Virtual Community

My last few posts have focused on Starbucks as a community. So it makes complete sense that Starbucks has also built up an online community through site such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Foursquare, Flickr, MySpace, Bebo, Digg and Tumblr.

In addition, Starbucks also has a corporate blog, a Wikipedia page and an iPhone app (which, incidentally, was the first app I downloaded when I turned on my new iPhone 4S).

It’s safe to say that they have covered their bases and are meeting a variety of needs, including community/customer engagement through Facebook and Foursquare, customer service through Twitter, and PR through their blog, YouTube and even their Wikipedia page.

All seem to be the standard ‘We Heart Starbucks’, given that, for the most part, content is driven by them. The exception is Twitter. I guess that is the downside to using such an open forum to hang your dirty laundry. But if this is what the people want…and these days it seems to be what the people want – a quicker, easier, more public way of complaining about poor service. And Starbucks seems more than happy to help address dissatisfaction though this means.

So far, these are your average, run-of-the-mill web 2.0 platforms.

My favorite Starbucks web presence, however, is probably one of the most unique - My Starbucks Idea.  Think about it. What do people want more than anything else these days? To have a voice and to be heard. Have an idea for a new drink? Want to suggest a community service project? This is the place to post it. And once left, you can check the status of “ideas in action”. What a better way to engage your customers and make them feel that their ideas really do matter. The only down side is that you do need to register for an account. While I understand why Starbucks requires this, it would be even more inclusive and user-friendly if you could choose to leave an idea as a “guest”, or access it through your Facebook or Twitter account, which is becoming more and more common these days.  

Overall I think that Starbucks does a great job of building an online community to match the community that it strives to build each day in real life. “A haven, a break from the worries outside, a place where you can meet with friends. It’s about enjoyment at the speed of life – sometimes slow and savored, sometimes faster. Always full of humanity.”

Now if they could just simplify their website. With well over 100 pages (I gave up counting after 170), one could get lost looking for what brought them there and leave before they find it.