HC1021 Interpersonal & E-Communication: Social Media Impact Essay

This essay examines the impact of social media on contemporary business communication, highlighting its advantages, challenges, and the evolving roles of communication over the past 20 years. It discusses the strategies employed by Starbucks as a case study, showcasing how the company leverages social media for customer engagement and brand promotion. The essay also addresses the challenges businesses face in the 21st century regarding media diversification, technology, non-verbal communication, and crisis management in the digital age. Furthermore, it explores how changes in business communication have affected business operations, with specific examples of Starbucks' communication methods, including traditional print media, digital marketing, social media engagement, and customer feedback mechanisms. The essay concludes by emphasizing the importance of social media in modern business communication and its role in enhancing customer satisfaction and brand awareness.

Running head: INTERPERSONAL & E-COMMUNICATION
Interpersonal & E-Communication
Topic: The impact of social media on contemporary business communication
Student’s name:
Name of the university:
Author’s note:

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Introduction
The business world is changing drastically with the utilisation of the modern technologies
that are available to the common people and within the organisation. As stated by Cardon (2015),
social media has been playing a growing role in organisation’s business communication as it has
affordable advantages like cost savings, customer communication and helps to target customers.
The thesis statement of this essay is to explain the advantages of social media on business
communication. This essay would describe the strategies of Starbucks of using the social media
as business communication. This essay would also highlight the changing roles of business
communication over the last 20 years and the challenges that the business is facing with
communication.
Understanding and explanation of changing roles of ‘business communication’ over the last
20 years
Communication in business goes back a long way and the employer’s message should
deliver to the recipient. In previous time, there was a delay between the response and the receipt
of the message. Over the last 20 years, communication has become socialised and highly
segmented (Bargiela-Chiappini & Nickerson 2014). In previous time, these forms of written or
verbal communication can serve the significant purpose of the employees. With the advancement
of time, business communication has gone towards the digital marketers and the businesses
wanted to explore the evolution of communication (Mai & Hoffman 2014 p.140). Before the
laptops were light, old computers were used for typing the business communication. The first
computer was used for the business communication was the ENIAC. In the previous time, mail
was snail and mail was largely used for sending invoice. The organisations were waiting to come

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and today’s organisations are glad for instant digital invoicing. During the period of 2000,
maximum of small organisations also use the typewriters. Typewriters have been using since the
1960s and it was the handy way to send the communication to the employees and the typewriter's
copy was used to put on the notice board. In addition, the communication process was done in
the beginning of the 20th century through the telephone and the organisation used to contact with
other organisations with the help of telephonic connection (Lucas & Rawlins 2015 p.170).
Moreover, the employees did not have mobile that time.
During the 90s, the employees and organisation were blessed with handy mobile phones
that allowed the users to communicate on the go. With the time, there came the overhead
projector and it was used during the meeting within the organisation. During the formal meeting,
the host of the meeting used to discuss the matter using the projector. After a few years, the
generation was blessed with a laptop. The employees started buying the laptops and some of the
organisation started giving the laptop to the employees so that they can work from home also.
Microsoft Company brought PowerPoint Presentation and it had been using the power point slide
for delivering the meeting. In recent time, the employees have been using the Smartphone and
the Smartphone is the best medium to connect with the employees. Through Smartphone, use of
social media gets easier (Chaudhuri 2016 p.420). Previously, Orkut was famous among the social
media and now the organisation is using the Facebook to connect with the customers. Social
media are using by the organisations to connect with the customers for promotions. In addition,
organisations are using intranet software also; through which the employees are connected within
the organisation through video call, the employees can communicate with the seniors and the
customers to share their concerns. Smartphone and laptops made the process easier to
communicate through video call. Lastly, cloud computing is the latest use of communication

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where the organisation can store the data and the employees can share their data through the
cloud. Google Drive is an example of cloud, where the employees can store their data and share
it with near ones.
Challenges businesses in the 21st century are facing with communication
In recent time, organisations have been facing the challenges regarding the media
diversification. Organisations are confused about using of communication platform as they
cannot understand which medium is to use. Media consumption is not as universal as it was even
10 years ago. In this regard, the organisations cannot understand which communication medium
will be best suited for them. The organisation can use the print media, social media, online
media, television media and radio media in order to communicate with the customers.
In addition, the business organisations have been facing the issue regarding technology.
The organisations are using email, web, mobile service and social media to communicate with
the employees and customers (Schivinski & Dabrowski 2016 p.190). Non-verbal communication
is creating an issue within the organisation through technology and the managers cannot
understand the facial expression through the technological communication. However, time
zones, telephone static and technological glitches sometimes make the issue of technological
problems.
In the workplace, the employees have been facing the issue of diversity while
communicating with the employees. The employees should know how to communicate with the
employees who belong from different ethnic background. In addition, while using social media
communication media, the employees should not share any culturally biased comment. Diversity
helps to make a good team bonding within the organisation and in distance, the communication

