Social Media Strategy of Starbucks - Case Study Example

Social Media Strategy of Starbucks Student’s Name Institution Date The extraordinary growth of Starbucks has mostly been connected to the emphasis the management has placed in the recruitment of talented people that are capable of sustaining their rate of development that the organization has been associated with. The administration of the enterprise has utilized a vast amount of resources to the elaboration of a useful social media structure merged with their organizational design. These structures have enabled Starbucks to anticipate future ventured and the expansion process of the company. Social media presence A strong media presence is highly important for organizations today. It allows these businesses to remain informed of what the customers are saying concerning their product. It also allows them to gain a competitive advantage that can be utilized in connecting their clients and develop a trusting relationship that assists them in driving growth. Through the acquisition of a robust social media platform and blogs, Starbucks can listen to the thoughts of their customers concerning their services and their experiences. Turban, Strauss, Lai, (2015), stated that this strategy has been a great way of discovering what the organization is doing right and the areas the need to improve. An added advantage of this process is that other potential clients view how other customers are reviewing the product and services. This element creates important global testimonials that have proved influential in gaining new customers. Through using social media platforms, Starbucks has acquired an extra edge and has made it easier in reaching their audience. The presence has enabled the firm connect with several other companies and establish lasting relationships with people that they may never meet in a familiar setting. Social media has evolved from just connecting with friends. The reality is that any information the customer needs to know concerning Starbucks and also the company, involving their clients, they can find it through social media channels. Starbucks has gone digital where their customers have frequented numerous Starbucks stores. These establishments provide a unique channel that offers the chance of reaching a new audience and reinforce existing relationships. Their stores have in-store free WI-FI that has enabled them to combine their online and in-store experiences. Starbucks has believed in allowing conversations and engagements occur as naturally as possible. They have engaged and made adjustments to valuable suggestions and reviews from their consumers (Barker, Barker, Bormann, and Neher, 2012). It has engaged customers with numerous campaigns such as challenging them to seek new advertisement posters across six different U.S cities and the first customer to upload the picture on Twitter will get a gift card. Starbucks has viewed the importance of social media. They have embraced the new way of creating relationships and getting their products noticed worldwide. Social media audience Starbucks has adequately transitioned into an online era through social media domination. With a huge presence on several networks, the brand has set an enormous precedent for other businesses especially in the area of quality content and customer engagement. Instead of mainly focusing their efforts on acquiring new customers, they have cultivated their current customer audience. This process has ensured that their audiences reach, and currently, customers remain loyal to them and also in the long run. Their quality and their appeal to customers have also been enhanced through the reviews on their store experiences of the consumers which are highly valued along with their online engagement further necessitating the significance of customer service. Starbucks has created frameworks that enhance the feelings of their customers as valued individuals and not merely disposable dollars. The enterprise has provided this framework through strategies such as My Starbucks Rewards, many personalized signature drinks and also localized store experiences. Their social sites such as Instagram and Pinterest have encouraged their customers to share their Starbucks moments, whether it be an artsy coffee cup picture or the return of a great holiday drink. Lovett, (2011), stated that audiences and consumers of coffee are recognized for their brand loyalty, and therefore this element provides consumers with a charitable reason to buy this cup of coffee which is highly beneficial; for all individuals involved. The takeaway from the organization is that knowing your target audience and collaborate that either the critical issues in the world, has enabled this firm to gain momentum in acquiring a larger audience through the various trending topics. When Starbucks takes a photo, they immediately share it on Instagram, tweet it on Twitter post it to Facebook and Pin it on Pinterest. Their social cross promotion has remained an essential element in the social media audience in the global scene and also with the world becoming highly digitally focused. Each network has provided them with the opportunity to gain new target audience. They have also integrated their strategies on each aspect is important to the increase of visibility of the organization. They have comprehended that various groups of people react to different marketing messages, and each message must be optimized concerning the importance of the product and the network. The organization has based their strategies on an off money focus framework that has enabled them to gain customers, reach new audiences which have led to loyalty. This branding method accompanied by their mission statement has increased their sales and also their progress as an enterprise. Social media marketing The company has over 21,000 stores in more than sixty-five nations worldwide. Customers, clients and all individuals with a passing interest towards coffee already recognize the existence of the company. Starbucks has reached critical masses concerning their advertisement strategies and therefore its primary challenge currently involves maintaining their loyal customers so that they are not easily swayed by other similar companies with similar competitive offerings. The social media team of Starbucks has contributed significantly to their customer services of their local shop or a wider scale through their several social media channels. Even though the company is huge in stature, they still provide individual attention to their consumers who are an active element that keeps their customers intrigued and satisfied with their services (Boone, and Kurtz, 2014). Also, another media strategy is that it has made the action of drinking coffee a social activity. Different people share social stories concerning their lives concerning coffee or while taking coffee and have built the process of coffee acquisition into their daily morning routines. Starbucks has gained momentum in influencing several social media platforms. Their influence is apparent as all their social media channels have a similar tone, feel and look as their stores. However, their marketing team has made slight approaches from Facebook to Instagram and also to Twitter. Their content has consistently revolved around the goals, message, and mission of the organization. Their centric messages, their attention to detail has made their marketing strategy a huge success. Their social outreach system is currently among the best in business today. Ethics, privacy, and security Starbucks has