The Specialty Coffee Chronicle

COFFEE SOCIAL MEDIA
Caribou takes the coffeehouse conversation online
Branch out with a viral marketing strategy and connect with your customers today
Mark Prince geeks out on social media
Social networking best practices
a publication of the specialty coffee association of america
2009 issue No.5
A Publication of the Specialty Coffee Association of America
2009 issue no. 5
7 Caribou Coffee Takes the Coffeehouse

Conversation Online
20 Attract More Customers Using Social Media

By Dr. Rachna D. Jain By Suzanne Brown
f eat ur es
By Alfredo V. Martel Like Caribou, are you already using social media and enjoying the benefits? If not, Caribou encourages you to explore the possibilities. Heres what theyve learned.
21 Social Media Moves Coffee to the Global Stage 22 Track Your Social Media
Your Coffee Business; Classifieds Efforts; Industry Calendar
9 Social Media File: Forrest Graves,

The Chronicle spotlights one specialty coffee roaster thats finding value in the social media phenomenon. CoffeeGeeks Mark Prince talks candidly about his views on social media. Whos doing it well? What mistakes can you avoid? Get the scoop from a coffee industry (and social media) expert.
Jumpin Goat Coffee Roasters
23 Five Social Media Tips for
10 Geeking Out on Social Media

13 Social Media File: Dave Lanning,

Coffeehouse owner Dave Lanning shares his social media experiences. Has it helped his business? Find out. By Jason Simon Twitter just may be the online coffeehousea place where you can enjoy a cup of coffee in a corner and quietly listen to conversations or strike one up. By Aaron Kiel Melitta, a coffee, filters and electrics company, jumps into the social media scene. Was it worth it?
Daves Coffee
4

By Aaron Kiel Take advantage of social media sitessuch as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebookto connect with existing and new customers and to share your brand experience. This is your opportunity to branch out.
14 Twitter as a Coffeehouse

Coffee & Social Media
15 The Social Media Newbie
16 On Social Media Best Practices and

Common Mistakes
The Chronicle interviews the Specialty Coffee Association of Americas new marketing manager and resident social media specialist, Tara Shenson. By Larry Weintraub Hear from a digital marketing and social media expert, and get some valuable advice to help you get started today.
Ex
18 Get Social: Follow These Steps

13
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SCAAs 2010 Symposium
Executive Director Ric Rhinehart ricr@scaa.org Executive Editor Tracy Ging tging@scaa.org Managing Editor Aaron Kiel akiel@akprgroup.com Art Director Tiffany Howard tiffany@tiffolio.com
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Contributors: Damon Brown Suzanne Brown Thomas Gennara Dr. Rachna D. Jain Alfredo V. Martel Jason Simon Larry Weintraub
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2009/2010 BOARD OF DIRECTORS President, Mike Ebert 1st Vice President, Peter Giuliano 2nd Vice President, Tim OConnor Secretary/Treasurer, Shawn Hamilton
SCAA 330 Golden Shore, Suite 50 Long Beach, CA 90802 TEL: (562) 624-4100 FAX: (562) 624-4101 www.scaa.org
The Specialty Coffee Chronicle is published six times a year by the Specialty Coffee Association of America as a forum for discussion and information on industry-related topics and issues. The Chronicle welcomes and will consider for publication articles, columns or firsthand accounts of life in the specialty coffee industry from SCAA members. Opinions expressed in articles and letters do not necessarily represent the position of the SCAA, its members or directors.
The Chronicle is printed on 100% recycled paper containing 50% post-consumer waste.
Directors: Marty Curtis, Nathalie Gabbay, Al Liu, Ellie Hudson-Matuszak, Max Quirin, Ellen Rogers, Dr. Timothy Schilling, Paul Thornton Immediate Past President, Mark Inman
Copyright 2009 Specialty Coffee Chronicle. All Rights Reserved.
The Specialty Coffee Chronicle
On the Cover: When it comes to social media, were all connected. What a great way to reach new and existing customers. Come on, give it a try. Branch out into the world of social media. Illustration by Damon Brown, The InkLab Studio.
Coffee
SOcial Media
Social media is here to stay, and forward-thinking coffee companies are joining the online conversation. Whether youre new to social media or a savvy tweeter, youll find inspiration in this special edition of The Chronicle.
by Aaron Kiel
www.scaablog.org
tarbucks does it. So does Jumpin Goat Coffee Roasters, Daves Coffee, Melitta, Caribou Coffee and Gloria Jeans Coffees, to name a few. Are you among the numerous coffee businesses that are taking advantage of social media and networking sitessuch as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebookto connect with existing and new customers and to share your brand experience?
Today, social media is widely used for marketing, to gather news and information, for research and to connect with other professionals. In fact, in a Business.com survey, nearly 65 percent of respondents reported using social media as part of their normal work routine, including reading blogs, visiting business profiles on sites like Facebook or LinkedIn, or using Twitter to find information and/or to communicate about business-related matters. Micah Walker, regional development manager for Gloria Jeans Coffees International, believes that the social media phenomenon is making our world a smaller and more exciting place to live, work, connect and socialize over a cup of coffee. The coffee industry should be taking notice of this wave of new social media in a big way, says Walker. Social media systematically addresses one of the major global trends in retail today, which is enhancing speed and efficiency of information to your marketplace. At Gloria Jeans Coffees, many of their 37 operating markets are using Facebook events, tweets and even YouTube to introduce new marketing campaigns, build brand awareness and interact with their national and global guest networks online, live and 24-seven. Gloria Jeans also takes the networking aspect of social media and applies the concept to its own global portal, which they call Gloria, where the companys 20,000 team members and franchise partners connect and share ideas live through forums.
she explains. Im sure most of us are old enough to remember the death of the vinyl record. I can remember thinking cassette tapes were cutting edge. Now, I couldnt play one portably unless I had a vintage walkman. And even then, it would only be out of nostalgia. Why would you use a cassette if you had an iPod? Social media will overtake other forms of communication, albeit gradually, because of the power it offers the user. And, 99 percent of the time, its free.
Are You New to Social Media?

If youre feeling a bit uneasy about all this, youre not alone. Marketers are mostly new to social media, reports author Michael Stelzner in his 2009 white paper, How Marketers Are Using Social Media to Grow Their Business. A significant 88 percent of marketers surveyed are using social media to market their businesses, says the study, but 72 percent have only been doing so for a few months or less. In Business.coms survey, most respondents were relatively new to business social media with 35 percent having spent less than one year managing or involved with social media initiatives and another 30 percent having between one and two years of direct experience.
Living the Brand via Social Media

While its clear that many companies and professionals are newbies when it comes to the social media scene, others are off and running. One company thats undoubtedly a social media authority is Biggbys Coffee, which is taking its efforts to a higher level. Bob Fish (known by his Twitter followers as BiggbyBob) is CEO and co-founder of East Lansing, Mich.-based Biggby Coffee, a leading coffee retailer in the Midwest with 106 stores in five states, including Alabama, Michigan, Ohio, South Carolina and Wisconsin. Fish began his social media efforts about 18 months ago with a simple blog (www. biggbybob.com), to extend his personality as CEO to the online world. When Id visit the Biggby stores, Id meet customers, staff or franchisees, says Fish, and when I met them, Id carry this little flip digital camera. Id ask them some questions and then post that to the blog. That was my first foray into social media. From there, Fish added Facebook and Twitter to Biggbys repertoire, but admits it didnt appear to be a perfect fit at first. I wasnt really a social media kind of guy. Although, retrospectively, I was because what one does in a store when theyre operating a coffeehouse is very similar to how you might engage on social media. Looking back at the first time he sat down to write a tweet, Fish recalls how he wasnt sure what to say. People dont want to know whether Im brushing my teeth or not, says Fish. Thats sort of the common thing that you get. They dont want to know that I just woke up, but they would be kind of interested in knowing what my favorite coffee is, or what I just drank last, or if I was in a store and what happened at that store. It took Fish about six months to find his social media voice and for everything to fall into place. Today, he has about 3,000 followers on Twitter and hes exchanged his
Defining Social Media

