340,000 bagel fans can’t be wrong

By Len Gutman on January 29th, 2010 In Social Media

There are successful social promotions and there are successful social promotions, and this week the folks at Einstein Bros Bagels showed us that discounts are good but free is better.

Einstein Bros launched its new Facebook fan site with a free bagel and shmear coupon, and nabbed 340,000 new fans in one week. That’s impressive by any measure, and all the proof you need that social networking is the next big marketing tool for big brands.

Remember when the Internet was just some cool way for geeks to chat and flame each other on message boards? Then corporations figured out they could sell stuff online and now we are inundated with corporate web sites and pop up ads. Social media is the next frontier and corporations have already figured out its just another advertising medium. You might think this is sad, or you might think this is just the logical progression in our advertising-based society. Or, like me, you might think this is just a cool way to get a free bagel! See you at Einstein’s next week.

340,000 bagel fans can’t be wrong

Comments

Dan Wool Says:
January 29th, 2010 at 9:39 am

But let’s see if they keep it up. This was a promotion. Social media is a dialog – if Einstein’s can’t keep up their end of the conversation, then what’s the point? It’s one thing to get people in today, but another to grow their affinity and come in regularly.

Linnea Maxwell Says:
January 29th, 2010 at 1:20 pm

I like what Mojo Yogurt is doing with fan photos and annoucing a “secret word” on Facebook for half off that day. Check it out — really good yogurt, too.

ScribeDevil Says:
January 29th, 2010 at 1:23 pm

Facebook is an incredible tool for marketers. We’re helping Tempe-based Titus Cycles with a Facebook campaign right now. Users are encouraged to design – and agree to receive – a Titus tattoo. The winner gets a $6,000 mountain bike and a free tattoo.

The fan page has grown by more than 40% in just two weeks. We blogged about it here: http://www.bulbstorm.com/blog/

Very interesting to see where all this will go. Thanks for the post, Len!

Ashley Panter Says:
January 29th, 2010 at 2:03 pm

This was an easy way to get a lot of fans…but it actually violates the Facebook Promotional Guidelines (http://www.facebook.com/promotions_guidelines.php) . Facebook is not currently enforcing these rules, but if they do they have the right to delete fan pages that violate the guidelines. I agree with Dan–they have a lot of fans, but that doesn’t mean anything if there is no conversation. It is my opinion that the real success of a social media campaign is in the level of interaction, not how many fans you can get by offering something free.

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