How Starbucks Got 10 Million Facebook Fans?
In 2008 we covered My Starbucks Idea. Since Starbucks is the first consumer brand to achieve the impressive number of 10,000,000 fans on Facebook, we thought we should take a closer look at the digital strategy of Starbucks…
Consumers have massively embraced social media. These digital dictators are able to make or break your brand in the social media space, and they know that too. So jumping into all kind of social channels will damage quite a few brands and their reputation.
Can you imagine how stupid some brands are, by rushing into Twitter, Facebook and YouTube without having any kind of social media marketing strategy, tactics or specialist social marketing agency at all?
To many brand, marketing, communications, pr, media, sponsor and helpdesk managers I would like to seize this opportunity by saying to you:
1. Patience is a virtue my friends. So re-think before you sink.
2. The brand is the biggest asset of your company. Don’t damage it.
Illustration by Al Murphy
Well, let’s be fair. Here are some thoughts that might help you:
First of all, there are several kinds of social media marketing strategies. So chose the one that really matches your brand and internal situation best.
Stay the hell away from social media
And please do realize: don’t believe the hype! No available social media bible in the world states that you must join the big trend social media. There is an option not to be part of it yet!
So, if you are not ready for it yet: stay the hell away from social media. You probably will only damage your brand severely.
If you do not have an Obama or Starbucks alike mentality and DNA, stay the hell away from social media marketing programs, since you will probably only disappoint your targets and damage your largest asset: your brand and its reputation.
If your brand is not driven by innovation, or not very client driven yet (brands that have not seriously tapped into e-mail, databases, savings, loyalty or CRM programs yet) you will probably fail in your social media marketing program as well.
Probably it’s better for you to tell your social media marketing agency this. So they can help you create a social marketing strategy that really fits your brand and business objectives.
Hopefully they will present you a social media marketing strategy which is fully focusing on (short term) campaigns and not on long term programs. You might want to start with seeding your video towards your targets or start with some other product campaigns. But please do not step into a program unprepared.
Because long term programs need another strategy and approach than short term campaigns. If you think you can be somebody’s friend for a while on Facebook, think again.
Friendships, loyalty and building mutual beneficial relationships between consumers and your brand, are hard work. Being someone’s friend in social media is not about quick bribes and hit and run behavior. Here, money can’t buy you love!
Always start with social media monitoring
If you want to claim success like Starbucks, which is leading the Top 10 of brands on Facebook, prepare yourself.
Start with a social media monitoring program: listen, gain crucial insights around your brand, products, competitors and important topics/ themes first.
Actually, a social media monitoring program is the start for every brand out there. Always start with listening and gain crucial insights, before you jump into the ferocious wild water.
From your first social media monitoring report or social brand benchmark, you will be able to slice from all conversations, to relevant conversations to actionable conversations.
The problem here is: Most social monitoring tool providers can’t help you with this. They are mostly just technology providers and not strategic brand or social media marketing specialists. So hire specialists that will be able to create you a “big” engagement idea based on the social media monitoring outcome for your brand.
And they can only do that, if you have really talked through your brand and business objectives with that social media marketing agency.
If you do not talk about your brand and business objectives, your engagement idea will be a lousy idea that will not help to realize your objectives.
And soon you will be talking about the disappointing number of fans / followers or that kind of useless KPI’s.
Some next steps that might want to consider before you jump into social media marketing. Those steps have been very thoughtfully considered by Starbucks.
That’s one of the reasons why they have such a successful Facebook Fan page: They monitor their page frequently. They keep it fresh with content. They have frequent social interactions with their fans.
And there are more topics you should consider first, before opening all kind of social channels that will only disappoint many of your targets.
It’s not smart to focus just on your number of fans, since the more fans you have- the more you are able to decrease their loyalty and scare them away. So opening a channel or Facebook page, means having a content and interaction strategy is mandatory.
Since these digital dictators have gathered many brands around them on Facebook that do really understand and fulfill their needs. So think again before your start. Do not disappoint them.
And as you can see in this Top 10 of Consumer Brands, Food & Drink brands are performing great on Facebook!
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While I don’t believe that Starbucks used a service like Usocial.net (or however you spell it) to inflate their fans, I do think they had some outside help in getting such a large number…
Excellent Post. It provides very important information about how to choose trade name trade marketing. Thanks for sharing.
http://www.viralblog.com/social-media/how-starbucks-got-10-million-facebook-fans/
[With the link] How Starbucks Got 10 Million Facebook Fans? via @youngplanneur http://bit.ly/bTFut8 CC @matthieublanco
@ Dane
I think so too. Might the help come from a very smart digital or social agency?