Indeed, many coffee industry companies like Gloria Jeans are diving into social media to connect with customers. And, according to Business.coms Business Social Media Benchmark Study, the average company has a presence on three different social media sites. But what is social media? Tara Shenson, the Specialty Coffee Association of Americas (SCAA) marketing manager and social media expert-at-large, says, Social media is any platform that allows people to transfer information that has the potential to become viral, or re-transmitted exponentially. The first manifestation of this was the e-mail. Of course, now there are literally thousands of variations of the idea, but not unlike the wild, survival of the fittest will claim most of them. A big part of success in the social media world is selection. Shenson says that social media is much more than a fad because of the potential it holds. I would liken the development of social media to any other extinction of a technology,
Consider social media and determine if its right for your business.
Get Started Today
In this issue o f The Chronicle, you ll fi social media in nd lots of spiration.
corner office to travel the United States in an effort to visit all 105 of his franchise locations and share his experiences through various social media networks. Part of the strategy of using social media is to have a dialogue with customers directly, says Fish. Typically, a CEO sits behind a desk and might give reports about customer comments, customer surveys or general information from franchisees or managers from stores. Whats different for me is I have a really strong relationship with customers directly. Here we have a oneone-one dialogue from customer to CEO. Fish, whos having a ton of fun meeting Biggby customers through social media, also takes his social networking face-to-face when he hosts Spot Bob events at stores. He uses the events to interact with employees, customers and fans, and to buy everyone coffee for two hours. Of course, anyone can follow those events on Fishs blog, through his Tweets or through the Biggby Be Happy Lounge (at www. bhappylounge.com), which acts as a social media portal for the company.
Certainly not all coffee businesses are going to embrace social media on the same level as Bob Fish and Biggbys Coffee. However, experts say that its important to consider social media and determine if its right for your business. I think that many people are scared of using social media, and it certainly can be intimidating if you arent a regular computer user, says SCAAs Shenson. But the reality is that most, if not all, of your customers and your potential customers are using it. If you arent a part of the conversation, how do you monitor it? This is not a situation where you can pull the covers over your head and hope that if you cant see it, it cant see you. Shenson points out that like it or not, members of the numerous social media sites are probably already talking about your business, product or service. Dont you want to know what they are saying? she asks. In this issue of The Chronicle, youll find lots of inspiration from coffee companies like Caribou Coffeewho recently topped 22 million viral impressions on Facebookand advice from experts, including the digital marketing pros at Los Angeles-based Fanscape. Use these stories and wisdom as a launching pad, and get started on your social networking journey today.
doubtedly a n u s t a h t y n One compa is Biggbys y it r o h t u a social media is taking its efforts h Coffee, whic level. to a higher
add art
I wasnt really a social media kind of guy. Although, retrospectively, I was because what one does in a store when theyre operating a coffeehouse is very similar to how you might engage on social media.
-Bob Fish, Biggby Coffee
Bob Fish (aka BiggbyBob), CEO and cofounder of Biggby Coffee, settles in with new franchisees. Fish creatively uses social media to connect with customers, coffee fans and franchisees.
Copyright 2008 Thomas Gennara
Branch Out with Social Media

