To: Erika Paterson
From: Sydney Dunn
Date: June 19th, 2020
Subject: Proposal for Formal Report on Increasing Social Media Engagement for Great Dane Coffee
Introduction
Great Dane Coffee is a small independent coffee shop located on south end of the University of British Columbia’s Vancouver campus. It was started in 2011 by a UBC alumni and prides itself as being part of the campus community.
Since opening, Great Dane has continued to become increasingly popular with students, faculty, staff, and visitors of the campus. There is now a second space next door with additional seating to meet the increasing demand and provide students a space to meet and study. Additionally, like many independent businesses the shop now has an Instagram page (@greatdanecoffee) where they update followers on changing hours, occasionally advertise new pastries or products, and photos of the owner’s great dane. A business’ social media presence serves as a way to stay connected with their current customers as well as advertising to potential new customers. For Great Dane, social media is an opportunity to connect with Vancouver’s greater coffee community.
Statement of Problem
Although Great Dane’s Instagram has a reasonably steady following, its content and engagement has been inconsistent. As the Instagram has been managed by various different employees it lacks consistency and connecting with followers has been missed. The content does not fully emphasize the quality of the service, baking, and most importantly coffee. Improving the consistency of their social media would allow Great Dane to connect with coffee enthusiasts in Vancouver, making them a destination for coffee.
Proposed Solution
My primary suggestion for improving the social media engagement would be an overall increase in consistency. This would include creating a consistent schedule for posts both on their feed and the stories feature. Additionally, I would suggest creating a cohesive visual style that takes advantage of the shop’s already aesthetically pleasing nature. The content of posts would become varied to include more educational elements that highlight the quality of the coffee.
Scope
To evaluate the impact of Great Dane Coffee’s social media platform I will use the following areas of study:
- What are the impacts of a consistent posting schedule?
- How does a consistent style impact engagement?
- Can responding to followers directly more frequently increase traffic?
- How do changes to the social media platform impact business?
Methods
The best methods for researching this problem will include interviews, surveys, and general observations. By working with the employees currently responsible for updating the Instagram page and engaging with followers I will gain a better understanding of how the shop’s page has grown. Additionally, by interviewing and surveying customers about the page I will learn about how people are engaging with the content. During this time I will also monitor the number of followers, likes, comments, and tagged posts I will be able to see how people are engaging with the content as it changes.
My Qualifications
As a current staff and long-term staff member of Great Dane Coffee I am familiar with who has previously been responsible for the social media pages and who is currently updating them. Additionally, I am confident in my understanding of the shop’s overall brand identity and how they wish to engage with the community.
Conclusion
Through my research and addressing the previously mentioned areas of study I hope to determine concrete suggestions for how this small independent coffee shop can grow its online following. I believe with minor adjustments they could reach the much larger coffee-loving community in Vancouver and earn the recognition the small shop deserves.
Hello Sydney,
Thank you for posting your Formal Report Proposal. I have a couple of concerns that need addressing before I can approve the proposal.
1. The Solution: can you clarify your ideas about how to achieve ‘consistency’ – include some details please.
2. Methods: You need a proper methodology that includes interviews, surveys and/or observations. I see you will be observing the Instagram site, and suggest you include surveying the potential and actual customer base as well. As it is, this investigation needs to be expanded in order to become a 12 to 15-page report. O.K.
Please take these concerns into consideration and edit the proposal accordingly and send me a link via email (Erika.paterson@ubc.ca) when you have completed, and I’ll take another look for you. Thank you.