Starbucks Company Social Media Presence †Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Explain Starbucks Company Social Media Presence? Answer: Introduction Starbucks is the leading coffee company that has numerous chains of coffeehouses. It was established in the year 1971, and today it is present in more than 60 countries and has more than 18, 000 retail outlets (Customer Experience, 2015). Because of the tremendous technology growth and advancement, social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Whatsapp, have proven to be excellent channels of communication (Culnan, McHugh, Zubillaga, 2010). As a result, business firms have turned to the use of social media platforms to advertise and promotes their products because it enables them to reach millions of their potential clients. Starbucks is one of the multi-national companies that rely on the use of social media platforms to facilitate the movement of their products across the globe. Starbuck is known as the first company to utilize face book to advertise and promote the sales of its products, and now, it has an estimated 50 million fans on the various social media p latforms (Schoultz, 2014). In this regard, this essay is going to discuss Starbucks social media presence, social media audience, social media marketing strategies and technologies, and conclude by highlighting the ethics and privacy issues surrounding the companys use of social media platforms. Social media presence As already alluded in the introduction, Starbucks has an estimated 50 million followers on its various social media platforms, and this means that Starbucks has a massive social medial presence as shown below (Huff, 2014). 32 million Facebook fans 98 million Instagram followers 56 million Twitter fans 160K Pinterest fans 86 million Google+ fans 32K YouTube fans This company has a small team of social media experts; however, the team has successfully managed to build the various social media platforms into a successful tool for the engagement of its stakeholders. Facebook: Starbucks face book account has the highest number of followers, and therefore, it is arguably the most efficient means of social media communication tool for the company (Larimore, 2014). The face book account is not updated on a regular basis; however, it is used to post ultra-clever and attractive advertisements and promotional messages. Twitter: the company has a Twitter handle where they post vital news updates for their millions of followers. The company utilizes the Twitter handle to reach and communicate with their customers regarding the experiences as consumers of their products (Gembarski, 2013). The tweets are directed at particular consumers who speak to the company regarding their problems or concerns. This enables the company to address the issues raised by the clients. Pinterest and Instagram: this company has millions of followers on Pinterest and Instagram combined. The company engages with consumers by posting appealing images of beverage products that they offer on these accounts. Social media audience There are three different audiences for Starbucks social media platforms, namely; the consumers, government, retailers and suppliers. However, the major social media audience is the consumers. The consumers are the major audience of the social media platforms because the platforms provide the company with a platform to advertise and promote their products, and also to address the various issues of concern raised by the consumers. Also, over the social media platforms, the audience can get information regarding new products and services that are offered by Starbucks. The consumers are also the audience of the companys social media platforms because they can buy products from these platforms. Another audience of the social media platforms are the suppliers and retailers that work together with Starbucks coffee company (Devitt, 2009). The company posts information regarding supply needs and requirements of the company, and through these platforms, the company can communicate with its suppliers. Similarly, Starbucks as a company communicates with its retailers over this channel. These include information regarding the demand and supply in the various location of this companys retail outlets. The government and other regulation bodies are another audiences for the Starbucks social media platforms (Gallaugher Ransbotham, 2010). Here, the company provides information regarding its policies, rules, and regulation according to the requirements of the legal laws and requirements of the countries it operates in. The employees of Starbuck are also another audience of the companys social media platforms because they are used to pass important communication to the employees across all the countries involved. Social media marketing Based on the discussions in the section above, Starbucks Coffee Company makes use of marketing strategies referred to as the push and pull strategies. In the push marketing strategy, the information regarding the products is pushed over the social media to the potential customers (Haley, 2008). On the other hand, the pull strategy involves the retrieval of information regarding what the client requires from the clients themselves. Starbucks coffee uses the push marketing strategy in its social media marketing as discussed below. One of the social media marketing strategies that are used by Starbucks is the use of coupons, special offers, discounts, and sapling that they distribute and make available to face book (Kaplan Haenlein, 2010). The consumers can get these vital information regarding the companys offers to their clients. The company then engages in communication and negotiations with the consumers, and they can purchase the products that they need. Another social media marketing strategy that is used by this company is the use of product and event promotion over the social media. The company promotes its events, for example, the Free Pastry Day promotion that allowed their consumers to produce prints of their version of online coupons (Gembarski, 2013). The company has successfully used face book to promote the taste challenge, which is an event that they planned to launch Starbuck products such as instant coffee that was offered to consumers are a discount. Such events increase the companys sales volumes, and it also increases the companys market share by attracting more clients and fans to like their social media platforms. Starbuck makes use of social media to advertise its products, for instance, the company engages with its clients to build brand recognition through competitive environments (Kamel Wheeler, 2007). An example of