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Will “Become a Fan” for Food

Einstein

On January
25, Einstein Bros. Bagels announced the launch of its “Free Bagel
Bonanza”.  Beginning yesterday, consumers who become fans of the Einstein
Bros. Bagels Facebook page (www.facebook.com/einsteinbros)
will receive a digital coupon valid for a free bagel and shmear. 

 

By using this
social media promotion, in just 24 hours, Einstein has gained thousands of new
Facebook fans.  Talk about the power of social media!

Social media
has proved successful (at least to date) as a great new way to for a company to
market its offerings. With most companies designing Facebook pages to look more
like interactive websites, they are quickly learning the importance of creating
a place to build relationships with current and future customers.

As I looked
through my Facebook pages, I started to think about why I joined most of my
pages.  The answer became clear as I scrolled down and realized I am a
“fan” of over twenty restaurant concepts.  You may ask why I would become
of fan of so many pages and the answer is simple - all of these pages offered
me free food.

Free food has
proven to be a successful way to gain new Facebook fans over the past several
years.  Shane’s Rib Shack
hosted a four-month long series of Facebook and Twitter promotions that offered
free food in exchange for becoming a fan of its page.  This promotion
gained new followers and gave customers a way to try many different items from
Shane’s menu.  Another concept, Stevi B’s Pizza used free pizza
as a way to gain its first 1,000 fans.  By offering a coupon for a free
pizza buffet in exchange for becoming a fan, in less than 72 hours, Stevi B’s
hit its 1,000 mark and continued to grow.

Besides the
allure of yummy treats, there’s another reason that these campaigns tend to
take off. For whatever reason, restaurant pages are some of the most popular
pages on Facebook in the first place. As I found in The Big Money Facebook 50, people
like to be affiliated with their favorite pizza, candy, and soda companies. So,
when these companies kick off a promotion, it tends to make an even bigger
splash.

All I know is
all these pages are making me hungry.  Today, I am eating my free four-cheese
bagel with my lunch, and tomorrow the search begins for the next fan page to
join.

By Kelly Ronna

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