Or, what outside help are you referring to: You’ve just made me very curious
Cheers
Igor
@Alex
Thanks for sharing Alex. That’s our sole purpose of writing ViralBlog.
Cheers
Igor
[...] Beuker posted yesterday about how Starbucks got 10 million Facebook fans and I believe that this quote sums it up nicely: [...]
Good presentation with brief & strategic tips on successful communication. Thanks for sharing!
Very welcome, very ugly but very relevant slides
Yes, absolutely relevant.
How Starbucks Got 10 Million Facebook Fans? – http://bit.ly/bTFut8 Really interesting!
Good post and really putting down the basics. But I disagree on one thing: I think every brand, big or small should be focussing on building a sound online presence, with a focus on social media. Almost imperative.
Traditional media doesn’t work anymore, p2p recommendations is what counts, so as a brand be
@ Marko
Thanks. That basics part was the most difficult for me. Not always easy to keep it simple for strategists
Sorry I disagree: I think many brands should stay away from social media, since they do not have the mentality or DNA for it.
And: I know several brands that are on TV for 40 weeks per year and do great. Okay, deep, deep pockets are needed to be able to do so…
Cheers
Hey Igor, posted too early, was in the middle of the sentence still
Of course many brands are still doing well investing in traditional media. But all those media efforts are mostly aimed at obtaining eg. 1000 brand ambassadors. But those brand ambassadors are out there already, so find them, social media being an important part, because that’s where they are, speak out and have their followers.
And couldn’t agree more: for God’s sake use a strategy and be very wise on how you say what to who…
M.
social media is a very good tool in finding them, wanting to say…
You left out one crucial point. Culture. Starbucks certainly has deployed a variety of tactics to drive people to their Facebook page, but the organizational culture strongly supports the usage of social media among employees. Not only are they dedicated to new content and getting involved in the conversation, they’ve successfully managed to empower their most valuable asset (people over brand) to live a lifestyle that supports their participation in the brand discussion.
After “listening,” an organization needs to understand how to build social media into the daily activity of their people. Depending on your industry, goals, etc. the brand can determine what level of support it needs from those internal resources (4-5 employees or all employees, etc.).
While not all organizations are built to support Social Media, I would disagree that there isn’t an opportunity for all brands to find a place to play in a social environment… they just should have realistic expectations. As you note above, “its not smart to focus on just numbers,” so even the smallest brand engagement could yield results. It comes down to level of effort and investment.
Hi Kevin
Thanks for your very smart and well formulated answer, like it!
Fully agree with culture, but kept that very short, it’s the song that (almost) no brands want to hear again from me. 20% of my posts are about: the right mentality and DNA is needed.
Like Obama DNA: culture to open-up, listen, respond. Most brands do not have that DNA, and do not understand that money can’t buy you love in social. Credit and respect must be earned.
So agree that social offers options to ALL brands. Just speak at too many events and with too many brands to ignore the fact many will fail due to their: bribing and hit and run culture.
Innovative brands: yes.
CRM driven brands: yes.
The right DNA / Culture brands: yes.
Brands with lousy content or advertising / shouting/ sending DNA: entitled to campaigning and some social media ads. In my opinion: that’s social advertising, not social marketing.
Fact is that social media still opportunities to ALL brands. 20% will seize full opportunties. Fully fair is you blame me for being: a pessimist, realist or strategist.
I applaud Starbucks for their approach. Really am a fan of their culture.
However, I have not forgotten that Starbucks maybe would have not tapped into social marketing like they do now for years, if their brand was not demolished by consumers offline and online so heavily.
It seems like most have forgotten that Starbucks devaluated its love brand a few years, and its brand equity diminished from badge of belonging into “too expensive coffee from an arrogant company”.
So my question to you is: would Starbucks have launched My Starbucks Idea also, if they had not gotten thousands of negative reviews online a few years ago?
Understand my point here? They have learned a great deal, and fully changed their attitude and approach, which I really admire most. Since that is even more difficult than starting from point blank.
But social media and digital dictators will maken many more brands very humble. What about BP or other brands that have been vaporized online by consumers?
Cheers
Igor