Learning From Starbucks

A couple of short years ago, it seemed like Starbucks was suddenly in trouble. Same-store revenue, year-to-year, was declining. Profits were, too.

That's when founder Howard Schultz resumed day-to-day management. One of his first decisions was to create MyStarbucks.com ... and begin to develop a real social media program.

The reason this matters to you, other than your addiction to Starbucks, can be summed up in this one line from Mr. Schultz:

"This (our social media strategy) was not built as a marketing channel, but as a consumer-relationship building environment."

The full article is in Advertising Age, worth the subscription and your time today.

Here arethe questions I have for Radio:

• Do you have a social media strategy?
• Is it designed to build relationships with listeners and advertisers or to sell products?
• How are you funding it for growth in 2012 and beyond?
• Are you measuring its impact quantitatively?

If the answer to any of those questions leaves you blank, you're in trouble.

Luckily, I know someone who can help you develop a consistent, affordable social media strategy: Steve Allan, former Marconi-Award winning programmer of WBIG in D.C., and WODS in Boston.

Here's the link to his company. It's worth a few minutes of your time today to have a conversation with Steve.