Caribou Coffee Takes the Coffeehouse Conversation Online, Connects with Customers and Generates 23 Million Viral Impressions via Facebook
Story by Alfredo V. Martel / Illustration by Damon Brown
n order for companies to thrive, they must adapt their products, services and communications to changing consumer demands and growing cultural trends. When Caribou Coffee first opened its doors in 1992, much of the world was trying to grasp the concept of e-mail. Today, our consumers are using the Internet as a primary outlet for communication and research, and to inform purchasing decisions.
For Caribou customers, a big part of their purchase decision is based on their coffeehouse experience. When they walk through the doors, they expect a premium product served in a fun, relaxed and friendly atmosphere. At Caribou, we enjoy these connections with our customers and look for additional opportunities to enhance this experience and our customer relationships. Knowing that the conversations our customers were having within our stores were also occurring online, we decided to go a step further and gain additional knowledge about those types of exchanges. How do our customers talk about Caribou with their friends online? What modes of electronic communication do they prefer? How can we make their experience with us even better? In 2009, Caribou dove into social media and realized valuable benefits for our company, our customers, our communities and our investors. This business decision has provided us the opportunity to communicate information, learn about our customers, give them the chance to interact with each other and show the world more of our personality.
we distributed thousands more dollar-off coupons after the first 10,000 free coupons were sent; our average visitor wilded up 10 photos and spent nearly nine minutes with the app; and we received 23 million viral impressions when our Facebook friends shared the app with others. Our Facebook activities allow us to engage our fans on a deeper level. It provides a great forum for our customers and other interested people to tell us exactly what they think about our service and our products. With Facebook, we can tell where were succeeding, and where we need to improve, in real time. If you decide to use Facebook, consider these tips: Post timely information and engage your consumer base frequently. Be sure to give your Facebook fans an opportunity to respond to your information and engage in a conversation. You have an audienceask them questions! (And be prepared for their answers.) Certain activities, such as applications, require Facebook approval, so work with Facebook to develop this tool and optimize it to its fullest potential.
As recently as 2008, we communicated with our customers in two electronic ways: via our Web site and through e-mail blasts that Web visitors could sign up to receive. The e-mails told customers about in-store promotions, with coupons and alerts about specialty drinks and other products. Thats not a bad way to communicatewe still send e-mails to a lot of peoplebut the give-and-take of two-way communication within social media was missing. So, we began actively using Facebook, Twitter and YouTube Web videos to speak with consumers, listen to their responses and, possibly most important, hear what they say to each other. We encouraged all this dialogue by sprinkling our e-mail blasts with links to the Caribou fan page on Facebook and invitations to follow us on Twitter.
From e-Mail to Tweets
Were using Twitter to connect on the fly with Caribou fans through a variety of postings and to direct consumers to our Web site and Facebook page for more on promotions and new product launches. Twitter is a great way to communicate quick product and promotion information. Currently, Caribou has more than 5,000 followers on Twitter.
Twitter
But first things first. We began by asking customers what social media they used. We found that the most loyal Caribou customers were on the social networking site Facebook. So we created our own page on Facebook to engage the Caribou fan base. We used Facebook to: offer promotions, such as online shopping discounts and free shipping; get feedback on drink flavors and store enhancements through brief surveys; help people find Caribou locations with a store finder function; recruit employees by publicizing Caribou job fairs through Facebooks events feature; and give fans a forum to interact and share their ideas. Our fan page on Facebook launched in June 2009. In four weeks, our fan base grew to 116,000 individuals. The fan page kicked off with a Facebook application created to promote our Wild Cooler beverageseight iced coffee drinks perfect for cooling off on a hot summer day.
Facebook Fan Page
We promoted our fall beverage line through a series of animated Web videos starring a pumpkin (Jack) and gourd (Gourdo). The Autumn Adventures of Jack & Gourdo is a series of 30-second vignettes that carried the creative elements of our in-store signage, providing in- and out-of-store integration. YouTube proved to be a great platform to use video outside a media buy and with a limited budget. And our presence on Facebook and Twitter helped us promote the videos inexpensively.
YouTube
At Caribou Coffee, we like to say that although we take our coffee seriously, we dont take ourselves too seriously. Our Wild Coolers Facebook application, called Wild It Up, gave us an opportunity to share our quirky personality with users by encouraging them to add graphics and iconssuch as eye patches, tattoos, gold chains or scuba gearto their Facebook profile photos. Consumers who posted photos received a coupon for a free Wild Cooler beverage. One intention of this promotion, as with all of our digital efforts, was to bridge the digital and physical (retail) spacein other words, get people to walk into one of our stores. Facebook users like to manipulate their own content and make it personal, and Wild It Up gave them the opportunity to use their own photos and share them with friends. Through our Wild Coolers Facebook application: we gave out 10,000 free drinks in four weeks;
Facebook Application for Wild Coolers
Maybe your business is already using social media and enjoying the benefits of that involvement. If not, Id encourage you to explore the possibilities. Here are the primary lessons weve learned in our first uses of social media: Integrate your messages across all communications channels: online, in-store, print, video, etc. Make sure these efforts align, or risk missing opportunities. Dont use social media just for the sake of using social media. Use these tools to draw customers into your stores. Use social media creatively, infusing the unique characteristics of your business. For Caribou, these tools have allowed us to convey our fun, informal personality to the public in our own voice. Dont be afraid of what you hear. Be comfortable letting go and hearing what consumers think is working and what isnt. These are ideas and tactics companies of almost any size can try, so dont be shy about getting involved with social media, even on a modest level. The only way to develop best practices is to take the first step. Catch Up with Caribou Coffee: Twitter: www.twitter.com/caribou_coffee Facebook: www.facebook.com/cariboucoffee YouTube: www.jackandgourdo.com
Alfredo V. Martel is senior vice president of marketing for Caribou Coffee Company. Caribou operates nearly 500 company-owned locations in 16 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, and in several other countries. Visit www. cariboucoffee.com
Social Media and Your Business
SCAA Member Social Media File:
Social media has been a vehicle in what I refer to as our TWO and TCO initiatives. If we can Take Work Outor TWO or Take Cost OutTCOby networking then we are positively affecting our bottom line costs.
Jumpin Goat Coffee Roasters Forrest Graves finds creative uses of social media to grow his business.
Forrest Graves
Company: Jumpin Goat Coffee Roasters Segment: Jumpin Goat Coffee Roasters is a specialty coffeeroaster, coffee retail, coffee wholesale and consultancy business. Networks: Twitter @ www.twitter.com/jumpingoat Facebook @ www.facebook.com/jumpingoat Blog @ www.jumpingoat.com/blog LinkedIn @ www.linkedin.com/in/forrestgraves Benefits: Social media has been a vehicle in what I refer to as our TWO and TCO initiative, explains Graves. If we can Take Work Outor TWOor Take Cost OutTCOby networking, then we are positively affecting our bottom line costs. If executed perfectly, we also affect top line revenue. Our endeavor is to strike a balance between the two. Success: As a LinkedIn member, I joined a printing community group inside Linkedin, says Graves. I cast an RFP for short run printed labels. We needed to reduce spend and amp service. The RFP was answered by many companies, all at once, vying for our label business. We had nearly instant results, received fiercely competitive pricing, reduced our cost and time to get it, and increased our time to market.The community was able to learn our preferences on the fly, we built a small amount of brand equity, a strong reach with our messaging, direct communication, and I think we even got a few new customers out of it. Reducing Cost is one component of Jumpin Goats networking strategy and its a nice balance to finding or retaining customers. Advice: Develop a written social media and social networking strategy with budgetary and time consideration, says Graves. Focus on qualitative rather than quantitative connections. Identify and target your addressable audience. Set appropriate expectations and ask yourself, What does social success look like for your company? and then map to that. Favorite: LinkedIn is my favorite largely because it is business centric. LinkedIn provides the community continuity I look for in business relationships. In this economy, driving the competition is one of the keys to low price and great service, says Graves. Web: www.jumpingoat.com
Geeking Out
on Social Media
Q&A: Get inspired by CoffeeGeeks Founder, Senior Editor and SCAA member Mark Prince, who boasts 42,000 die-hard coffee fans at his interactive hub (which relaunches in 2010).
Interview by Aaron Kiel
s the founder and senior editor of CoffeeGeek (www. coffeegeek.com), a community and educational Web site for coffee and espresso lovers, Mark Prince certainly knows his way around the social media landscape, and he understands its value to the specialty coffee industry. The Chronicle chats with Prince, a noted expert and Specialty Coffee Association of America member.
10 The Specialty Coffee Chronicle
Question: As someone in the industry who has done a tremendous
job at creating an online community and resource for coffee professionals, you must have some thoughts on the social media craze, right?
Answer: For sure, some big thoughts. We make use of various forms
of social media, and one thing in particular Ive noticed is how things like Twitter and Facebook have made people shift away from personal blogging about coffee and espresso and move more towards social interactive, at the moment, discussions revolving around coffee and espresso. Social media is a big thing to the mainstream recently, but its been part of the Internet since the World Wide Web went more or less live back in the early 1990s. I can remember a Web site called The Fray, where people would get their short stories published, and the site allowed for interactive feedback, something Id not seen before on the Internet, at least at that time. Thats social media in its earliest form, I guess. Then came the diarists, people who just had a little slice of the Internet, be it on something like Geocities or their own vanity domain page and, in some cases, they installed comment engines to let people reply to their thought and idea streams. Blogging is, of course, the next big thing, and blogging was just a way for more people to become online diarists. The software, like
Blogger.com, was pre-built, so you didnt have to do your own mucking around with complex HTML and server coding because someone else was handling the heavy-lifting on the coding side. Bloggers got more and more tools to interactcomments systems, rate this post, rate this comment, notify on follow-ups, post a poll, you name it. What we had here was a race to make things more efficient, more timely and much more easy for the average Joe to do things. The average Joe probably found Blogger.com and other sites like LiveJournal difficult, so things like Friendster.com and Myspace.com came along, and people once again could use a wide arrangement of social media tools to put their lives online and interact with like souls. Friendster, for example, was the first big thing to create your own personal posse, for lack of a better term. You could have a circle of friends, see what your friends were doing or typing or photographing in almost real time. You just had to log onto the Web site to see it. Facebook is kind of an evolution of MySpace plus Friendster. It combined the best of bothand fortunately left out the worst of both, including MySpaces horrible designsand added even more ways to interact and see things in real time. Creating a Facebook page is an absolute no brainer for most folkseven my Dad and Step Mom have a Facebook page. But it also added new features, like the news feed, status updates and the works. Early on, it also allowed you to receive things from your feed on most cell phones. Twitter is really, in a way, the evolution of one of Facebooks most popular features, along with another very trendy and addictive thing for many people: status updates and text messaging. Twitter also takes people to the absolute minimal effort level to get their voice out there. Gone are complex Web layouts and the task of choosing what services and features youll have for interactivity on your pre-built Web site. Instead, Twitter allows for real time stream-of-consciousness typing and information sharing with people who choose to follow you. By following you, they choose to see what you have to say, in a real time format, on their Twitter page and on their cell phone devices, if Twitters native text messaging system is enabled for their account. All of this has evolved into getting people to express their thoughts, their ideas, and their social discourse in a very interactive, direct and real time way. Its a long, long way from the days of alt.coffee bulletin board postings.
Question: How does CoffeeGeek take advantage of social
Were doing the same with YouTube, Vimeo and Flickrall are getting an immersion into the new CoffeeGeek site, not just for our use as the site publishers and writers, but were going to be incorporating some very cool API-controlled services for our 42,000 members. Last but certainly not least, in our complete rebuild of CoffeeGeek. com, were going to be incorporating a lot of our own social media stuff. Were heavily borrowing from the success of Facebook and Twitter, but were writing the code from scratch and giving it a very coffee community-oriented spin. Our membership will have their own Facebook-style page and services on the new Web site, but were designing and engineering some very cool coffee and espresso centric services into it all.
Question: Whats your advice for coffee companies utilizing social
media?
Answer: The best advice I can give any company using services
like Flickr, Facebook, Twitter and the like is understand that social media is social. It is meant to be interactive. Use it purely as a one way marketing vehicle and you will fail. Understand that as you post things, people will respond. How you deal with the responses will ensure your popularity. Use Twitter, for example, for marketing at times, like announcing what new seasonal coffee you have this week or a special on Gaggia espresso machines next week, or whatever. But put a personal touch on what you write. Talk about a great coffee you had. Talk about the thrillthe genuine thrillyou got using a new machine youve never used before. Talk about this weeks challenges in roasting or last weeks challenge in getting your espresso blend back to the taste profile you want, because you had to change what green you used. The same rules apply to Facebook. Dont just set up a fan page
media?
CoffeeGeeks Mark Prince uses the power of social media to build an online forum and community at his Web site.
Answer: I found out about Twitter, for example, very early on