this is when Starbucks established new posters for advertising in several cities in the US. Clients of this company were required to take their pictures with the posters and tweet their images in a bid to win gifts worth $20. This campaign was very successful as it allowed the company to pass across it advertising messages to millions of followers over the social media, and the campaign had significant positive impact on the revenue that the company generated. Another example of social media advertisement that this company has carried out took place during the 2013 massive storm of snow that occurred in the North Eastern of the US (Hanna, Rohm, Crittenden, 2011). The company circulated pictures of individuals warming up themselves by drinking warm coffee products from the Sta rbuck Company. There is active customers engagement with through its website known as MyStarbucksIdea.com where consumers are given the opportunity to discuss with the company on various issues. Through this website, the consumers are given the opportunity to express their ideas and thoughts to help Starbuck to improve the quality of their products for improved customer experience. This site has been successful in helping this company to improve the consumer experience. This is because the company has been able to gather the ideas presented and raked in accordance to the needs of the consumers. Ethics, privacy, and security The emergence of the social media platforms has provided significant advertising and product promotion opportunities for business firms across the globe. However, these platforms have also come serious issues of concern such as ethics, privacy, and security (Brown Muchira, 2004). With regards to ethics, Starbucks has adhered to the rules and regulations regarding etiquette. For example, the company engages its consumers based on the consumers terms and the degrees that they wish to be engaged (Leitch Warren, 2011). The company respects the online space of the consumers. Another ethical issue that Starbuck faces is the type of content that appears on the pages and accounts of their social media platforms. These include the use of vulgar, inflammatory, hate speech and explicit contents on their social media platforms (Database Nation, 2000). However, Starbuck has strict regulations and policies that bar these content. They also have an administration team that regulates the content appearing on these platforms. There are several privacy and security issues that are involved with online transactions. According to Bose and Chung (2007), many firms are faced with the challenge of ensuring the confidentiality and security of their clients data. Despite this challenge, Starbucks has gone to a great extent to protect the personal details of their clients using encrypted passwords and pin numbers. The websites of major multinational companies are vulnerable to cyber-attacks from hacking activities. Activities such as phishing, hacking, and the creation of pseudo accounts to dupe the clients of Starbucks (Bose Chung, 2007). To deal with these challenges, the company has established effective security strategies to ensure the safety and security of its social media platforms. For example, there is the use of encrypted passwords to protect consumers from cyber-criminals. Social media technologies Starbucks as a multi-national company relies on the use of the latest social media technologies. One of the technologies that Starbucks utilize is the instant messaging where the company interacts with its consumers by sending and receiving instant messages from customers. The instant messaging has been instrumental in the real-time exchange of information, and this has been a major boost to the companys performance. Another vital social media technology that is used by Starbuck is social networking system. The company utilizes social networking systems to connect to its various stakeholders to facilitate collaboration. The company has a Starbuck social network and a control center which makes use of modern technology of social network to help the company to manage its social networks. The company relies on the use of Intel technology and a marketing cloud. Starbucks command center is fitted with LCD screens made of modern technology that transmit signals from the sales team and that highlight the events that are trending on the various social media platforms of the company. The ability to utilize technology to generate information has enabled the company to formulate and implement effective strategies, and this has given this company a competitive edge in the industry. Another new technology that Starbuck has used is the mobile payment applications that require the clients to download them. These mobile payment applications enable the users to order for goods and make payments for them. Starbuck coffee company has taken advantage of this technology and has invited its clients to utilize the applications for quick and easy transactions. Conclusion In summary, the emergence of social media has brought new opportunities to companies. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, twitter, and you tube have enabled companies to engage with the important stakeholders. Starbucks as a company has taken advantage of the presence of these technologies to boost its performance. The company has a large presence on the social media platform, for example, it has more than 50 million followers. This has greatly boosted its advertising and promotion activities, hence increased performance. The major social media audience of this companys social media platforms are it customers, suppliers and retailers, the government and other regulatory bodies. This is because they use these social media platforms to post and communicate vital information to enhance its relationship with stakeholders. The company also make use of these platforms to carry out its advertising and promotional activities. The company posts coupons, offers and discounts on these platforms and this enable clients to get the information that they require. Starbucks also relies on latest social media technologies, and this has enhanced its performance. Despite this, the company faces ethical, privacy and security issues. These include the misuse of client personal details as well as cyber-attacks. However, the company has implemented effective measures to successfully combat these challenges. References Bose, I Chung, A. (2007). Unveiling the Mask of Phishing: Threats, Preventive Measures, and Responsibilities. Communications of the Association for Information Systems 544-569. Brown, M. Muchira, R. (2004). 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