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channels can be used from the remote places. On social media pages of the organisation,
sometimes the customers post any negative comment or any negative story about the
organisation goes viral; in this situation, the PR team of the organisation needs to pay heed so
that the issue does not go far (Dolan et al. 2017 p.10). In this crisis communication scenario,
challenges for the employees of the organisation are to handle the crisis situation.
Overview of Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an America based coffee company and it has coffee chain
throughout the world. Starbucks was established in the year 1971 and it has it headquarter in
Seattle, the USA. Starbucks has more than 27,000 stores across the world and it mainly sells
coffee beverages, tea, baked goods, smoothies and sandwiches. Revenue of the Starbucks
reached almost US$22.39 billion and the net income of the organisation reached US$4.12 billion
(Starbucks.com 2018). Starbucks has been using the social media in order to connect with the
customers and it has its official pages on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Pinterest and
Instagram.
Changes in business communication have impacted the way that business is being done
now
Starbucks has been on the market for long and Starbucks started with the traditional
business communication with the employees and the customers. In the previous time, Starbucks
mainly did the promotion through the print media. Starbucks also started its journey through
communicating with the customers through television medium as well. On the other side,
Starbucks communicated with the employees through formal and informal meetings. These were
the verbal media through which the managers used to communicate with the employees. In these

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meetings, the employees share their ideas and the managers can take information from this. In
this informal way of speaking, the employees might have forgotten the shared ideas. The
Starbucks used to do telephone calls, voice calls and face-to-face feedback sessions with the
customers so that they can share their experience (Li 2017 p.25).
Starbucks provides a seasoned menu to tempt the customers and it sends the seasoned
menu to the customers by using the email is registered. The executives of Starbucks call the
customers to let them know about the new offers. The business communication process is done
through sending the text messages to the customers with special offers and for wishing the
birthday. Starbucks also send the multi-media message to the customers and the organisation has
been using the software where they can make the animation to be sent to the customers. In
addition, Starbucks has been using the social media in order to understand the strategies of the
competitors and Starbucks has been using the social media strategy to share the offers with the
customers (Kohli et al. 2015 p.36). The customers can share their complaint through social
media and launching of new products and offers can be done through Facebook, Twitter and
Instagram. In addition, Starbucks has an option called My Starbucks Idea where the customers
can send their ideas regarding the services and products. Starbucks has been operating in 67
countries and the customer base of the organisation is high. Starbucks presently has more than 38
million Facebook likes, 7 million Twitter followers, 3 million Instagram followers and 1 million
YouTube subscribers (Starbucks.com 2018). PR team of Starbucks are ultra-clever and they
make the eye-catchy posters and offers so that the customers visit their stores. Instagram page of
Starbucks mainly shares the coffee rituals, soothing spaces and coffee gadgets from where the
customers can get attached to the customers. As stated by Swami et al. (2017 p.80), Starbucks
believes that coffee is made for socialising and it is consistent branding. Drinking coffee is a

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social activity and people love to meet over a cup of coffee; Starbucks wants the customers to
share their experience of having Starbucks coffee on the social media page.
Starbucks utilisation of new ways of communication
Starbucks mainly uses the social media platform in order to introduce the products to the
customers and they mainly share the opening of the new stores in different parts of the world.
Starbucks introduces the staffs and their famous products to the customers through images and
contents on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Starbucks campaign: Starbucks does offline communication through advertising;
however, it does the social media advertising platform. Starbucks first started the campaign
called ‘Meet Me Starbucks’ and it was focused on the work life of Starbucks rather than just the
concept of the products. As stated by Cardon (2015), this type of brand awareness concept helps
the organisation about mission and values. Starbucks once started the campaign called ‘Pumpkin
Spice Latte' where the customers were provided with the chance to taste the new products earlier
than the regular customers. Starbucks made a competition on Facebook where people needed to
gather the points. In addition, Starbucks campaign started with the concept of ‘non-profit
campaign' where Starbucks made a partnership with many of the non-profit companies and
Starbucks have donated money in non-profit campaigns like American Red Cross, RED and
Catalyst.
Customer service tool: Starbucks has been using social media communication as the
customer service tool. The customers share their concern and complaints through social media
pages and the PR team of Starbucks has to solve the issue. Starbucks' efforts on social media
increase brand awareness and it is a medium of using the servicing the customers. The main

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motto of Starbucks is to provide best customer satisfaction. Starbucks communicates with the
biggest fans and they try to keep the customers happy (Schivinski & Dabrowski 2016 p.190).
Starbuck generates the new customers through social media strategy. Social media strategy is
cost-benefit for the organisation and customers’ queries are solved through this.
Working with influencers: Starbucks uses the social media to connect with the
employees and Starbucks’ management employ strategy to motivate the employees through
making the group on social media. In addition, Starbuck’s social media budget is huge and it
tries to provide inspiration for future organisation’s objectives. Starbucks does its best to work
with influencers. Starbucks uses influencers on YouTube to bring brand awareness to the
audiences. The famous YouTube star Rossanna Pansino has more than 10 million subscribers
and their YouTube Starbuck challenges reached 10 million views. Therefore, this strategy
influences almost 10 million people to purchase from Starbucks.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that business communication has been changing with the time. In a
previous time, the business communication is limited to the verbal communication and with the
development of technology; the organisation started using social media, video calling, projector
and online media to communicate with the customers and customers. The organisations have
been facing the issues of diversity, choices of communication platforms and uses of social media.
The organisation tries to stay in communication with the customers and headquarter of the
organisation can communicate with the foreign branches through the use of modern
technologies. Starbucks has been using the new technological innovation through social media so
that it can reach the customers through social media campaigning and social media tool.

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