and grabbed www.twitter.com/coffeegeek while the service was still very nascent and not too many people knew exactly what to do with it all. I let it sit for a few months, but then slowly just started posting tweets. Over the last two years, Ive evolved it quite a bit. Im past 5,000 tweets now in just 18 months, and the vast majority of those posts are coffee or espresso related. I use Twitter as a quick-info sounding board, for announcing the winner of a barista competition, for example. I also have the occasional CoffeeTweetQuestions Tuesday, where people can ask me a coffee or espresso related question in 140 characters or less, and I try to answer them where I can, in the same 140 characters or less. I recently started posting a Coffee and Espresso Photo of the Day to Twitter, which has proven quite popular. Ive made it known that Ill try to answer most questions thrown my way via Twitters @ functionalityso I usually answer at least 10 or 15 queries a day that way on coffee and espresso. I also use Twitter to organize on-thefly meet-ups and such at cafes. When we started up the CoffeeGeek Lab last summer, Twitter figured heavily into the launch with me announcing open-visit Fridays to the Lab all summer long. Twitter was probably responsible for over 100 consumers finding out about the Lab and enquiring about visiting. Last but not least, I use Twitter to talk about coffees, equipment and brewing methods with micro-reviews. We also use Facebook quite a bit. We have a Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/coffeegeek, and when we launch the new version of CoffeeGeek in 2010, well be using Facebooks Application Programming Interface (API), to really incorporate some very cool features right into our Web site.
The Specialty Coffee Chronicle 11
and blast out your PR. Make your Facebook fan page interactive and inclusive. Become fans of other companies in coffee, even competitors, and link in positive ways to their stories and quips. Encourage the community youre having access to and engage them, and it will reflect very well on your companys stature. On the visual and auditory media sites like Flickr, YouTube, Vimeo and others, follow the same rules. These sites tend to be more one way communication; you post a video or photo and people watch, but they have built in social media interactions. For example, you create friend and contact lists, you comment on other photos and videos and others do the same with yours. Engage, interact and show that your Flickr or YouTube presence is more than just a marketing tool; its a two way connection between a company and its customers.
Question: Who in the industry is doing a good job of utilizing social
Answer: I do! Many of the folks and companies I singled out
media?
Answer: I have a pretty long list because many coffee folks on
Twitter, for example, are doing a phenomenal job. Ive even compiled lists of my favorite tweeters, which can be found on my own Twitter feed, but Ill try to single out a few. Folks like @JimSeven [James Hoffmann], @hasbean [Stephen Leighton] are using Twitter in brilliant ways. They engage in conversation quite readily, and even initiate many discussions, but also use their Twitter streams to talk about products, to point to other social media interactions, to point to podcasts, and to talk about services they offer. Many folks think that James Hoffmanns blogging history played a helpful part in his run up to the World Barista Championship, Jim himself included. Company Twitter accounts like @49thparallel [49th Parallel Coffee Roasters] and @CremaRoasting [Crema Coffee Roasting Company] use their Twitter accounts in similar fashions to Jim and Steve, but theyve chosen to represent as a company, not an individual. Some of my other favorite industry social media folks are Gimme! Coffee, for both their Twitter feeds but also their blogs, Transcend Coffee for Twitter and video blogging, PTs Coffee for Twitter, and even La Marzocco for Twitter and their new blog. But many others are taking great steps in social media as well.
Question: Do you have any pet peeves when it
understand that Twitter and other social media platforms are interactive, two-way communication platforms operating in near-real time. Its not a vehicle for just spewing out marketing dribble and ignoring any kind of replies or attempts at the social aspect of it all. Probably the worst type of company or person within social media is the numbers fanaticthe company, person or marketer who will follow anyone and everyone on Twitter or Facebook in the hopes that they can boost their own follower count. In the coffee and espresso biz there are a lot like this. On Twitter, you can usually spot them right away. Theyll follow you but stop following within 24 hours if you dont follow back. Or, when they join, they have something like 2,000 people they follow within the first week. On other social sites, theyre the type who will make everyone a friend or contact as soon as new people join in with their own member accounts. Tied with that for worst place are the people and companies using social media as a massive one-way blasting of PRevery single post they make is marketing. They ignore attempts at interaction, and put no soul whatsoever into what they post and manage via their social media. I can tell you that I unfollow these types pretty quickly on Twitter, and rarely join their fan pages on Facebook.
Question: In your opinion, whats the future of social media and the
coffee industry?
Answer: Things constantly evolve. Four years ago, if you had
told me about the concept of Facebook, I dont think I would have understood it. Three years ago, if you told me about the concept of Twitter, again, Id be confused and not quite sure of the purpose. On the Internet, these new social media next-big-things constantly happen. Theres no way I can predict the future, but I feel comfortable saying this: Social media places equal weight on both of its words to be successful. It is the manipulation and use of media in all forms, be it video, audio, visuals or the written or spoken word. Social is also crucial; it is social media because its success is directly related to its level of interactivity, communication and real-time happenings. As long as you never forget the social part and discover how best to use the media part, no matter what comes along next, you should be able to figure it out. You can follow Mark Prince and CoffeeGeek at twitter.com/ coffeegeek or become a fan at facebook.com. Visit coffeegeek.com.
comes to social media?
CoffeeGeek Plans relaunch
for 2010
In 2001,
when CoffeeGeek was launched, there were no community Web sites, review or education sites dedicated to coffee and espresso, nor any coffee-related forums. Indeed, the launch of CoffeeGeek.com changed all of that. Over the years, the site has seen two overhauls and many minor design and content tweaks, but in early 2010, the CoffeeGeek site will see its first complete overhaul since 2004. The CoffeeGeek Web site will continue to have all the features and elements that have made the Web site the mostvisited and read coffee resource online, such as popular interactive forums, how tos and detailed guides, and product reviews by members and professional reviews by CoffeeGeek staff. But all of these will get some major retooling to bring them in line with current-day expectations of a cutting edge Web site providing these kinds of interactive services. Brand new elements will also be introduced, including a very Facebook-style members section complete with custom news feeds, ways to set up your own personal network of friends on the site and much more. Perhaps the biggest change coming to the new version of CoffeeGeek is the introduction of a professional blogone emulating the successful blogs the tech world has seen, including Engadget and Gizmodo. CoffeeGeek will have a core of approximately 20 bloggers from around the world, all contributing stories, content, reviews and localized information into the new CoffeeGeek Blog, with plans to have as many as 10 to 15 updates a day or more.
SCAA Member Social Media File:
Social media has given Daves Coffee a set of Dumbosized ears for listening to its customers.
Dave Lanning
Company: Daves Coffee Segment: Daves Coffee is a single, stand-alone coffeehouse with a strong local customer base. Its primary focus is on coffee, but they also bake fresh muffins and pastries daily on premises. Their coastal location provides a substantial boost in traffic during the summer months, and they provide free Internet terminals for customer use and offer free Wi-Fi, foosball and a television-all located in a cozy 17th century New England farmhouse. Networks: Blog @ www.davescoffee.com Twitter @ www.twitter.com/davescoffeebar Facebook @ www.facebook.com/pages/daves-coffee/55485723131 Benefits: Social media has given Daves Coffee a set of Dumbo-sized ears for listening to its customers. Social media platforms give Daves Coffee customers a soapbox to speak their mind about what Daves is doing right or wrong. Its the ultimate method for getting valuable feedback on their business. Success: Daves Coffee has a substantial increase in business during the summer months due to the fact our location is in a highly traveled tourist area, says Lanning. The result is that we tend to lose a good portion of our locals that dont want to deal with the often overcrowded bar and long lines. This past summer, we created a secret VIP Twitter account that was reserved for the sole use of our locals. Our promise was that we would have their order ready and waiting within five minutes of receiving their Tweet. We set up a special area where locals could come in and get their drinks without dealing with the tourists. This created a sense of exclusivity, was novel and showed our commitment and concern for taking care of our year-round customers while not offending our tourist business. Advice: Focus on the frequency and quality of your interactions with your social media efforts, and avoid the trap of feeding your ego with the size of your audience/followers/fans, advises Lanning. Having five people interact with your company on a regular basis is worth much more than an audience of 5,000 that you never hear from. Favorite: Facebook is my social media outlet of choice, shares Lanning. The platform is more intimate than other social media outlets. Facebook fans tend to be much more selective about what shows up in their streams, keep their stream cleaner, and as a result pay more attention to what flows through their stream. Generally, people using Facebook will not friend people they dont know, and wont fan a company that they are not interested in. This allows for a very intimate setting and tight community. Being in this tight community is a good place for Daves Coffee to be. Web: www.davescoffee.com
Dave Lanning, of Daves Coffee, says social media is the ultimate method for getting valuable feedback on his business.
Twitter as a Coffeehouse
By Jason Simon
Do you want to know what your local coffeehouse is brewing today? Send a tweet. Do you want to know what your favorite roaster is blending today? Send a tweet. Do you have a question about a new espresso machine that just went on sale? Send a tweet. Do you want to know about the coffee Arabica trees harvested in Guatemala? Send a tweet. Do you have a question about the SCAAs Symposium & Exposition in April 2010? Send a tweet @SpecialtyCoffee. Coffeehouses and coffee businesses are joining the conversation online, sharing information, connecting with current and potential customers, building community and increasing brand recognition. Coffee drinkers want to know more about the coffee they drink and coffee businesses can quickly reply. In 2008, The Coffee Groundz (@ CoffeeGroundz) in Austin, Tex. accepted the first known order via a tweet. And new ways of using Twitter are emerging everyday. To get started, create a Twitter account and secure your coffee business name, upload a recognizable image, modify your background, provide a short bio and create a game plan of how youd like to communicate with your followers. Then, join the conversation and submit your first tweet. How about, Excited to join the coffee conversation online. Follow me to learn about XYZ business or product. If you have any questions, dont be shy; there is much to learn. Ask away and a fellow coffee aficionado like me will likely reply.
Connect with Jason Simon, of Caffeinated Conversations, via www.caffeinatedconversations.com or follow him on Twitter @coffeeshopchat.
njoying a cup of coffee at a local coffeehouse, I flip open my laptop and launch Twittera social networking service that enables its users to send and read messages of 140 characters or less, also known as tweets.
A coffee aficionado friend of mine sends a tweet, letting me know that hes enjoying a single origin espresso. Back and forth we go, tweeting about coffee, politics and the oddity that were participating in an online conversation while relaxing in different coffeehouses. Our caffeinated conversation continues until I shift to my left and strike up a face-to-face. Twitter is unique because its like an online coffeehouse where you can quietly enjoy coffee in a corner, listening to what others have to say, or strike up a conversation on your own. But on Twitter, you dont have to speak loudly to be overheard. Eavesdropping is very much encouraged and makes it a very powerful social media tool. When coffeehouses emerged in London during the mid 1600s, they became synonymous with trade and news, establishing themselves as the natural home of merchants, people of science and philosophers of various types. They ultimately provided a location for the overlapping interests of commerce and politics, stimulating debates and conversations that continue to shape our world today. While nothing can replace face-to-face conversation or the experience of flipping the page of a newspaper or pamphlet, the compression of space and time made possible by the Internet is allowing people to communicate and share information in ways once never thought possible. The networked society is making online conversations possible, and Twitter, one of many useful social media tools, has taken this to the next level.
Newbie
Melittas Donna Gray Shares About Her Coffee Companys Foray into the World of Twitter and Facebook
By Aaron Kiel
The Social Media
onna Gray, director of public relations for Melitta, says her company has always been passionate about having two-way communications with consumers and hearing what they have to say about their coffee, filters and electrics. We have very loyal consumers and we have always been focused on getting their feedback, she says. By engaging them through social media, we are able to stay much closer to our consumers and get their input on our products, service and innovation.
Melitta, a member of the Specialty Coffee Association of America, began its social media ventures in conjunction with the launch of its Caf Collection, a new premium line of six coffees. We felt it was a great time to engage our consumers further, says Gray. We can learn more about the needs and wants of our consumers and stay better informed about Donna Gray what they are looking for and our brand in general. We want to continue to be relevant to our consumers. We are proud of our innovation and giving our customers quality products they enjoy at a price they can afford. To kick things off, Melitta identified what they wanted to get out of the process and started with the basics of Twitter and Facebook. The launch of our new premium line of coffees, Caf Collection, is significant for us and has been in the works for a long time, says Gray. We felt the timing of that was a perfect springboard for our social media program, so we began the internal plans. Its a work-in-progress for us.
Melitta uses Facebook to talk about its product launch and sampling events that are taking place. Were in the early stages of Twitter and are also talking about Caf Collection and sharing our passion for all things coffee, says Gray. Melitta also launched an Ask the President section on their Web site, which allows Melitta customers to have dialogue directly with the companys CEO. Consumer interaction touches many facets of our company, so it seemed like a natural fit to have public relations, marketing and our president and CEO involved in the social media strategy, explains Gray, who says that Melitta will increase its social media spending in 2010 to become a more important piece of the marketing mix. We are looking forward to expanding our efforts and continuing to have meaningful dialogue with our consumers, says Gray. Its been a great learning experience and enjoyable to have such a direct way to interact with customers about Caf Collection, our new ad campaign and other products. For Melitta, finding the right voice, measurement tools and setting goals have all been key elements of their launch. The company says its important to them that Melitta is represented in a straightforward and factual way. Also, because the social media platform is so new to everyone on their team, finding the right measurement tools to gauge their success has been challenging. However, even as newbies to social media, Melitta offers this advice for those coffee businesses who are just starting out: Have specific goals in mind before engaging in social media, says Gray. Do not just do it because it is getting a lot of buzz. Know your consumers so you can interact with them in a way thats meaningful and, of course, be direct and honest with them at all times.
Follow Melitta at www.twitter.com/melittausa or become a fan at www.facebook.com/pages/melitta/91304669759.
On Social Media Best Practices and Common Mistakes

