Starbucks Becomes the Most Popular Brand on Facebook

July 23rd, 2009

By Jessica Lee

With over 3.6 million fans, Starbucks has just passed Coca-Cola to become the the most popular brand on Facebook. How? A good combination of a well-done Facebook Page, fun promotions for fans, and effective Facebook home page Engagement Ads. In fact, Starbucks gained nearly 200,000 Facebook fans this week alone.

As you can see below, Starbucks saw some significant spikes on July 18 and July 21, when the company was running its Free Pastry giveaway. Fans who printed out this invitation could redeem a free pastry with the purchase of any beverage. Consumers love coupons – and Starbucks is loving its increasing Facebook reach.

pd_starbucks_72209

Starbucks does not fall into the category of run-of-the-mill social media marketing. Earlier this month, the company gave away free ice cream through its Facebook application. In May, Starbucks put up new advertising posters is six cities, asking people to spot them, take photos, and post them on Twitter. And on Election Day, Starbucks released its Starbucks Vote Commercial on YouTube announcing that coffee would be on them for everyone who voted.

starbucks-free-pastry

Starbucks now leads all public profiles in the Retail category, according to PageData. Following Starbucks as this week’s top Facebook Page gainers in the Retail category is Levis, which saw a gain of 72,474 fans, representing a 178 percent weekly growth rate. Accompanying Starbucks and Levis in the Top 20 also include The Cheesecake Factory (#4), Anthropologie (#7), Whole Foods Market (#10), and Gymboree (#20).

Facebook Page Leaderboard – Retail (Gainers This Week)

	Name	Fans	Gain	Gain, %
1.	Starbucks Coffee Company	3,657,887	+190,561	+5.50
2.	Levis	113,260	+72,474	+177.69
3.	Newegg.com	45,052	+34,414	+323.50
4.	The Cheesecake Factory	88,643	+28,356	+47.04
5.	7-eleven	113,966	+4,740	+4.34
6.	The Blue Groove	15,216	+3,996	+35.61
7.	Anthropologie	21,557	+3,272	+17.89
8.	Target	467,875	+3,049	+0.66
9.	Staples	11,532	+2,649	+29.82
10.	Whole Foods Market	100,811	+2,304	+2.34
11.	Surfer Girl Bali	16,389	+2,138	+15.00
12.	GUESS? Inc.	85,844	+1,927	+2.30
13.	PacSun	87,006	+1,919	+2.26
14.	aerie by american eagle	141,384	+1,718	+1.23
15.	JCP Teen	9,888	+1,688	+20.59
16.	JCPenney	18,434	+1,638	+9.75
17.	lululemon athletica	54,256	+1,605	+3.05
18.	Sheetz	33,076	+1,567	+4.97
19.	Nordstrom, Inc.	12,956	+1,383	+11.95
20.	Gymboree	26,074	+1,243	+5.01

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Filed in Advertising, Business, Facebook, Marketing, Metrics, ViralCulture

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10 Responses to “Starbucks Becomes the Most Popular Brand on Facebook”

greg Says:
July 23rd, 2009 at 9:41 am
Given that they just posted a quarter with a 6% decline in sales after a quarter with an 8% decline in sales, I’m not sure popularity on Facebook is buying them nearly enough.
Web 2.0 Real Estate Marketing like the Pros | Greater Profits Group Says:
July 25th, 2009 at 5:20 am
[...] Starbucks Becomes the Most Popular Brand on Facebook (insidefacebook.com) [...]
JOe Says:
July 25th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Regardless of sales numbers, stock is at a 12 month high. When everyone in the market has bad news, it responds by picking the one with news that’s not quite as bad as the rest. Still at 50% of all time high but that will not be seen again soon, if ever.
Social media and the grocery store | Fun Anymore Says:
July 28th, 2009 at 10:55 am
[...] Starbucks Becomes the Most Popular Brand on Facebook (insidefacebook.com) [...]
Starbucks now most popular brand on Facebook [news_blog] | Ian Sherr Says:
July 28th, 2009 at 9:08 pm
[...] that huge fan base makes Starbucks the No. 1 brand, statistics compiled by the website Inside Facebook showed Starbucks as the 8th most popular “page,” behind Hollywood star Will Smith, [...]
Kitty Says:
July 31st, 2009 at 9:19 am
Thanks for the awesome list of companies. I have been trying to find lists so I can connect with my favorite brands – this was a big help!!
Razorfish Offers New Score for Measuring Social Marketing Influence Says:
August 2nd, 2009 at 12:47 pm
[...] that there is no such thing as a free lunch. Yes, brands with popular Facebook Pages such as Starbucks and Coke are able to enjoy easy viral distribution thanks to their huge fan followings, but [...]
Bursting the branding bubble | Innovation Toronto Says:
August 8th, 2009 at 8:52 am
[...] Starbucks Becomes the Most Popular Brand on Facebook (insidefacebook.com) [...]
Measuring Social Influence Marketing | JB's Personal Portfolio Says:
September 13th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
[...] – that there is no such thing as a free lunch. Yes, brands with popular Facebook Pages such as Starbucks and Coke are able to enjoy easy viral distribution thanks to their huge fan followings, but don’t [...]
Starbucks la marca mas popular en Facebook « Mercaderes Asociados Says:
September 18th, 2009 at 7:04 am
[...] lo registró Online Media Dayly y apareció en los registros de la empresa que compila los datos Inside Facebook. También resultó ser, en la misma semana, la marca de mejores resultados en términos de [...]