SM Strategy for Dunkin’

Erin Burroughs
11/30/2022

Introduction
Dunkin’ is a coffee and baked goods chain founded in Massachusetts in 1950 by William
Rosenberg. The original shop was named Dunkin’ donuts and this was inspired by the idea of
dipping donuts into coffee. The company was renamed Dunkin’ in 2019 to rebrand as a coffee
shop instead of a donut shop. There are over 12,000 locations in 42 countries and there are stores
in almost every US state. They are more heavily located on the east coast of America. The
company's slogan is “America runs on Dunkin”.

Research
Audit: Platform Metrics
Dunkin’ has the largest following on TikTok with a total of 3.1 million followers and 22.8
million total likes on all their videos combined. They have 2.2 million followers on Instagram
and 1.3 million on Twitter. Dunkin’ has 16.2 million likes on their Facebook page. Despite their
large following on Tiktok, Dunkin’ is the most active on Instagram and twitter. On average,
Dunkin’ posts once a day on Instagram and Twitter, but only about once a week on TikTok.
Dunkin’ is the least active on Facebook, averaging one post per month.

Audit: Campaigns and Content

Dunkin’ has a variety of content on Instagram and TikTok. Throughout these two pages there are
product shots, videos, memes, designs, and reposts from other Dunkin’ platforms. Dunkin’
participates in some of the latest trends and audios on TikTok by putting their own spin on it and
relating the trend to Dunkin’. They repost the videos they post on TikTok onto their Instagram.
The Dunkin’ Twitter mostly contains relatable phrases or sentences and the occasional photo.
Recently they posted a tweet about the new Taylor Swift album that came out and it got a lot of
attention.
- One of Dunkin’s most memorable campaigns on TikTok is the “Charli Runs on Dunkin”
campaign. Dunkin’ partnered with TikTok influencer, Charli D’amelio, who became the
most followed person on TikTok. There is a hashtag for it and even a drink named “The
Charli”. Charli expressed her love for Dunkin’ on the app and repeatedly showed herself
drinking Dunkin coffee in her videos. She even did this before the partnership evolved.
This campaign has given Dunkin’ the following they have on TikTok today.
- A specific post that is gaining more attention than the others is a recent TikTok post. It is
getting significantly more views, likes, comments, and shares than all others because it
announces the return of pumpkin to Dunkin’. It has 16.8 million views which is a major
outlier for Dunkin’. The video uses humor and a TikTok influencer who has 3.8 million
followers.
Audit: Audiences
Based on my observations of the followers on Dunkin’s main platforms, the majority of their
audience on social media is gen-z and millennials (Ahuja, 2022). Because of Dunkin’s
partnership with Charli D'amelio on TikTok, the main audience on this app is young girls or
gen-z. Based on what I see on Instagram and Twitter, Dunkin’s audience on these apps are more
of a mix between generations, but still mostly gen-z or a few years older. The primary audience
I observed could be described as gen-z who are casual coffee drinkers that get a coffee 1-3 times
a week as an outing. The secondary audience could be described as working millennials who
are hardcore coffee drinkers who grab a coffee every morning before work.

Audit: Brand Voice and Tone

The brand voice of Dunkin’s social media presence can be described as the voice of gen-z. The
brand tone varies across each platform. On TikTok the tone is very humorous, trendy and upbeat.
On twitter the tone is very conversational, laid back, and relatable. On Instagram the tone is very
similar to twitters, but a bit more formal to fit the tone of a picture caption. Overall, Dunkin
strives to be a relatable company by participating in the current social media trends, partnering
with influencers, and using slang and memes that people can understand and relate to.