Q&A: SCAAs New Marketing Manager and Social Media Fan, Tara Shenson
Interview by Aaron Kiel
s a new staff member of the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), Tara Shenson brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to aid the organization in its communications efforts. In her role as marketing manager, shes responsible for the associations social media outreach (as well as a whole host of other duties). The Chronicle talks with Shenson to learn more from her wisdom on new media and the Internet, and to get a sense of her social media vision for SCAA.
Question: What are the biggest benefits of implementing a social
media campaign?
Answer: Its extremely cost effective! All of the major platforms
Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, YouTube, etc.are free to use. But, I would say the largest benefit is the ability to speak directly to your customer, and be a presence in their daily lifeeven if they dont walk into your store that day. It also gives you the ability to market globally and expand your reach far past what you otherwise might have been able to accomplish through traditional media. Not everyone can afford to buy ad space in every country in the world, but you can create customers anywhere there is an Internet connection via social media.
Question: It may seem a bit overwhelming
for some coffee companies to get started with their social media efforts. What advice do you have for those businesses who cant find the time?
Answer: Social media is a commitment. Its not something you want to start and then give up on a few months later. You need to prioritize it the same way you would any other daily task, like cleaning the espresso machine. Set aside at least 30 minutes every day to update your status and respond to inquiries. You may be communicating via the Internet, but you are still speaking directly to your customers.
Tara Shenson
Question: Who should handle the social media efforts in a coffee
organization? Does it need to be the communications or marketing specialist?

