Whole Foods: Social Media Case Study

If you’re looking for a good example to use as a model for your own social media plan, look no further than Whole Foods Market. This small grocery chain has a strong presence in several platforms, including:

• Blogs (a company blog called the Whole Story, plus CEO John Mackey’s blog)
• Twitter accounts
• Facebook accounts
• YouTube channel
• E-newsletter
• On-site forums
• Podcasts
• Flickr
• Getsatisfaction.com
• iPhone application

No one can argue that Whole Foods hasn’t found their customers and created online spaces to respond to criticism, solve problems, and seek insight and suggestions. At first glance, it may seem as if Whole Foods has simply gotten involved in every possible avenue without purpose, but a quick look at their online presence shows otherwise. The company does a fantastic job of staying active, making regular posts with fresh content, and responding to customers’ concerns and conversation.

Whole Foods gets an A+ when it comes to following the guidelines that I’ve mentioned in previous posts:

1. They keep content relevant to their customers.
Whole Foods stresses the idea of “buying local”—buying fresh produce from local growers—as a key concept of their company values. It makes since, then, that they would encourage individual stores to create their own Facebook pages and twitter accounts, in order to stay relevant to local customers.

2. They find where their customers are interacting online and go to them.
All of the social media accounts listed above are active and current. It seems as though Whole Foods has found their customers and created spaces online for them to gather and talk.

3. Whole Foods lets go of the control.
With so many accounts in so many places, it’s impossible for Whole Foods to try to control its social media campaign with a top-down approach. Those who manage individual accounts are given freedom to add personality to the accounts, and therefore, increase authenticity.

4. They have goals in mind for using social media.
Each account seems to have a main specific purpose. Twitter, for example, is used for customer service because of its allowance for fast response time. The on-site forums are used as a place for customers to interact with each other, as opposed to interacting with the business itself.

5. Whole Foods lets the conversation take place without trying to stop or direct it.
When CEO John Mackey recently posted an opinionated blog entry regarding health care reform, he left the post open for comments. The conversation took place with both negative and positive responses, neither of which were edited. Whole Foods even opened a forum category on the issue.

Check out the presentation on Social Media at Whole Foods I put together showcasing the various social media platforms they currently use. I’d love to hear thoughts on what you think they are or aren’t doing well.