STARBUCKS-
In the summer of 2011, when I first put my foot on aussie land at around 6 P.M , the first place I went to was STARBUCKS, not because I was obsessed with it , but because I wanted why are all coffee lovers so addicted to it. This was the first time ever I was stepping into a STARBUCKS and tried their coffee, and after that there was no stopping me, I was soon added to the list of STARBUCKS addicts.
Now lets continue to the Social Media part: -
Considering Coffee is a very important part of Social Media and vice versa, STARBUCKS has not disappointed anyone with its social media strategies and continue to excel in it over the years.
STARBUCKS has been quite a dominating brand over the years on various social media networks.
TWITTER
They have 1,744,051 followers as per today and adding me 1,744,052, and they are quite active on it, where they keep on tweeting about their additions, subtractions and post blogs and new offers.
FACEBOOK
STARBUCKS has 25,511,617 people who like their page on Facebook and quite a few other pages for different countries and coffees, but on their official page, they share videos, posts and also a lot of different offers. Currently they are promoting the Pumpkin Spice Latte in which you Show the world you're a PSL fan by carving a Pumpkin Pic for your profile. It's the perfect way to prove your pumpkin passion.
They also ran the Free Pastry Day and Tax Day via Facebook and other networks which drove almost one million to their stores all around the world, they have been one of the companies who dominates facebook.
YOUTUBE
STARBUCKS has 11457 subscribers on their YouTube channel and they upload all their videos, advertisements, charity work and campaigns on its YouTube channel.
They are currently running the PSL campaign on its YouTube Channel also: -
http://www.youtube.com/user/starbucks?blend=1&ob=4
MY STARBUCKS IDEA
How can such a big company rest on their social media agenda without having a social media of their own??
STARBUCKS have their own social media network and website call MY STARBUCKS IDEA which is a platform for all the Starbucks coffee lovers to interact with the brand a little more and, customers are asked to share their ideas on anything related to Starbucks which gives the users the ability to see what other are suggesting, voting and commenting on ideas. This is a very good strategy as it makes consumers feels involved and they feel that they are a part of the decision making and their views and comments actually make a difference to the company.
Finally, STARBUCKS is also the first company to ever offer a deal on FourSquare and also you can share your photos of the Pumpkin Spice Latte on instagram, which shows how active STARBUCKS is, in this department, and are always trying to communicate with their customers.
However Australia has been a big worry for the STARBUCKS bloaks. It has majorly failed in Australia and has shut 61 out of their 85 outlets in Australia. What is the reason??
Post your comments below guys!! Cheers
Mazahir... I must say I find it interesting that coming to Australia instigated you going to Starbucks... to me we are Gloria Jeans nation....
ReplyDeleteI think the reason that Starbucks havent done well has a lot to do with taste and price point.
- The price of an average Starbucks coffee is substantially higher than that from a regular cafe.
- The taste of their coffee is quite bitter and heavy when compared to the average coffee.
I think that Starbucks need to consider using a local bean in order to capture their Australian audiences - we have difference tastes here.
Also I find it interesting that you mentioned the 'my Starbucks idea' website. When first launched it seemed to create some really good waves, however there has been increasing buzz about the failure of the page. As time as gone on they have done a really poor job of actually producing change out of the suggestions.
So it is worth having a SM presence if you arent going to respond?
I would say a reason for not making it is that they just simply have crap coffee.
ReplyDeleteIn a country where people love their coffee and especially a city like Melbourne where boutique coffee shops are everywhere, they are just not up to scratch. Just offering a normal average big brand coffee won't do. In Melbourne especially, they don't complete against Gloria Jeans, and GJ does not compete against them, both these coffee giants compete against a substantial number of small competitors who have successfully managed to oust the fierce giants with competitive pricing, excellent personalised service, and constant better product offerings. I don't touch SB's or GJ's as they just don't offer the same value as my fav little coffee shops.
Ross
In fact, this post has just inspired me to go make a coffee with freshly ground beans that I bought from my favourite little coffee shop!
ReplyDeletei think the social media is becoming the necessary and basic platform to transmit information to customers. However, transmitting information to customers is just one of the functions of social media, it still needs to combine with offline experiences and innovation to attract customers. Thus, increasing brand awareness is able to increase potential customers, but it does not mean they are all real customers. Thus, I think it is also important to combine the online and offline activities, to get customers to involve into the activities.
ReplyDeleteGood question, it just shows that all the best marketing / social media marketing doesn't necessarily equate to product success if the product has shortcomings in different market places. Why drink Starbucks in a place like Melbourne where the opportunities for superior coffee and superior settings abound?
ReplyDelete