Tim Hortons sips on social media
Tim Hortons, the brew of choice for many Canadian coffee drinkers, is an early adaptor of social media. With the recent launch of its website http://www.everycup.ca, Tim Hortons has brewed itself a steaming cup of social media joe.
The web site is centred on the idea that every cup has a story and is in response to the millions of people that write in to the company eager to share their Timmies stories. The site encourages its drinkers to share their special memory and post pictures or videos to the site. From hockey moms to engagements, Tim Hortons shares in the moment.
Like other social media sites, every cup allows for viewers to share the stories via e-mail or Facebook, and even make the content the wallpaper on their desktop. I think this is a mediocre attempt at a social media campaign however, the site is a great way to promote the brand and get people to talk and share their positive stories about the company.
Tim Hortons has experienced a significant increase in profit since launching the site. With a 7.8 per cent total revenues increase last year, their social media site is doing more than strengthening the bond between brand and drinker.
In addition to the profit increase, they are adding value to the brand by using social media. The site makes real the tie people feel with Tim Hortons, and I think that their social media campaign is a great way to make connection and share in the iconic brand image.
What makes this social media campaign such a success? In my opinion, it’s that it is so simple to use. Tim Hortons accounts for 42 per cent of sector traffic in the quick serve restaurant industry in Canada. How many of the 63 per cent of Canadians over the age of 18 that drink coffee on a daily basis, use social media on a daily basis? Well, I don’t know. But, what I do know is that 56 per cent of social media users are either joiners or creators. Tim Hortons certainly has a strong market advantage and is only increasing it by using social media.
According to Jude Fiorillo, in his blog post titled “Every Cup Tells A Story” = Every Story Sells A Cup he argues that web site content is a lot like a product. Web sites with poor content do not succeed, just like a bad product. If we compare the content of the Tim Hortons site to a product, we are only able to see success. This may be due to the high level of content monitoring the site has, but nonetheless it is success.
Fiorillo comments on the success of the web site. “Anyone who wants to can participate, and in this case, the maximum size of the “available content pool” is large, because it turns out that … a lot of people drink coffee, and many people do interesting things while drinking coffee! Additionally, it’s likely that anyone creating an (indirect) messaged tied to Tim Hortons, is likely to share a positive message about the company (e.g. positive message about due to the nature of the website.”
He furthers to say that: “A byproduct of these strong associated feelings is that people feel a deeper relationship to the campaign’s content, and as a result, are more inclined to investigate the website. Consider also that people have the opportunity to talk about something important to them (their story), and that it’s easy to participate (all you need is a picture and a 1+ paragraph story) and this further facilitates participation, and an active website or community, in turn, fuels more participation.
Therefore, Tim Hortons customers are drawn to the site to share their story and remain subscribed to the site because it is easy to use.
In Wayne McPhail’s blog post titled “Decaf social media,” he discusses how Tim Hortons has made a weak attempt to use social media. “It’s very clear they don’t want your stories, they want your stories that put Tim Horton’s in a good light. And, they really don’t want your comments. They want your comments that put Tim Horton’s in a good light. So really, it’s decaf social media. It’s social media co-opted by an organization that doesn’t really understand what social media is about.”
I happen to disagree with McPhail. He does however, make a valid point about monitoring your social media site for appropriate content. Although it is crucial for business’ to promote positively, Tim Hortons and other companies using similar social media techniques, are finding that strict monitoring of the content posted on their sites can be potentially detrimental to the brand if they appear to promote in a “gushy,” yay us type-manner.
In all, Tim Hortons does a good job of using social media to generate awareness and the connection people feel to the brand. Tim Hortons’ use of social media is not so much to make a profit and market itself, but rather it is an attempt to reinforce to its loyal customers that they should remain a part of their lifestyle.
The benefits of social media “Groundswell”
Social bookmarking tools, such as Digg and Delicious, are changing the way people are using the internet. These sites offer a place where one can bookmark, monitor internet dialogue and keep tabs on favourite blogs or web sites. They also alert you when a site or blog has been updated and allow you to share your tabs with others.
In Shamus McGillicuddy’s article: “Social Bookmarking: Pushing collaboration to the edge,” he explores how social bookmarking allows people to put an identity to connecting with people online. He gives the example that if someone tags the same sites, or has similar interests as him he is drawn to want to meet them.
In my experience with Delicious, I have been able to get my information quickly and in non-conventional ways. I essentially type in a keyword about what I’m looking for, and see what others are tagging on the topic. Not only does this weed out the countless hours of searching the web for the information, but it allows me to literally keep tabs on what is being said and by whom.
Suthan Mookaiah’s article: 4 irresistible benefits of social bookmarking he claims that this “trend in cyber space comes with a lot of benefits that you don’t want to miss out on.” The benefits, as they are listed in the post, are: quick indexing; traffic generation; personal branding and quality backlinks. As he notes, the best way to have any web site indexed and on major search engines is to post it on social bookmarking sites. This works like bait to attract others to a personal site.
