Starbucks + Social Media = Success
Having a caffeine meltdown and need to find the nearest Starbucks pronto? There’s an app for that.
Want the inside scoop on the Starbucks world? Join in with the other 775,000 Twitter followers to hear the latest scoop.
More and more each day businesses are beginning to realize the limitless power of social media, and now what began as a means of communication for internet savvy young adults has become the ultimate catalyst for brand awareness and marketing in virtually every industry. Now Starbucks is jumping on the train to pick up some of that social media success, and doing quite well.
Early 2008 proved to be challenging times for Starbucks as the company experienced a decrease in traffic and sales for the first time in its history. But this occurrence led them to think outside the box and reinvent their marketing tactics to get back in the game. The answer: reconnect with customers digitally.
During the past two years Starbucks has entered the social media scene through their customer forum website MyStarbucksIdea.com, a Facebook fan page, two iPhone apps, and a Twitter feed operated by a former Starbucks barista. The success of these digital communications was phenomenal – customers were getting to know the brand like never before and Starbucks was seeing growth once again.
The innovation won’t stop here though. Chris Bruzzo, Starbucks’ VP-brand content and online, is focused on the future with the social media trend and endless possibilities of the internet, looking for more ways to enhance customers’ experience with the Starbucks brand both digitally and physically.
Here’s the ultimate question: do you have to be a huge, international company like Starbucks to make social media work for you? No way! Small and large businesses alike can find the right mix of social media marketing to reach their customers in their digital lives (and it’s pretty affordable!). In fact, why not let G.1440 do just that for you?
So now since you’ve used your iPhone to locate the closest Starbucks, used your drink app to find out what the heck a venti half-calf extra dry two-pump skinny cappuccino is, and tweeted to @Starbucks about the new Yukon blend of coffee, maybe you can sit back with your cup of joe and grab the paper to get the latest news (oh wait, there’s an app for that too…).
Find out more about digital marketing and check out the original article at Advertising Age.