Starbucks is a star at social networking

Tomorrow afternoon (4/10/12), Howard Schultz, ceo of Starbucks Corporation, will be the Executive Guest Speaker for the Albers Executive Speaker Series. I received the honor of being selected to represent Seattle University's undergraduate students as a panelist at Schultz's talk, so in preparing for tomorrow, I've had Starbucks on my mind quite often during the last week or so. Therefore, I thought it would be appropriate to take a closer look at the company's social media sites, to not only snoop around for panelist topics, but also to examine what the company does well in terms of creating interesting and relevant content, as well as attaining popularity, and perhaps more importantly, influence over its followers and fans. 

Starbucks' home page, as of 4/9/2012, featuring a YouTube
clip about its April corporate responsibility effort
- giving back to  communities, at a global scale.

Upon first reaching the Starbucks Home Page, one sees Starbucks' iconic logo, and its main links all send visitors of the website to the areas that Starbucks customers typically care about most: coffee, menu (i.e., drinks, food, and nutrition), coffeehouse (i.e., music, wi-fi, and community), responsibility (i.e., company values, goals, and progress), card (i.e., all things Starbucks Card related), and shop (i.e., an online marketplace for true Starbucks fans). Although the website changes often, the home page often also showcases milestones for the company, from its newest and proudest product innovation to its most recent significant act in terms of corporate responsibility. Currently, the website features a YouTube clip that educates website visitors about Starbucks' theme of the month: April - Global Month of Service. Below the fun and inviting clip, Starbucks invites its customers to help make a difference: "Join us in making a difference in your community this month." By reminding its customers that Starbucks' work for a better world is made with its customers in mind, but is also in the hands of its customers to make possible or to make a greater impact, Starbucks customers are reminded of their involvement in making the world a better place, and I, for one, am compelled to become engaged in one of the Starbucks programs.

Links to various different topics of
 interest to SBUX website visitors

Also on its front page are links to the company's blog, quick links to its newest product features, Starbucks Rewards program, and more. One thing is clear throughout all of Starbucks' use of graphics and media: Starbucks is committed to bringing value to its customers. To do this even better, Starbucks utilizes primarily Facebook and Twitter, but also YouTube and Flickr to connect with its customers in a one-on-one, interactive medium. 

On its Facebook, Starbucks' cover photo screams, "Starbucks is a company of partners in every respect, and we're dedicated to helping you, our customers!" A team of Starbucks employees in support of April's Global Month of Service stand committed and strong. The company posts at least once a day, with topics related to its monthly offerings, new products, or it shares personal stories from its partners and customers. In terms of the 80-20 rule, it does a pretty good job, because even if a post isn't directly related to promoting a specific product, all the posts bring customer interaction into play, and subtlety remind Starbucks customers the value that they can receive by supporting their favorite Starbucks location.

The Twitter pages follow suit. Multiple Twitter accounts focused on different business aspects allows customers to choose the way in which they engage with the company. If customers would rather discuss Starbucks' innovations, then it can follow or tweet at the My Starbucks Idea twitter page (@MyStarbucksIdea). If they're looking for a job and want the inside scoop on the latest job opportunities, fans can follow the Starbucks Jobs sites. Additionally, separate Starbucks sites exist for different global markets, so that fans can engage in their language of preference with other customers like them within some specific region. 

The YouTube and Flickr accounts certainly have smaller followings, however, these pages are viewable and easy to follow if you follow the other social media sites, as at this point, they're all usually linked to each other in some way. The YouTube videos have over 8.3 million views, which shows that people tend to enjoy Starbucks' videos. However, one way that I may critique them, is that they could create videos that are more engaging--videos that bring customers back to the YouTube page a second time after they see it the first time. A recent great example of this from a very different industry is the Alice Receptionist video. What would be a humdrum technology service before, becomes an engaging and funny conversation piece for people considering how to improve their office's environment. Starbucks has the resources to create the same kind of funny and entertaining video content, so I want to see it do something like "Who is Alice?". 

Overall, Starbucks does a great job at engaging customers and delivering fresh and relevant content. The company's focus on corporate responsibility linked to its business model makes Starbucks influential, because it forces customers to consider how their consumer behavior can also support greater causes. 

