What’s the best way to build your Facebook fan-base? If you’re struggling for ideas, you could always start giving away bagels. It seems to have worked for Einstein Bros. Bagels. From a Fast Company article:
Be my friend, get a free bagel! That’s the message Einstein Bros. Bagels is telling potential customers on Facebook, and, at least in visible numbers, it’s paying off. The bagel-and-schmear giveaway started less than three full days ago, and already the bagel chain has increased its Facebook fan count from a measly 4,700 to a massive 336,000-plus. According to the company, this is the first instance of a Facebook advertiser providing a free offer though instant digital coupons. Is free the social media marketing campaign of the future?
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One of the most interesting things about Einstein Bros.’s campaign is that it has an indefinite end date. “We are gauging customers in real time,” the company told us over email this morning. “We’re looking at not only the number of Einstein Bros. Bagels fans, but also the rate in which we continue to add them.”
Since the above article was written, the company has added another ~70,000 fans, leaving them with more than 405,000. Of course, there’s more to a successful marketing campaign than simply accruing Facebook fans. The real question for Einstein Bros. is what they will do with a few hundred-thousand Facebook fans.
As is always true of these social media campaigns, there’s a strong possibility that many of these fans will drop out once the promotion in question is redeemed. And this should inform Einstein Bros.’s thinking–push too hard, and these fans will become more likely to leave. But it really is amazing that the bagel company has managed to find more than 400,000 fans who chose to both voluntarily identify with its brand and agree to further interaction.
It’s a question that each business needs to ask itself, no matter how many Facebook fans it has: once you earn fans, what will you do with them?
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- How to Build a Facebook Landing Page
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- Facebook’s Game to Lose
- What’s the Value of Your Facebook Marketing Campaign?
- Find More Fans
