Google+ followers
239K Pinterest followers
32K YouTube subscribers
Facebook
Those numbers are staggering but well-earned. There’s no doubt Starbucks is crushing social media, but how do they do it? Let’s take a look.
Interestingly, the Starbucks social media management team doesn’t post Facebook updates all that often. When they do, however, they’re usually eye-catching and ultra-clever. The posts strike a good balance between fun contests, helpful tips for the java-loving crowd, and subtle sales messages to its customers.
Twitter
Starbucks has a fascinating and unique approach to Twitter updates -- they don’t do them all the time rather strategically! Fans who connect to the company on Twitter to catch the latest news and updates are in for a surprise. The team does post unique content but also uses the Twitter as a service to reach out to customers talking about their in-store or product experiences.
All Tweets are directed at specific Twitter users who’ve “spoken” to Starbucks in their own timeline, sometimes with a complaint or negative feedback. The Starbucks team checks in several times a day and encourages dissatisfied customers to get in touch with the company for follow-up using a Twitter-specific email address. It’s an unorthodox but smart approach to deal with customer complaints before they have a chance to get out of hand.
Pinterest and Instagram
A big part of the coffee culture is about beautifully decorated espressos and fancy cups to drink your favorite cup. Starbucks really shines on visually-oriented social sites like Pinterest and Instagram where they can post appealing beverage-related eye candy. The company maintains several Pinboards featuring tea rituals, coffee gadgets, and soothing spaces to get cozy in while you sip. Instagram, on the other hand, is an assortment of cool images related to the coffee community and culture.
WHAT STARBUCKS KNOWS ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA
Getting customers is good. Keeping customers is great. With over 21,000 stores in more than 65 countries, its a safe bet that anyone with even a passing interest in coffee already knows Starbucks exists. The company has reached critical mass in terms of advertising so its challenge at this point is keeping customers loyal so they’re not swayed by competitors with similar offerings.
The Starbucks social media team is great at offering the customer service of local coffee shop on a grand scale over its social media channels. Even though they’re a huge company, they still give customers individual attention, which no doubt goes a long way toward keeping them coming back for more.
Coffee is made for socializing. One of the reasons behind Starbucks’ social media success is that drinking coffee is a social activity. People love to meet over coffee, bring each other coffee, swap stories about coffee, and build coffee acquisition into their morning routines.
By extension, sharing the coffee-drinking experience is a natural fit for platforms like Twitter and Facebook. In a classic case of “build it and they will come,” all Starbucks has to do is create places for coffee drinkers to congregate online and they will happily oblige.
Consistent branding is key. No matter what Starbucks social platform you visit, the Starbucks touch is evident. The company’s social channels all have the same look, feel, and tone as their stores. Although the marketing team takes a slightly approach from Twitter to Instagram to Facebook, the content is consistently unified around the company’s mission, message, and goals.
Whether you’re a fan of the Starbucks product line or not, their social media success is undeniable. As with every other aspect of the company, their attention to detail and customer-centric messaging is what makes their social outreach some of the best in the business.
Starbucks Coffee’s Intensive Strategies (Intensive Growth Strategies)
Market Penetration. Starbucks Coffee’s main intensive growth strategy is market penetration. This intensive strategy supports the firm’s growth by maximizing revenues from existing markets. Starbucks already has presence in 65 countries around the world. To maximize revenues and growth in these current markets, the company applies the market penetration intensive strategy by opening more company-owned stores. Starbucks also applies this intensive strategy for growth through licensing for merchandise and franchising in some countries, such as the Dominican Republic.
Market Development. Starbucks Coffee uses market development as its secondary intensive growth strategy. This intensive strategy supports the company’s growth by generating revenues in new markets or market segments. For example, Starbucks Coffee plans to enter more countries. These countries are mostly in Africa and the Middle East. In this intensive strategy, Starbucks grows by expanding its global reach.
Product Development. Starbucks Coffee also uses product development as a secondary intensive growth strategy. This intensive strategy involves creating new products to gain more revenues. Starbucks continues innovating its product mix. For example, after the firm acquired The Coffee Connection, it started offering Frappuccino at Starbucks cafés. The company also introduced sodas in 2014. Through such new products, Starbucks grows through this intensive strategy.
Every day, we go to work hoping to do two things: share great coffee with our friends and help make the world a little better. It was true when the first Starbucks opened in 1971, and it’s just as true today.
Back then, the company was a single store in Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market. From just a narrow storefront, Starbucks offered some of the world’s finest fresh-roasted whole bean coffees. The name, inspired by Moby Dick, evoked the romance of the high seas and the seafaring tradition of the early coffee traders.
In 1981, Howard Schultz (Starbucks chairman and chief executive officer) had first walked into a Starbucks store. From his first cup of Sumatra, Howard was drawn into Starbucks and joined a year later.
In 1983, Howard traveled to Italy and became captivated with Italian coffee bars and the romance of the coffee experience. He had a vision to bring the Italian coffeehouse tradition back to the United States. A place for conversation and a sense of community. A third place between work and home. He left Starbucks for a short period of time to start his own Il Giornale coffeehouses and returned in August 1987 to purchase Starbucks with the help of local investors.
From the beginning, Starbucks set out to be a different kind of company. One that not only celebrated coffee and the rich tradition, but that also brought a feeling of connection.
Our mission to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.
