Social Media

Nowadays if your business doesn't use social media, it means you probably aren't going very far. Every one who is everyone is using social media in one way to reach customers, and Dunkin' Donuts is no excepts. Not only does the company as a whole have a Facebook (social networking) and a Twitter account (micro blogging), but many of the individual franchises have their own accounts as well.

Dunkin' Donuts lives and active life on the micro blogging site Twitter. They tweet at an average of 10 times a day, mostly responding to customer complaints or responding to their encouraging remarks about Dunkin' and their products. I actually had interaction with Dunkin' Donuts on Twitter a couple months ago. There is this one Dunkin' on Whitney Ave. in Hamden right in the center of town and it is ALWAYS packed at morning rush hour, and the drive-thru line is slow as anything. Not being a morning person, and being frustrated I turned to Twitter to share my complaint. Before I got to work that morning, I had a response from the company apologizing for the inconvenience and thanking me for my patience. That made me laugh since typically I have none, but I appreciated the gesture. In addition to them responding to me, they also started following me. Just knowing that they were keeping an eye on me made me want to tweet about my Dunkin' experiences more. So a few days later, I tweeted about how the guys at the counter made my morning just by being super friendly. (Let's face it, people in the Northeast aren't the friendliest and especially not in the morning). I didn't get a response back for that one, but I there was that twinge of hope that because of my tweet those guys would somehow be recognized for their service.

 

“America’s favorite coffee” can also be found on Facebook. Dunkin’ Donuts’s strong Facebook presence is evident by their nearly 5 million fans. Dunkin’s Facebook page strives on consumer interaction. They’re profile default picture is their “Fan of the Week” smothered with Dunkin’ Donuts logos. They post about contests they are having, such as create the next Dunkin’ donut, as well as promoting external things. Right now, their main page has songs from nominees for “Latin Music’s Big Night!” Obviously Dunkin’ has some investment in this award show. At the bottom of the page it says “Check back soon to see photos from the Dunkin’ sponsored Las Vegas after party.”

Dunkin’ also has a YouTube channel. I think this is a good idea by them because it is an easy way to enforce the word of mouth idea. How many times do you go to tell a friend about a funny commercial and turn to YouTube instead of explaining it? (I mean it’s always funnier to see it than have to imagine it right? That’s why “you had to be there.) By putting their own commercials on YouTube, Dunkin’ Donuts can monitor how many people are seeing them. It also provides a place for them to put video highlights from Dunkin’-sponsored events like “Dunkin’s Next Donut Winner” and “Create Dunk’s Next Donut Bake-Off.” As of right now, the Dunkin’ Donuts channel has had 529,647 views and their videos have 1,503,047 views. Mind you, this is all in only 5 years.

But oh wait! There’s more! On their website, they have their own blog called “Behind the Beans.” The blog gives an inside look on what is going on inside the offices. It shares everything from the big moments like the contract to become the official coffee of JetBlue Airlines to the fun stuff like pumpkins carves with the logo or some of the champion Boston Bruins bringing the Stanley Cup by the offices. I think this demonstrates one more way that Dunkin’ Donuts tries to show that they are everyday people just like their customers. By showing what is going on behind closed doors, they are metaphorically saying “This is your company too. You’re opinion of what we’re doing matters. So here is it. Judge as you will.” Judgment obviously being whether or not you switch coffee providers. Clearly it would be bad PR to put anything super controversial or negative in the blog, but from what I read it is very straightforward.

I think Dunkin' does a great job of reaching customers on many levels through numerous social networks. No matter what you are looking for from the company--interaction, customer service, or an inside view--you can find it from Dunkin' Donuts.