Answer: Well, ideally it should be someone who enjoys using
social media and will actively be seeking out the next big community or innovative ways to spread information about your brand. That being said, it needs to also be someone with extreme tact and professionalism. You should trust that person to speak on your companys behalf to anyone in the world.
question: How costly is it for a coffee company to
get involved with social media?
Answer: Social media is almost always
free. In fact, I would advise companies against ever paying for registration on any social networking site. The costs come in with the appropriate branding of your profiles. You want to make sure that your image is consistent across all platformsand they all require different file specifications. A good graphic designer will be able to create a branding package for all of your social media profiles and pages.
Question: Common social media
Coffeehouses and coffee businesses are joining the conversation online, sharing information, connecting with current and potential customers, building community and increasing brand recognition.
mistakeswhat are they?
Answer: The biggest mistake I see is not
understanding the difference between advertising and spam. Spam is highly subjective in that it is really defined by being unwanted. One of the benefits of social media is that all of your followers have opted in by way of choosing to follow youbut they can opt out at any time. That being said, dont ONLY post sales info. Be a real person. Always strive to respond to your inquiries, post links to some of your vendors Web sites and thank people when it is called for. The golden rule exists on the Internet too! The other major mistake I often see is assuming that if you build it they will come. If you want followers, youve got to go out there and find them, particularly if you wish to be strategic about who follows you. And of course, there is the obvious one: Dont bring up religion or politics or engage in a discussion unless it is specific to an industry topic.
Question: If you had to recommend just one social media outlet to
To the experienced users, I would suggest taking a field trip to the social networking pages of your competitors and leveling the playing field. What are they doing that you arent? What are they not doing that you could incorporate into your strategy to set yourself apart? For that matter, you should be following and fanning all of your business competitors to keep up with what they are doing and saying. And, no matter how much you may want to, dont ever attack a competitor online. Its tacky, unprofessional, and ultimately the only one who ends up looking bad is you.
Question: How is SCAA getting involved with social media? Answer: We currently have a presence on Facebook and Twitter
be involved with, what would it be and why?
Answer: I would say Facebook. Its currently boasting much higher
user stats than Myspace and, quite honestly, I think Twitter will gradually fade into the background if they dont overhaul it soon and provide greater functionality. Facebook also has endless application possibilities that allow for viral distribution of your messages, and it doesnt allow fancy customization of your page so you dont need a graphic designer. Id keep my eye on YouTube as well. YouTube was acquired by Google in 2006, and its rapidly becoming the new search engine of choice. Every minute, 20 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube. I personally reference it more often than Google.
Question: Whats your best advice for a company just starting out
with social media, and whats your best advice for the company thats already off and running?
Answer: I would tell the company just starting out to pick two sites
[are you following SCAA yet?] and I am in the process of creating a YouTube channel. We also overhauled our blog [www.scaablog.org] to not only use as a conduit of information, but we also included links back to all of our other Web sites, HTML code for SCAA ads that other users can grab to add to their blogs to help support our events, links back to our social networking sites and the add this button underneath every post to make it easy for visitors to share stories with their friends. My goal is to raise our visibility not only to the industry but to the consumer as well, and to begin to educate a wider audience about what specialty coffee is and how to identify it. The entire staff of the SCAA is a really motivated group; we are always brainstorming ways to improve and expand our reach. That is one of the things I like the most about working here. I feel really lucky to have been included in such an amazing group of people, and to have been given the opportunity to put my geek skills to work for the specialty coffee industry. I think the best is yet to come!
they feel comfortable with and learn everything there is to know about using those sites. It is better, I think, to be the master of a few things than mediocre at many. I would also warn them against using those sites for personal networking. If you want your own private Facebook page, you can have itbut dont mix business and pleasure. Your customers should not have to endure your updates about a bad relationship or your take on last nights Gossip Girl.
Tara Shenson is the Specialty Coffee Association of Americas primary contact for event marketing, advertising, promotions and new media activities. She also works with the SCAA Events Committee. And if you are not a fan of the SCAA on Facebook or a follower on Twitter, she will hunt you down and make you one. Contact her at tshenson@scaa.org. The Specialty Coffee Chronicle 17
Follow These Steps

