I was in Starbucks this morning (Venti Americano just milk) and it struck me. As I looked at the environment inside I couldnt help but see the digital version of this cafe within a twitter or Facebook like setting.

What struck me is how the staff really make the difference here. The staff at this particular location are highly interactive with the customers and this creates a far friendlier atmosphere. The customers got to know each other and the tables come together easily resulting in broad and wonderful discussions with people of all sorts. Their attitude is infectious and it is the same in their Social Media presence.

What Makes Starbucks Naturally Successful?

In my mind, Starbucks has the winning formula for success in Social Media, but they had it before Social Media became hot. They have a social brand. And it isnt just the cafe setting and the friendly staff. Here are some other social traits they have going for them.

• Alignment and tremendous real involvement with the Green Movement
• A social approach to customer service enabling them to connect with almost any customer in an emotional way
• Affordable quality in all of their products making them huge with GenXers in particular
• An internal culture that is naturally social and this comes out in how well they are able to connect with the community they are in the customers they serve.

So I started following Starbucks on Twitter and it is absolutely fascinating. They have taken what they do so well in their cafe and have very successfully reproduced it on Twitter. Here you have a number of staff tasked with making every single person that comes into the Twitter channel feel good.

So now, Im going to start looking at other brands that I believe are Naturally Social and see how they are doing in Social Media environments. Is there a set of best practices for example that can be learned from these great companies?

If you know of any that are exemplary of Naturally Social Brands, then please let me know.