Traffic generation practically guarantees that a site you tag is visited. And, as the author mentions, if there is useful information on the site it will likely be visited again.
Personal branding on social bookmarking sites can be achieved by creating a profile, or your own page on the site. These sites provide a way to network and establish yourself. This works cohesively with generating traffic as the larger your network of taggers becomes, the more traffic you will generate.
Finally, there is quality backlinks. This is when your personal page is visited by search engines that will index your site through following links from other sites.
Therefore, in my opinion, without social bookmarking you can potentially lose on the opportunity to generate traffic to personal sites. As a soon-to-be PR professional, generating traffic to my blog, confessions of a social media newbie, can be used as an effective networking and personal marketing tool.
In the book “Groundswell,” by Charlene Li and John Bernoff, call online tools like Digg, twitter, facebook, blogs and other evolving and trendy social media sites, groundswell. They advocate that companies should adjust to this new way of monitoring business and take advantage of it. One thing to consider is the change in consumer behaviour. The authors argue that the groundswell surrounding social media offers people to get more from each other, rather than traditional ways of conducting business.
For a business, participating in the groundswell, and truly listening to what people are commenting about, can place you ahead of the competition. Social media helps people identify with a brand, while creating a PR dream because it creates buzz about the company. I do believe however, the groundswell is certainly a force to be reckoned with.
I strongly urge any company interested in using groundswell to promote and market to proceed with caution. If it is done incorrectly, it can easily backfire on the company. However, if done correctly, you can have millions of people discussing your company. Free promotion, without the in-your-face advertising.
Another important point for companies to keep in mind is to constantly update your profile. Blogs, twitter and Facebook should regularly be updated to avoid a stale image. The groundswell at that point, becomes counter-active and begins to turn and spawn negative information about a company. If the groundswell is to be used, it should be productive social interaction, not pointless.
I find that most companies are on twitter and Facebook just for the sake of joining. My main issue with that is they are generally posting information that is unrelated to their brand. Business’ need to keep in mind that their brand needs to be at the forefront of their efforts, not aimless posts with little or no content behind them. Most importantly, the company needs to monitor what is being said to know whether to continue or abandon the groundswell movement.
Does social media belong in the hands of PR professionals?
Recently, there has been much debate about social media, and its use by PR professionals. Using social mediums, such as twitter, as a means to market a product or event, is considered somewhat taboo; especially, if the organization is not being transparent about it.
As a marketing tool, social media offers an advantage to reach new audiences in creative and dynamic ways. However, I must question, is that its intended use?
I don’t actually think the creators of Facebook, twitter or Digg feel that filtering information is necessary, or even appropriate (to a certain extent, with explicit and offensive content aside). But, in the recent Facebook fiasco, where companies can sign up to target personalized ads by using a technology called beacon is a complete contradiction of what social media should be. In Malik Om’s blog post titled Is Facebook Beacon a Privacy Nightmare?, he explores how Facebook is using these more focused ads as a way to capitalize off of the site. The use of the beacon device allows subscribers to control their privacy, by selecting if they want or do not want personalized ads on their page. The beacon tool is a clever enough tool that the average person would probably not notice the specific ads. Let alone, think that focused ads are mere coincidence and never turn their privacy filter to a higher setting.
What about social media and the not-for-profit sector? In such volatile market conditions, fundraising efforts have turned to social media as a way to beef up donor lists. The non-profits such as Pledge to End Hunger, use social media to encourage others to join in their plight and to promote their site. The unique part is they also use social media against itself, by encouraging twitter users to write a blog about the Pledge where the Pledge’s logo is prominently displayed and referenced.
In Beth Kanter’s blog How Non-profits Can Use Social Media she discusses taking the pledge and lists names of others who have joined her cause. She states that social media “is designed to make it easy to do something meaningful in the short-term and create a dialogue about solving root issues.” From a public relations standpoint, social media has opened a way for donor-based organizations and corporations to spread the word and promote their cause or business.
Since the economy is at the forefront of every one’s mind lately, corporations and non-profits have to find creative ways to ‘stay afloat.’ Social media offers a relatively free access to marketing techniques to broader audiences and with more expansive tools at their disposal. In his blog, How Could Social Media Save Your Favorite Brand?, David Finch explores how brands are increasingly using social media to communicate to find out how to engage audiences, participate in the organization and discuss brand experiences. His claim is that: “brands need to figure out how to best participate in such an environment,” he continues to say that “the weaker brands that fail to recognize, adapt and exchange with this behavioural shift are likely to suffer.”
Social media used in these methods offer a make or break situation for some corporations and non-profits. The problem faced is the ethics behind how to properly use social media, how to engage the audience without seeming like you are trying to sell your product or overtly promote your website. My answer is simple: be transparent. If people want to engage with your company they will, do not try to shamelessly try to plug it because then people will just ignore your brand.
Ultimately, social media are not tools that should be limited or have restricted use policies. They are shared communities and networks where the freedom to exchange information, opinion, rants or whatever, are perfectly acceptable. To be used however, and by whomever one chooses.
