A few weeks ago I wandered into a popular shoe store located on Melbourne's famous shopping strip, Chapel St, and after a lap of the store I was just about to leave when I heard the sales assistant who was processing a sale say to the customer she was serving, 'we're offering 10% off today for people who 'check-in' on facebook at our store, is this something you would be interested in doing'? I stopped dead in my tracks and listened to see whether the 40-something year old woman would a) know what this meant and b) take this offer up or not. On this occasion, the woman said she didn't have facebook, but that her daughter (who wasn't with her at the store) did, and asked if she could get her daughter to check-in for her. The sales assistant declined as she said she had to actually view the check-in before she could process the discount. Fair enough I suppose.
But this encounter got me thinking about the power of the facebook check-in, and how marketers could utilise this platform as a means to advertise and market their products and brands, given the fact that a huge number of people are spending more and more of their time on these social media sites.
A fellow social media commentator has recently blogged about this here and raised many valuable insights regarding the reasons behind businesses utilising the 'check-in'. What I think is very clever about the whole idea is that, using my experience as an example, if I had made a purchase that day and checked-in to the store via facebook, many of my female friends (who often have similar interests to me such as a love of shoes!) would have seen this update and been exposed to the brand of the store. I undoubtedly would have also mentioned the discount I received, once again giving free advertising to the business. It could then have potentially become a talking point amongst my friends and I, and would have encouraged more of them to visit the store when they may not have otherwise done so. All this equals a positive transaction, both for the consumer and the business!
I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject. Do you think this is a legitimate marketing strategy that more companies, particularly those in retail, should be investigating and utilising? Or would facebook users just consider these types of promotions to be annoying noise clogging up their newsfeeds, resulting in a negative impact on brands that use these methods of marketing?
Good post Natalie. I think this is a very good strategy, particularly if coupled with having customers 'like' the store. I'm reminded of this "Hub Spot" clip where the 'cops' chase down someone for falsely checking in somewhere?! Foursquare Cops
ReplyDeleteHi Natalie. I think is a very creative marketing strategy to offer a discount and receive something valuable in return like improving the brand awareness of your company.
ReplyDeleteHi Natalie, and welcome to blogging!
ReplyDeleteChecking in via LBSNs is a great way to spread the news of your store, but sometimes I wonder if it comes across as a little too "artificial", particularly if it is seen as something people do just to get a discount. True brand loyalty, where people checkin just to show their affiliation with a brand is valuable. False checkins that are nothing more than being "bought" by a brand may be dangerous, I suspect.
What do others think about this?
I like the idea of checking in and getting something for it. It raises awareness, the consumer gets a discount, even if it is artificial, as long as value is created through the discount, consumers will go back. In a way its similar to Amity's blog where consumers were rewarded with a gift for using SM to talk about the brand.
ReplyDeleteRoss