Best Buy Social Media Snapshot

Best Buy is an electronics retailer with 2009 revenues of over $45 billion.

Gary Koelling, Senior Manager of Social
Technology, is a key player in Best Buy's social media strategy.

Don't miss Koelling's presentation on social media best practices with examples of Best Buy efforts.

Program Components

Best Buy employs social media for both internal and external audiences.

Internally, Best Buy employs a Wiki - Blue Shirt Nation Mix - for employees, enabling them to stay connected via email, sms, or web. As the site says, employees can "share and access information anytime anywhere...mix connects us and makes us more valuable to each other and our customers."

Internally, Best Buy also uses "Loop Marketplace" for employee suggestions, as well as stock market simulation game where instead of trading stocks, employs post predictions of what will be hot in the future and other employees value those ideas by buying them.

Here is a very informative interview on these topics and more with then CEO Brad Anderson on Peter Hirshberg's blog.

External applications include newly launched (July 2009) Twelpforce, a twitter application that enables customers to interact with Best Buy employees.

See Gary Koelling's posting on how Twelpforce came to be.

Best Buy also has a forum where customers can talk to Best Buy employees and other customers about different
products.

Program Goals

• Enable employees to contribute innovative ideas
• Ensure employees know what corporate knows ASAP
• Ensure employees can support customers with most current information
• Enable customers to get answers and solutions as soon as possible from a broad range of experts, including Best Buy employees AND other customers

Effectiveness

Twelpforce has attracted over 10,000 followers in just a few weeks.

Robin Wauters from Tech Crunch thinks Twelpforce is a great idea because it allows Best Buy to start helping customers instantly. For example from the moment a customer tweets, “I could use a new tv,” a
Best Buy employee can and drive consideration of Best Buy solutions.

Best Buy is gaining key market insight from employees who are identifying hot trends.

Snapshot Caption:

Best Buy is daring to be great by enabling communication between customers and employees, customers and customers, and employees and employees. They are demonstrating to their employees that they are valued and trusted. Customers benefit from near-instant advice and answers. Best Buy will benefit from innovative ideas from their front line employees who are closest to consumers. Customers will benefit from being able to tap into a large community to discuss their product needs.