continued believing the best way to increase the power of their brand is through sharing the good they do so that both the community and Starbucks can excel and prosper in their lives. The organization has maintained their commitment to social responsibility since 1971, and their CEO, Schultz, has attributed much of the success of Starbucks currently to this association. Starbucks has earned its reputation through its focus on their mission statement and core values. Their mission statement mainly seeks to nurture and inspire the human spirit one person, one cup and also one neighborhood at a time (Holt, and Cameron, 2010). Starbucks has clearly defined their principles that highlight how it prospers in their mission on a daily basis. These principles are further enhanced through the partners, customers, coffee, customers, shareholders and neighborhood of Starbucks. Since it was established, Starbucks has consistently monitored its efforts in over four hundred and fifty factories in twenty-eight nations globally. Starbucks has expected their suppliers to follow their standards as outlined in their product and offer ethical support when adjustments must be made. These changes are related to the business practices of their suppliers; however, it the supplier does not follow their ethical standards, Starbucks terminate the relationship with the vendor and therefore safeguards the fundamental rights of their clients. The name and reputation of Starbucks have been established on the principle of trust. Therefore, their online privacy policy tells their customers valuable information Starbucks gathers through available services on their website and how they utilize this information. They also clearly show how a person can opt out of some functions of information they may collect (Turban, Strauss, and Lai, 2015). When the customer utilizes their services and gains access to their online website, they are consenting to the collection of information and used practices that have been described in their privacy policy. Their privacy policy is usually modified from time to time. When the organization changes essential elements of their privacy policy, they post new plans on their site and alter the dates above the policy. Therefore, Starbucks encourages their customers to check the dates of the privacy policies whenever necessary for any changes or times. They can also collect information that provides the identity of their clients when they submit their questions, comments or various suggestions top their customer service department. The security team of Starbucks has created an Enterprise Security Platform, which is a central security facility. The purpose of this system is that it converges physical and enterprise security by carefully monitoring critical facilities such as container loading sites, roasting plants and retail stores. The center also analyzes risks management conditions for their premises and travelers worldwide. Container security is a significant element of supply chain management. Starbucks utilizes video monitoring in loading facilities to capture various images of sealing and loading containers with container security devices. This device is highly magnetic and tracks the closing and opening of the container doors, the humidity and temperature along its journey. It also detects tampering. A cross-functional authority council creates security policies for the enterprise. Starbucks has developed an electronic system library for the sole purposes of assisting the workers to know their assignments and how they must handle them. Future enhancements have led to the creation of furniture that has been designed to help customers safeguard their laptops, handbags, and other relevant devices. The security also provides in-store training to support employees in comprehension of how to handle various problematic situations from clients that turn violent to criminal occurrences. Design components also enhance the provision for clear visibility and lighting into the stores. Social media technologies The organization has also introduced MyStarbucksIdea, which is an online community that focuses on crowd sourcing. Here employees and clients can make quality suggestions and ideas for new commodities, improvement of services and products and also the enhancement of the Starbucks experience. Individuals can vote and comment on these suggested ideas. The focus is a collaborative environment and an open dialogue framework (Miletsky, 2010). All submitted ideas are usually considered. A blog highlighted how these selected ideas were implemented. Starbucks also clearly explained reasons why some ideas were not implemented. This crowdsourcing mechanism is a significant technological strategy, which gathers the priorities of the customers and the online community. It also evaluates the best suggestion and implements it. Interestingly, this organization has a social media management team that does not mainly post Facebook updates consistently. This management team primarily utilizes ultra-clever and winning strategies in most of their postings on Facebook. Their posts strike equilibrium between helpful tips for the coffee loving crowd, fun competitions and also subtle sales messages to all their clients. Starbucks has a unique and fascinating approach to various Twitter updates as they do not conduct them constantly rather in a strategic manner. Loyal customers that connect to the company on Twitter acquire the unique content of the company concerning new products. The institution also posts profound content and also utilizes Twitter as a medium for reaching out to clients discussing their product or in-store experiences. All Tweets are directed at specific online Twitter users that have spoken or contacted Starbucks in their timeline sometimes with negative feedback or a complaint. Starbucks checks in numerous times in a day and encourages their clients to communicate with the company for follow up reasons using a particular Twitter email address. This procedure is highly rare however it is a smart strategy for dealing with their consumer complaints before they become chaotic and problematic to manage and solve (Sweeney, and Craig, 2010). A huge part of the coffee culture revolves around the elements of beautifully decorated espressos and distinct cups for customers. Starbucks has excelled on several visually oriented social sites such as Instagram and Pinterest where they post numerous appealing beverage related eye candy products. The organization maintains multiple Pin boards that feature coffee gadgets, tea rituals and soothing spaces for their clients to get comfortable as they take their beverages. Instagram, on the other hand, is a collection of several different images that relate to the coffee culture and also the coffee community. References Barker, M. Barker, D. Bormann, N. F. & Neher, K. E. (2012). Social Media Marketing: A Strategic Approach. Cengage Learning Boone, Kurtz, (2014). Contemporary Marketing, Update 2015. Cengage Learning Holt, D. & Cameron, D. (2010). Cultural Strategy: Using valuable Innovative Ideologies to Build Breakthrough Brands. OUP Oxford Lovett, J. (2011). Social Media Metrics Secrets. John Wiley & Sons Miletsky, A. B. (2010). Perspectives on Social Media Marketing, 1st ed. Cengage Learning Sweeney, S. & Craig, R. (2010). Social Media for Business: 101 Ways to Grow Your Business Without Wasting Your Time. Maximum Press Turban, E. Strauss, J. & Lai, L. (2015). Social Commerce: Marketing, Technology, and Management. Springer Texts in Business and Economics. Springer. Read More