• The Link Spiel , Monday, April 7, 2008 12:15 PM

Starbucks recently launched the MyStarbucksIdea feedback board/online community for caffeine junkies, but Debra Mastaler notes that the coffee giant has thus far failed to promote the property offline. And that's a link-building no-no.

"It's smart to advertise to your demographic offline because people assign credibility to what they read and transfer that trust to an online brand when they see it," Mastaler says. "And we know trust helps to build links."

Mastaler acknowledges that her local Starbucks may have been an anomaly (she inquired about the MyStarbucksIdea site and the baristas had no clue), but even missing out on the opportunity to engage the brand advocators in one neighborhood represents a loss for the java giant. "If the idea is to use the social networking site to empower customers, they're not doing it at the most effect[ive] level--the storefront," she says.

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