Starbucks is leaning into the creator economy with the help of its employees.
According to Marketing Dive, Starbucks employees post three times more than employees at other chains the same size. Recognizing an opportunity, Starbucks is encouraging its employees to participate in brand storytelling. It already launched the Green Apron Creators program in 2024, which empowers its employees to share company content on social media. The company revealed its first Global Coffee Creators under the program last year: Josiah Varghese, a Chicago-based Starbucks barista, and Los Angeles-based actress and customer Juliana Galofre, who applied with a newly created TikTok showing what she could create if chosen, according to a press release.
“Our Global Coffee Creators celebrate the next generation of creative voices who see coffee the way we do — as culture, community and daily ritual,” said Whitney Ellison, group marketing manager of culture and influencers at Starbucks, in the press release. “We wanted to open our doors to social-first storytellers who make coffee personal and inspiring in their own unique way.”
Starbucks reported $9.5 billion in revenue for its second quarter, which was a 9% year-over-year increase, with marketing playing a key role in this growth, Brian Niccol, Starbucks’ chairman and CEO, said, according to Marketing Dive.
Starbucks is now ramping up its efforts with the help of TikTok. Per a new press release, TikTok is launching its first Custom Creator Network with Starbucks. The press release states that the goal is to strengthen “employee-driven storytelling.” The company will bring employees further into the creator economy by “enabling them to participate more directly in the creator economy through content opportunities and ad revenue sharing,” the release read. Starbucks will be able to send its employees, creators, and brand advocates relevant campaign briefs so they can convert videos already performing well into ads with great results.
“Every day, our partners (employees) bring Starbucks to life by creating moments of connection with our customers and with each other. And more than ever, they are sharing those moments with the world on social media in authentic, creative, and unique ways,” Erin Silvoy, senior vice president of global marketing at Starbucks, explained in the press release. “Collaborating with TikTok provided us with the opportunity to build a customized platform that allows us to celebrate and amplify our partners’ authentic storytelling.”
Starbucks and TikTok’s partnership will officially kick off later in the summer.
Other companies are also following suit, bringing their employees into the fold to engage audiences further. This includes Dell, which launched an internal ambassador program powered by its Social Media University certification, Inc. reports. Nearly 1,200 employees are now posting in 84 countries.
For creators, especially micro- and nano-creators, the opportunity is growing. Data show that sponsored social media content will surpass $10 billion, with micro- and nano-creators holding nearly a 46% stake in that spending, Inc. reports.