SWOT
Strengths
Dunkin’ has a large following and strong presence on TikTok, whereas Starbucks does not. This
is a significant strength because TikTok is the most popular app right now and Dunkin’ has a
major lead ahead of Starbucks on this platform. Another strength to note is Dunkin’ has very
high engagement on TikTok as well as Instagram. Their posts get lots of likes, comments, and
shares and this shows they don’t have too many “ghost followers”. Dunkin’ also has content that
is interesting, funny, trendy, and different from the typical product shot.. This gives Dunkin’ the
lead in this area because Starbucks does not have as much of a wide variety of content.
Weaknesses
Dunkin’ is a close competitor to Starbucks, but they have significantly less number of followers
and therefore less engagement and overall presence on Instagram, Twitter, and facebook. They
also have a narrower audience on social media, especially compared to Starbucks. Their
audience mainly consists of gen-z, whereas Starbucks consists of gen-z and up. Dunkin’ is also
not consistent with their activity on Facebook, whereas Starbucks is very active on Facebook.
Opportunities
Because Starbucks has a larger following on Instagram, Twitter, and facebook, this gives
Dunkin’ something to work towards. Dunkin’ can also work towards broadening their audience
and they can start by being more active on Facebook. Also, their large following and strong
presence on TikTok is a great opportunity for Dunkin’ to start reaching more audiences. This is
because TikTok is starting to be popular among many generations and not just gen-z. Something
that has helped Starbucks on social media is their content on social issues. Dunkin’ has the
opportunity to join the conversation and speak out about current events in the US and in the
world. After all, their slogan is “America runs on Dunkin’”
Threats
Starbucks is a threat to Dunkin’ because Starbucks is the number one coffee chain and their
social medias reflect that as well. According to my observations, Starbucks is gaining followers
at a higher rate than Dunkin’ on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. They also just have a larger
overall presence on these platforms. Another threat I observed was negative comments on social
media posts in response to Dunkin’s new rewards system that just released. The majority of
customers were not pleased with the new system and are speaking out about it in Dunkin’s
comments on Instagram.

SWOT Simplified: Strengths and Opportunities/

Main Points to Keep and Grow in Strategy
- Dunkin has a strong following and presence on TikTok, whereas Starbucks does not. This
is an opportunity for Dunkin to be more active on TikTok and take the lead in the
competition.
- Because Starbucks has a larger following on Instagram, Twitter, and facebook, this gives
Dunkin’ something to work toward.
- Dunkin’ has content that is interesting, funny, trendy, and different from the typical
product shot, whereas Starbucks does not have as much of a wide variety of content and
they post the same content on each platform.

SWOT Simplified: Weaknesses and Threats/

Main Issues to Solve in Strategy
- Instagram has less followers now than it did at the start of my research (3 mil to 2.2 mil),
which is probably due to backlash in the comments about the new rewards system.
- Narrow audience especially compared to Starbucks’s broad/ diverse audience.
- Not active on Facebook, whereas Starbucks is very active on it. This restricts Dunkin
from reaching the older audiences that they have yet to reach on social media.
- Starbucks is leading in followers and engagement on every platform except TikTok, yet
Dunkin is not reaching its potential because they are not consistently active on it.
- Small following and low engagement on Twitter

Objectives
1. Target new audiences and diversify the demographics of the followers across all social
medias.
2. Get on Starbucks’ level! Increase following and engagement by 15% on all platforms by
July 1st, 2023 and improve overall presence across all platforms.
Strategy
Instagram
On instagram, Dunkin needs to address and solve the issue at hand to gain the followers they lost
back.
Facebook
On Facebook, Dunkin needs to be more active and consistent to reach new audiences and to
compete with Starbucks’ presence on Facebook. A campaign on Facebook could kickstart their
return to Facebook by gaining people's attention, and from then on they should continue posting
regularly.
Twitter
On Twitter, Dunkin needs more variety in their content as well as more engaging content to keep
numbers up and compete with Starbucks’ Twitter metrics. Instead of posting only short phrases
and sentences, they could post polls, replies, retweets, videos, memes, etc. to make their page
more interactive and gain more attention on Twitter.
TikTok
On TikTok, Dunkin needs to be more active and consistent to reach their full potential on the
platform. They could also partner with an older influencer to reach the older audiences on
TikTok.