Launch a Social Media Strategy for Your Coffee Business by Listening, Planning and Responding Today
By Larry Weintraub
Social
Get
The first thing you want to do is listen. Just take some time to read conversational threads and, with an open mind, listen to your customer. Start with the free tools. No need to spend money yet. Just do a Twitter search (www.search.twitter.com) and see what comes up. For example, pop Peets Coffee into the Twitter search and youll see a stream of conversations. Some will be good: lalitd: Enjoying Peets Coffee at CVG again. The line at Starbucks is missing out. #fb Some will be bad: mel_1981: 1 manager looking around 2 ppl at register & 1 person making coffee for 7 ppl...oh Peets get a clue!! Some will just be mundane: superbetch09: At Peets Coffee on Broadway. Cute Barista! But within a matter of minutes youll have an idea about what people are saying about your product, right now! You can apply this to blog searches as well and discover what larger conversations are being had. Use free tools like Ice Rocket (www.icerocket.com) and Blog Pulse (www. blogpulse.com) that will list and link to all the conversations on blogs taking place that invoke your brands name. And go a step further than even many of the social media savvy do and pop your brands name into the search bar of Facebook, YouTube and Flickr. See what people are doing with your name. Either theyve dedicated a group to you or just tagged you in their descriptions of what they were doing or thinking when they uploaded their photos and videos. If you are willing to shell out a few bucks, you can enlist the support of some paid tools such as Radian6. These give you greater depth and insight into the people who are talking about you and can sometimes help you find your die-hard brand evangelists. As you will see if you follow these steps, finding out what people are saying about you is quite simple and quite eye-opening as well.
Listen
he coffee industry is an incredibly competitive space. So, the first question you probably ask yourself on a regular basis is, How do I distinguish myself from the competition? Right? Wrong. The first thing you need to ask is, What is my customer saying about me?
The great thing about social media is that you can find out the answer to that questionimmediately. Social media is the term used to describe the way people are conversing, openly on the Internet. It includes well known places like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr and hundreds of others. It also includes the countless blogs and Web sites where people openly discuss topics that interest them. Millions of people are having conversations on the Internet through these social media outlets, and the best thing about it is that you can actually see what people are saying. What you will discover once you dive in is that there are numerous conversations already being had about your brand. Meanwhile, trying to be everywhere and participate in all of those conversations is impossible. Knowing where to start can be daunting, but dont be frightened; here are some steps to make it a little less scary and much more manageable.
Now, hold yourself back from the immediate tendency to send an e-mail telling your detractors why they are wrong. Do that and youll quickly find yourself the butt of many jokes in the Twittersphere. Your customer is just letting you know how they feel. They are entitled to their opinion. Rather than being angry at them, you should reward them. Thank them for their patronage and encourage them to tell you other improvements they would like to see. You dont have to overthink this and dont feel a need to come up with the ultimate social media strategy. Just think about what you would like to accomplish. Here are three recommended areas of
Plan
concentration for your coffee companys social media strategy: 1. Customer Satisfaction Ultimately you want your customers to be happy and to return regularly. There are great social media tools to help you with this. Create polls and surveys that ask your customers for valuable feedback using free or low-cost applications such as the ones youll find at Survey Monkey (www.surveymonkey.com) and Soda Head (www.sodahead.com). There are numerous companies that provide these services and many will even give you the capability of popping the poll on to your Facebook page or company Web site. 2. Customer Loyalty Without diving into an entire loyalty tracking program, simply reward the people that populate your social networks. Ask yourself the question, Why would I follow me on Twitter? The number one reason is because of the rewards: the coupons. So reward them. Youll see the effects immediately, which will help you decide what rewards work best. 3. Positive Word of Mouth This is the holy grail. This is what you want more than anything. You want happy customers that tell others how great you are. This comes from making the customer feel heard, thanking them for their opinion, rewarding them
for speaking up, and incentivizing them to tell others about you. This can all be accomplished by devising a pro-active social media strategy that makes your customers feel special.
Now that you have the road map for how to interact with your customer through social media, you need a voice. The voice needs to be human, not someone from the corporation, someone like them. Make sure it is someone who has the time to commit and the knowledge and access to get things done. Do not go into this social media plan passively, it needs to be considered as important to you as your advertising, market research, public relations and customer service. It is all those rolled up into one. Put someone in charge who can make people feel special. Someone who really cares. If done right, that person will emerge as a focal point of the company and people will look to this employee as someone they can trust. And trust is what makes people return. Trust in your service, trust in the quality of your product, and trust in the value they will receive by purchasing your product.
Respond
Social media is one of the greatest innovations for all industries and the specialty coffee industry is no exception. It is incredibly cost-efficient and the results will most likely trump many of the marketing tactics youve used to date. By utilizing even the most modest of social media tools, you can hear what your customer is saying, which will enable you to improve your product dramatically. If you create a simple plan to utilize the free and easy to use social media platforms, you will see results quickly, foster loyalty and ultimately create positive word of mouth about your brand. Finally, if you do this, and you should, do it with the same passion that you put in to running your everyday business. Dont dabble in this, really make an effort. Social media isnt going anywhere. In fact, it is growing and getting better every day. Jump on board now while its still early and your competitors are looking the other way.
Larry Weintraub is the chief executive officer of Fanscape, a Los Angeles, Calif.-based marketing agency focused on reaching and activating the newest generation of Web and mobile savvy consumers through online and wireless media. He can be reached via www.fanscape.com.
Get Started Today
Social media isnt going anywhere. In fact, it is growing and getting better every day. Jump on board now while its still early and your competitors are looking the other way.
-Larry Weintraub, Fanscape
More Customers
Using Social Media
Attract
By Dr. Rachna D. Jain
ocial media is one of the fastest growing avenues of business promotion; done correctly, it can help your coffee company grow. At the most basic level, social media is a means for creating ongoing conversation with your existing and potential customers.
Whether you are a newly established coffee company or one that has been around for a while, there are several strategies you can use right now to build and extend your company brand, while connecting with more customers and positioning your company as the best choice for their coffee needs. The ultimate objective of your social media efforts should be to grow and develop a community of raving fans, people who rally around your brand and place it at the center of their lives. This is how you truly create and retain mindshare (and remember, whoever gets the most mindshare wins). The basic strategy of using social media to attract more customers rests on four basic principles: 1. Target 2. Brand 3. Engage 4. Convert
attention is the first step to making anything happen. To assist with branding, your company needs a centralized hub for your social media efforts. To get the most benefit, your hub should be a properly set up and optimized blog. Blogs are well favored by the search engines and are excellent at generating traffic. In order to be effective, blogs require frequent updating with relevant and timely content. Blogs provide a platform for you to share your enthusiasm and passion with the world. The goal of your content is to speak directly to your target reader and to pull back the curtain so your reader feels like they know and like you. In a sense, this is an opportunity to put a personal face on your company, and to show that its run by real live people.
The next step is to engage your customers. Get their opinions. Ask them for feedback. Create dialogue. The more your customers (or potential customers) are talking with you, the less likely they are to be connecting with other coffee companies. The goal of engagement is to deeply understand what your target market wants, needs and values, and then to give it to them. It is always wise to listen first, gather data and then respond.
Engage
Targeting refers to identifying who your ideal customer is, and finding out where they might be spending time online. Remember, customers are multi-faceted and often have multiple interests. Your goal is to find existing communities where your target market is already spending time. Once you have identified a strong profile of your target audience, youre ready to start building your companys presence within the social media sphere.
Target
The fourth step is to convert your target market into a paying client. While there are many factors which contribute to conversion, generally speaking, the company that listens to their client the best, and offers the most value, is going to be the top choice. The better you match your message to your market, the faster your conversions. By focusing first on these four facets of successful social media strategy, you will be better suited to selecting the technology and tools to help you execute your marketing plan. When you focus on strategy first, then technology, youll be well placed to attract more customers using social media, and youll have fun doing it.
Dr. Rachna D. Jain is the chief social marketer at The Mindshare Corporation. Jain works with business owners to develop and execute effective social media marketing strategies. She can be reached via www.mindsharecorp. com.
Convert
The first step of that process is to develop (or better promote) your companys brand. Branding refers to the way your company is perceived or experienced by your customers. The stronger your company brand, the more attention youll garner in social media. And
Brand
Social Media Moves Coffee
By Suzanne Brown
Global Stage
to the
hances are most of you dont remember when live stage performances were replaced by film. Then video replaced film, and now were in the digital age. We now have a growing number of powerful interactive tools to deliver messages, both professionally and socially.
Gartner research tracks trends in digital media and something they call the Hype curve. Social media is definitely in the early adopter portion of the Hype curve. What that means for the everyday business person is that what social media is today will be very different in value 18 months from now. So the question is how to determine the right approach to this emerging technology. And, more importantly, what does the coffee industry need to know, and how do we determine what is best for our businesses? Here are some suggestions I learned during a discussion with Mark McDonald, an independent contractor who specializes in digital marketing. Here are five top tips Mark recommends for building and maintaining your digital channel in todays marketplace. 1. Establish and maintain a Web site with content that frequently changes. Be sure that the site is tagged appropriately so that Google and other search engines can index it. New content does not need to be revolutionary; just be sure to update portions of your home page regularly, adding or replacing content. 2. Search Engine Optimization It is no longer enough just to build a Web site. Google and other leading search engines are constantly improving the quality of their indexing to make sure your site is delivered correctly. That means you have to stay relevant. Fresh content means better relevancy with the search engines. Next, you need to make sure your site is linked to other sites that share your market segment. Trade links with peers and others in the industry. And yes, setting up Facebook and LinkedIn accounts should always link back to your Web site. This means you will have to spend time maintaining your site to remain high in the online search results.
3. Consider paid inclusion on leading search engines. What is the cost of a potential customer searching online for a specific term? You set the price per click, and how much youre willing to spend each day. Never link directly to your home page on your Web site from a paid link. Create a specific campaign page that is designed to convert the lead with a name and an e-mail address. Be ready to act within minutes to a new lead. 4. One of the most important ways to use social media is to just join in the global digital discussion. Post on other blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. When you comment, avoid being too commercial. It is acceptable to discretely leave a link back to your site or better yet, an archived newsletter or article that will also add to the quality of the discussion. 5. Finally, once you have reached a certain level of confidence, consider adding a blog or building your own Facebook or LinkedIn page. Facebook is more for personal relationships and LinkedIn is more for business relationships. Coffee will span both. Blogs need to be updated daily. Be sure that the blog is nested within your Web site URL. Avoid using free third party services. Most Web hosting companies now provide a blog application for little or no cost. Again, you want to point traffic to your site, giving it better relevance with the search engines. These five tips are pertinent to all segments of the coffee industry. Does this mean to forego traditional marketing altogether? No, there still needs to be a marketing mix; the difference is that today businesses are vying for the right positioning to make a memorable impression on the global digital stage.
Suzanne Brown is owner/principal of Brown Marketing Communications LLC, based in Atlanta, Ga. She specializes in marketing strategies for the global coffee and tea industries. E-mail: suzanne@browncommunications.us The Specialty Coffee Chronicle 21
Track Your Social Media Efforts

