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How Starbucks uses Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and Google+

Starbucks is often touted as having an excellent social strategy, so it’s an excellent subject for our series of posts looking at how brands use the four main social networks.

Having previously evaluated a number of brands including Red Bull, ASOS, Walmart and Ikea, it appeared that the brands that were doing well in social all followed the same basic blueprint – they post updates several times a day and are excellent at responding to consumers.

But as this post shows, Starbucks has managed to outperform nearly all other consumer brands in terms of community engagement despite taking the exact opposite approach.

And there is a special mention for Starbucks’ Instagram feed at the end as well...

by David Moth 06 March 2013 10:43am 24 comments

The Facebook mortgage. Could social data be used for credit scores?

I’m about to move house. Which, as is usual, has involved a painful bank transfer and a lot of paperwork.

One of the steps of self-imposed due diligence I did was to check my credit file. Everything was fine, I had a credit score in the region I expected / hoped and that was the end of it. Contracts done. Property secured.

It got me thinking, though. That one little number is very powerful but, given today’s focus on big data, actually very simplistic in its nature.

For something that can dictate major elements of your life (such as helping the bank decide whether or not you are ‘fit’ to buy a home), the process by which the three main credit reference agencies (Equifax, Experian and Callcredit in the UK) apply a sweeping judgement feels flawed.

I wondered if, instead, social data could provide a more accurate picture of people.

by Craig Le Grice 05 March 2013 09:01am 30 comments

This week's top six infographics

Once again we round up six of the best infographics we've seen this week.

The topics include how people share their data with brands, tailored marketing communications, online shopping in China, mobile streaming habits, and what advertisers really think of Facebook.

by David Moth 01 March 2013 12:42pm 2 comments

Social media measurement: focus on the big picture

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about some of the problems I’ve encountered when trying to gauge accurate traffic from our social media channels, particularly Twitter.

Based on the overwhelming response in the comments section, and feedback from our own recent social media measurement roundtables, it appears this is a very common problem.

Lots of you took the time to offer up ideas and recommendations, so I thought it would be useful to recap (and test) some of the suggested solutions here...

by Matt Owen 28 February 2013 12:02pm 6 comments

How Ikea uses Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and Google+

In the latest instalment of our blog series looking at how different brands use the main social networks, I’ve decided to shine the spotlight on Ikea.

The Swedish furniture manufacturer is probably one of the most recognisable brands on the planet, and its catalogues are full of striking visuals that are perfect for sharing via social.

Ikea has also just found itself caught up in the horsemeat scandal, so it’s the perfect time to see how it is using Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+ for customer engagement.

For comparison, I’ve previously looked at how Walmart, Tesco, Red Bull, John Lewis and ASOS use the four main social networks.

by David Moth 27 February 2013 13:20pm 7 comments

As investors pour $200m more into Pinterest, is a business model in the offing?

The internet economy may be one of the brightest spots in today's global economy, but the hits taken by shares of publicly-traded prominent internet brands like Facebook, Zynga and Groupon has definitely had an impact on venture backed companies, many of which have had and will have a more difficult time convincing investors that they're worth as much as they might have been able to convince them they're worth a couple of years ago.

You wouldn't know that, however, looking at Pinterest's latest funding round, which made headlines last week. The image-based social network is on the verge of becoming the second most popular social media site in the United States, and despite the fact that it hasn't figured out how to make money, investors poured $200m into the young company at a $2.5bn valuation.

by Patricio Robles 25 February 2013 15:51pm 0 comments

The key to Facebook's ad targeting may not be Facebook data

If Facebook is to ever rival Google's dominance in the online advertising market, many believe that the world's largest social network will need to figure out how to take advantage of its treasure trove of user data.

That treasure trove includes significant amounts of personal information that users have provide about themselves, and it grows by the day as users upload and tag photos, share content with their friends and 'Like' brand Facebook Pages.

by Patricio Robles 25 February 2013 14:15pm 0 comments

Pinterest proves to be a fruitful network for Topman

Despite its reputation for having a predominately female audience, Pinterest is proving to be a successful hunting ground for menswear brands.

New research shows that Topman has more than double the follower count of any other UK retailer and is also adding to its community faster than its competitors.

The eDigitalResearch Social Media Benchmark found that Topman has 87,959 followers, compared to 26,594 for Net-A-Porter and 24,847 for ASOS.

Pinterest has developed from a niche social network into an important marketing tool in little more than 12 months, with its focus on striking visuals and imagery making it the perfect platform for retailers and lifestyle brands.

To help brands take advantage of this opportunity, Econsultancy has published a new Pinterest for Business Guide aimed at companies and individuals who are thinking of joining Pinterest and want to find out more about the social platform, as well as people who are currently using Pinterest and want a deeper understanding of best practice.

by David Moth 25 February 2013 09:45am 0 comments

Dealing with a Twitter hack: Lessons from @BurgerKing

Fast food giant Burger King experienced a social media meltdown earlier this week, as the brand’s Twitter feed was hacked, its profile picture and name changed to that of industry rival McDonalds, and a series of unusual tweets were fired out to the brand’s followers.

Things first went amiss around noon EST, and followers were treated to over an hour of links to YouTube videos, pictures of dirty kitchens, tweets about percolate and a few reminders that comms managers can’t afford to take public holidays off...

by Matt Owen 21 February 2013 11:12am 0 comments

How Red Bull uses Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+

Red Bull is a great example of a brand built almost entirely on social media, with some mind-blowing PR stunts thrown in for good measure.

Therefore it’s a great case study for our series looking at how different brands use the big four social networks.

We’ve previously examined how Walmart, ASOS and John Lewis use social, with Google+ generally proving to be the weak relation compared to Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

But does the same prove to be true for Red Bull?

by David Moth 21 February 2013 10:24am 3 comments