Starbucks' Facebook page 

Strength in Numbers:

• Facebook Likes: 29,553,355
• Twitter (@starbucks) followers: 2,341,868
• Starbucks Jobs (@starbucksjobs) followers: 35,970
• My Starbucks Idea (@MyStarbucksIdea) followers: 31,439
• YouTube: 13,266 subscribers, 8,384,788 views
• Flickr members: 4,867 (8,034 items)

I "like" Read It And Weep, and chances are you'll "like" it, too… If you (actually) like making fun of Stephanie Meyer.

"It seems like a really funny idea for three, mid-twenties gentlemen to be reading a sex book for 12-year old girls… that is clearly not aimed at us then to discuss it very seriously, or if that's less funny to be really mean about just how awful the book is." - Alex Falcone, 6/27/2009

 These are the words that begin Read It And Weep's first podcast back in June of 2009. Alex, Ezra, and Chris started their podcast by reading (or listening to an Audible, as it were) Twilight, one of the more ridiculous books of our generation.


Since 2009, the three comedic friends have aired a Podcast every week, and as of last Friday, Read It And Weep is just short of 150 podcasts. The podcasts began by discussing awful pop contemporary fiction, like Twilight; Eat, Pray, Love; and The Notebook (all popular books aimed at women, or teenage girls, as their purpose was defined in Podcast #1). Today, they discuss bad books, bad movies, and bad television. As a young woman who has at times submitted herself to the imaginary reality in some of these distasteful choices of entertainment, these podcasts remind me how ridiculous these books or Hollywood creations really are. For that reason, I can consider these Podcasts a grounding experience for 30-minutes every week.

 Read It And Weep has used Facebook as its main way of reaching out to the podcast's fans since it first started in 2009. The Facebook has definitely picked up in popularity: currently it has nearly 1,000 fans. Perhaps it isn't as popular as the books, television shows, or movies themselves, but 1,000 fans is certainly  a benchmark for three young men in their twenties from liberal arts schools. With the Facebook page, Alex, Ezra, and Chris alert their fans of upcoming podcasts, all the while lacing the posts with great amounts of humor regarding the podcast's theme-of-the-week.

One's appreciation for a Facebook page often stems from his or her deeper interest in the company or organization's page. Other pages that I've liked, e.g., Microsoft Career, stems from my desire to maybe one day work for Microsoft, and by liking the page, I can receive alerts or advice for my potential job search.

RIAW in Review for 2011: How RIAW measures their content's popularity…
and to measure their ridiculousness ;-)

However, my interest in Read It And Weep stems from my brother, who was Chris' college roommate during their freshman year at Whitman College. My brother, 6 years my senior, is the main source of my sense of humor as an adult; and due to his appreciation for satire, goofiness, and literature, his recommendation to start listening to Chris' podcast only followed suit. Therefore, in some ways, I guess it follows with the article we read regarding people's preferred reasons for using Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter, that I originally started following Read it and Weep as a way to connect with my brother who lives in Europe.

However, by offering fresh, funny content on a regular basis, Read It And Weep has made me into a fan, independent of my brother's influences. For the most part, I would argue that I probably appreciate the comedy of this podcast even more than my brother, because, with most of the content originally aimed at women between the ages of 15 and 55 (what a target market, right?), I probably understand what they're discussing more often than other listeners. I am also a great resource for the podcast, because I am someone who constantly knows the scoop on the new (really awful) books on sale at the store, or which (kill me now) reality TV show is most popular among women in the earlier mentioned target market. Therefore, the Read It And Weep Facebook page offers me a place to communicate with the three comedians about which podcast they should make next.

If you take a look at the Facebook page, it's perhaps not much more special than other fan pages; but the fact that they create great conversation over literature, and they critically analyze pop culture offers the podcast's fans a weekly dose of thoughtful entertainment. I recommend that you all take a listen on iTunes to this podcast, and if you like the podcast, subscribe to the feed. It won't disappoint! :) Plus, you can get a free trial for Audible.com by using a Read It And Weep-specific coupon code, so you don't have to actually justify purchasing one of these awful books to understand the content. You can listen to it, thereby keeping your dignity: you'll never have to admit to having actually ever read Nicholas Sparks' Dear John.  But, just in case you ever do feel like joining in the pop culture roast, keep an eye on the RIAW Facebook page. They post the next topic every week, so you'll be ready every Thursday night for the next round of "compliment sandwiches" (you'll have to listen to know what that means)!!