Now that youve launched your social media campaign for your coffee business, how do you monitor online conversations? Business.coms Business Social Media Benchmark Study shows the most popular tools for tracking conversations.
Most Popular Tools for Monitoring Online Conversations
Visit the Specialty Coffee Association of Americas blog at: www.scaablog.org

Q: Which of the following does your company use to monitor online conversations across social media sites? Please check all that apply. Source: 2009 Business.com Business Social Media Benchmarking Study (n=1,024) 2009 Business.com
industry calendar
Jan. 4 8 SCAA Cupping Judge Course Hosted by: Coffee Solutions Location: Hopedale, Mass. Registration: www.coffeesolutions.net Jan. 4 8 SCAA Cupping Judge Course Hosted by: Just Cup Coffee Academy Location: Rosebud, Ark. Registration: www.qgrader.com Jan. 7 10 South Central Regional Barista Competition Hosted by: Cuvee Coffee Roasters Location: Austin, Texas Info: www.usbaristachampionship.org/ southcentral Jan. 18 22 SCAA Cupping Judge Course Hosted by: Just Cup Coffee Academy Location: Rosebud, Ark. Registration: www.qgrader.com Jan. 31 Feb. 9 Roasters Guild Origin Trip Sponsored by: Anacaf Location: Guatemala Info: www.roastersguild.org Feb. 11 14 Mountain Regional Barista Competition Hosted by: Barista Pro Shop Location: Fort Collins, Colo. Info: www.usbaristachampionship.org/ mountain Feb. 19 21 Southeast Regional Barista Competition Hosted by: Batdorf & Bronson Coffee Roasters and Everything Coffee & Tea Location: Atlanta, Ga. Info: www.usbaristachampionship.org/ mountain Feb. 26 28 Western Regional Barista Competition Hosted by: Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Location: Los Angeles, Calif. Info: www.usbaristachampionship.org/ western March 5 7 Mid-Atlantic Regional Barista Competition Northeast Regional Barista Competition In Conjunction with CoffeeFest Location: Secaucus, N.J. Info: www.usbaristachampionship.org/ midatlantic; www.usbaristachampionship. org/northeast March 12 14 Great Lakes Regional Barista Competition Hosted by: Alterra Coffee Roasters Location: Milwaukee, Wis. Info: www.usbaristachampionship.org/ greatlakes March 19 21 Southwest Regional Barista Competition Hosted by: Cartel Coffee Lab Location: Phoenix, Ariz. Info: www.usbaristachampionship.org/ southwest April 14 15 Symposium: The Executive Series Location: Anaheim, Calif. Info: http://scaasymposium.org E-mail: symposium@scaa.org Sponsorship opportunities: sponsorship@ scaa.org April 15 18 SCAA Annual Exposition: The Specialty Coffee Event of the Year Location: Anaheim, Calif. Exhibitor info: exhibit@scaa.org Sponsorship opportunities: sponsorship@ scaa.org Info: http://scaaexposition.org
To be considered for the Industry Calendar, send notices to Aaron Kiel at akiel@akprgroup.com. Changes in schedule: the published schedule contains the intended events. The SCAA assumes no responsibility for cancellation or delay of any event and expressly reserves the right to cancel, advance, postpone, or substitute scheduled SCAA events without prior notice.
Marketing is a costly function within any
business, and social media can connect you with your target guests cost-effectively and with no delay. This is a huge advantage to coffee retailers whom typically focus their marketing initiatives on introducing trial, branded guest experience, word of mouth and building market presence. The result of these endeavors is guest loyalty and brand performance, and these two objectives are far easier to measure and manage when you have the instant gratification and feedback that social media provides. Obtaining fan data from your Facebook page can really support the maturity of your brands development, and I would recommend it to any coffee businesslocal or globalwho wants to connect with its guests effectively, build loyalty and grow their business. At Gloria Jeans Coffees, we will continue to look for better ways to connect through social media as we grow our business, and we should all be ready to embrace the next big phenomenon. Micah Walker, regional development manager, Gloria Jeans Coffees International
Five Social Media Tips for Your Coffee Business

Dr. Rachna D. Jain, the chief social marketer at The MindShare Corporation, offers five valuable tips to achieve global influence through social media.
u Every business needs to have a
centralized hub that is at the center of their social media efforts. to focus on bringing visitors/customers back to the main site. social media, as is measures the return on investment. social media approach based on their reach and scope within their market. media to topple larger competitors.
v All outgoing social media efforts need w Tracking is extremely important in x Every business needs a right-size
y Small, agile businesses can use social
Classifieds
Providing financing for the specialty coffee industry, including roasters, afterburners, packaging equipment and more. Let Specialty Coffee Finance focus on providing you the capital to grow your business. They make it easy. 24-hour approvals. Apply online at www. specialtycoffeefinance.com or call 303-800-1061 (direct). Award winning software designed for espresso bars and coffeehouses. A touch-screen provides ordering of espresso, food, drinks and other items. Special features, including prepaid accounts and frequent-buyer loyalty tracking, make this the perfect replacement for your cash register. Call 866-447-0033 or e-mail sales@ coffeeshopmanager.com. Visit www.coffeeshopmanager. com. Love Coffee? Sport the gear! Get the new t-shirt by the Barista Guild of America (BGA). BGA members may purchase it for only $20; cost for non-members is $30. For more information or to purchase, visit www. baristaguildofamerica.net.
BUCK$ FOR BEAN$
and account management.For more information and to apply, visit www.transfairusa.org. Ready to take to the next level. Buy in and be a part of management or buy all and manage it yourself. St. Ives Coffee Roasters. 966 Dorset Street, Gainesville, Ga, 30501. Visit www.stivescoffee.com or e-mail info@ stivescoffee.com.
Specialty Coffee & Tea Co.
COFFEE SHOP MANAGER
Nations Restaurant News is the premier information source for the foodservice industry. Its all there: news, marketing tips, profiles, government updates and more. Thousands of your colleagues read and rely on Nations Restaurant News to give them a competitive edge. You should too. Go to www.nrn.com and subscribe today.
Subscribe to Nations Restaurant News
I y Espresso
TransFair USA seeks experienced business development professional to lead its Fair Trade coffee program.Ideal candidates have at least seven years experience in the coffee industry with an emphasis on sales, marketing
Fair Trade Certified Seeks Director of Coffee
Position reports to the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) executive director. Directs and oversees the development and implementation of professional development initiatives for SCAA. Responsibilities: Develops goals, strategies and philosophy for the professional development objectives of the association. Ensures that industry professional development needs are addressed. Provides day to day leadership and direction to staff and volunteers. Communicates effectively with all staff, members and non-members. Oversees management of professional development related budgets and maximizes the
SCAA Seeks Director of Professional Development
revenue potential for all related activities. Assists communication department in the development of promotional plans and materials for professional development efforts. Serves as the liaison with other coffee organizations as directed by the executive director. Stays current on coffee issues and trends. Develops appropriate budget proposals annually and supervises planning for budget expenditures, and works with director of accounting to approve budgeted spending and proposed revenues. Periodically represents the association at conventions, board meetings, educational events, etc. as requested, including preparing and giving presentations. Serves as a resource for the Professional Development and Events Committees of the SCAA. Promotes and assists in carrying out the associations mission, vision and strategic plan in a manner consistent with the associations stated values. Qualifications: a bachelors degree in education, communications or similar field required. Three to five years experience in adult education, industrial training or association related professional development preferred. Coffee experience very strongly preferred. Please e-mail resume and cover letter to jobs@scaa.org.
Classified ads cost $65 for up to 50 words and are available to SCAA members and business partners only. Ads receive uniform layout. Special spacing, layout and typography are not available. For information on running a classified, contact Mchokshi@scaa.org.

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COFFEE SOCIAL MEDIA

Caribou takes the coffeehouse conversation online

Mark Prince geeks out on social media

Social networking best practices

a publication of the specialty coffee association of america

2009 issue No.5

A Publication of the Specialty Coffee Association of America

2009 issue no. 5

7 Caribou Coffee Takes the Coffeehouse

20 Attract More Customers Using Social Media

9 Social Media File: Forrest Graves,

Jumpin Goat Coffee Roasters

23 Five Social Media Tips for

10 Geeking Out on Social Media

13 Social Media File: Dave Lanning,

Coffee & Social Media

15 The Social Media Newbie

16 On Social Media Best Practices and

18 Get Social: Follow These Steps

in the next issue

A Preview of Hot Topics from SCAAs Executive Series

Copyright 2009 Specialty Coffee Chronicle. All Rights Reserved.