Content Ideas
Instagram
To address the backlash, Dunkin could explain the new rewards system in a series of posts that
address the concerns and explain why the new system is actually better in a fun and upbeat way
to keep things positive. Another way to show the followers that Dunkin really cares about their
concerns, is to reply to their comments and DM’s more.
- Copy example- “We’ve heard your concerns, and we want to help. Our new rewards
system is built to give you better deals than the old one. Here's how it works: …”
One thing that Dunkin’ should continue doing on Instagram is referencing the viral TikTok
audios in the comments or posting memes that are relatable to gen-z. The posts below all include
words from TikTok audios, gen-z slang, or pop-culture references and have gotten more likes and
comments than other posts.
Facebook
To gain people's attention on Facebook, Dunkin could return to Facebook with a campaign called
“12 days of Dunkin '' for the holidays that would consist of a different discount each day for 12
days. It would advertise the app with posts saying “download the app to participate in 12 days of
Dunkin and receive 12 new deals” and “Follow us for future deals”. It would include a direct link
from Facebook to the app. Discounts and deals gain people's attention and will hopefully lead to
more followers since people may want to be updated when there are future deals. This would be
paid advertising because it is not a post on their facebook, it will be a Facebook ad that gets
advertised by Facebook to users, not just including their followers.
Twitter
To add more variety in their Twitter content and keep numbers up, Dunkin could post a series of
engaging twitter polls as well as more memes like on their instagram. To give people a reason to
follow and something to look forward to it could be a weekly poll, where the poll is posted on a
specific day/ time every week. Another thing for Dunkin’ to continue doing is referencing
pop-culture and trends on Twitter. Below is the Tweet referring to Taylor Swift's album release
that got significantly more likes and retweets than the other surrounding tweets. Talking about
popular current events sparks a conversation in the comments and makes people want to share it
with their friends.
- Poll examples- “What’s your favorite holiday drink from Dunkin?”
- “What’s your go-to syrup flavor?”
- “Do you eat a munchkin in one or two bites?”
TikTok
To be more consistent on TikTok and give followers something to look forward to, Dunkin could
post a weekly event for a month called “Dunkin’ Day”. They could partner with an influencer
and have them post what they bought from Dunkin that day. Something that could also target the
older audience would be to partner with influencers not from gen-z and gain their followers
attention.
- Influencer- Michelle Charlotte the Bartender (@michellebellexo) is a millennial TikTok
influencer with 3.5 million followers. She posts content about being a bartender, a mom,
and her life in general. She works at a bar, so she often works night shifts. Therefore, her
angle could be that she drinks Dunkin coffee to get her through the late shifts. Partnering
with her could bring in new audiences to Dunkin’s TikTok because their following
mainly consists of gen-z (partnership with Charli Damelio).

Implementation and Evaluation Plan

Timeline
This content calendar only contains the main content ideas from the strategy above to start
working towards the two objectives. Not shown is the remaining months after that should include
staying consistent on all platforms as well as implementing new content ideas to reach the
objectives by July 1st, 2023.
Reporting
Objective 1- Target new audiences to create a more diverse audience across all social medias.
Report…
- The change in average age of followers from Dec 1st, 2022 to July 1st, 2023 (Google
Analytics)

Objective 2- Increase following and engagement by 15% on all platforms by July 1st, 2023
Report…
- The change in followers on each platform from Dec 1st, 2022 to July 1st, 2023
(Facebook Insights, Instagram Insights, Twitter Analytics, TikTok Analytics)
- The change in average likes and comments on each platform from Dec 1st, 2022 to July
1st, 2023

Budget- around $40,000

Paid partnership on TikTok with Michelle Charlotte- $10,000 for 4 posts ($2,500 per post)
- Influencers with 1 million followers or more are considered “mega” influencers and get
paid on average $2,500 plus per post on TikTok (Dogtiev, 2022).
Facebook Campaign- around $30,000
- For Facebook advertising, the company decides how much they want to spend depending
on how many users they want the ad to reach on Facebook. An advertisement on
Facebook cost about $12.07 per 1000 impressions (Dopson, 2022). So, in order to reach
around 2.5 million users, it would cost $30,000.

Investing in their Facebook is a smart move for Dunkin’ because their Facebook needs serious
work if they are to compete with Starbucks and reach a more diverse audience. The TikTok
campaign is also important because TikTok is the key to outshining Starbucks where it counts.
TikTok was the most downloaded app in 2021 (Cyca, 2022) and Dunkin’ already has the
following, they just need to reach their potential by switching things up and being consistent on
the app. TikTok is also the key to reaching new audiences, besides gen-z. People may view
TikTok as an app for younger generations, but 36% of TikTok users were between 35 and 54
years old in the first quarter of 2021, compared to 26% in 2020 (Cyca, 2022).
 References

Ahuja, M. (2022, March 6). Dunkin' runs on Social Media. Medium.

https://medium.com/marketing-in-the-age-of-digital/dunkin-runs-on-social-media-bf4e69a
9ce43

Dogtiev, A. (2022, October 26). Influencer marketing costs. Business of Apps.

https://www.businessofapps.com/marketplace/influencer-marketing/research/influencer-ma
rketing-costs/

Dopson, E. (2022, January 20). What facebook ads cost in 2022: Everything you need to
know. Shopify.
https://www.shopify.com/blog/facebook-ads-cost#:~:text=an%20ad%20auction.-,How%20
much%20does%20Facebook%20advertising%20cost%3F,as%20cost%20per%201%2C000
%20impressions.

Cyca, M. (2022, March 9). 23 Important TikTok Stats Marketers Need to Know in 2022.
Hootsuite.

https://blog.hootsuite.com/tiktok-stats/