Social Media Industry Report
The retail coffee market has become hyper-competitive, with global coffee chains competing with smaller “mom and pop” coffee shops and other corporate chains. Social media has become the latest battlefield in the coffee wars, with Facebook, TikTok and Instagram serving as launch points. Though better known for its pastries and sandwiches, Dunkin Donuts has emerged as a competitor to coffee giant Starbucks over the years due to its popular coffee. This blog will take a detailed look at the social media metrics of these brands, focusing on how Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts rank in engagement rates, content style, and audience interaction. Once key data is analyzed, a better picture of what drives these companies through their social media channels can be ascertained.
Estimated Engagement Rate Comparison
(platform: Instagram vs TikTok)
Starbucks
Instagram | █████▌ (≈0.7%)
TikTok | ████ (≈0.6%)
Dunkin’ Donuts
Instagram | ████████▌ (≈1.2%)
TikTok | █████████████ (≈2.0%)
Claude Louisville, a reporter for Medium, compared the social media strategies for both companies. “Starbucks markets an experience, a lifestyle, whereas Dunkin focuses on efficiency and familiarity” Louisville said. “This branding influences consumer loyalty and identity.”
The companies’ social media footprint reflects this. Where Starbucks is seen as a status symbol, Dunkin is more representative of everyday working Americans.
In comparing the social media performances of Starbucks and Tik Tok, Starbucks did better on Instagram than Dunkin on Instagram. According to stats gained via artificial intelligence through Chat GPT, Starbucks has a larger Instagram following than Dunkin, however, Dunkin has a wider reach rate.
On TikTok, Starbucks hasn’t performed as well. Dunkin Donuts has a TikTok following of about three million, compared to 1.7 million for Starbucks.
Dunkin has used influencers like Charli D’Amelio to promote its products on TikTok, with great success.
"This Charli thing that they have got going — that was brilliant," coffee industry expert John Gordon told Business Insider. "Starbucks has just been just very slow to react."
Even though Starbucks is a global brand that has the largest social media presence of anyone in the industry, the company could improve its reach by possibly shifting from the polished social media posts its known to a more personal approach. Focus on baristas serving their signature coffees, as well as addressing past controversies or policy changes through those voices, instead of corporate press releases. More short-form content through TikTok would be the perfect medium for addressing those challenges.
Dunkin portrays itself as community-oriented, but its social media output reflects “meme culture” at times. Dunkin should use Stanley as an example, and use the community to highlight viral moments to promote its brand. Dunkin already has a significant following on TikTok, and that is the perfect vehicle to create organic content from its franchisees.
