I was on Facebook yesterday when an advertisement for Chipotle in the side bar caught my attention. Usually, these tailored ads are more funny than functional, but in this case, I was intrigued. Since Lubbock just built its' first Chipotle, this company made great use of the timing of this social media campaign.
It is a public event that states if you check-in at any Chipotle location November 13-14 using the Facebook Mobile Places application and show your phone to an employee, you will receive a BOGO (Buy One, Get One) burrito, bowl, salad, or order of tacos.
I think this is a great use of social media to drive consumer traffic to Chipotle locations. Many people still do not use FourSquare so I think using a social media tool such as Facebook, which is much more widespread at this point, was a smart idea.
Apparently, this social media campaign worked well for the company so they created a second event for November 20-21. The event is identical except that they were more clear in the description and instructions for receiving the free food. It was specified that you must be physically at the restaurant (...obviously?) in order to participate in the BOGO deal. It also clarified that you could not simply post "Checking-in at Chipotle" on your Facebook status. Some consumers were confused by the last event and merely "checked-in" on the wall of the event. A link to Facebook's blog describing the details of the new application Deals was posted at the bottom of the event description.
Chipotle looking for and responding to user feedback was a smart move. It shows that the company cares about connecting with and clarifying any misconceptions its consumers may have had. People will remember that Chipotle, as opposed to competitors like Freebirds and Sazón, made use of up-and-coming social media trends to provide deals as well as took the time to relate to its' consumers on a more personal level.
Personally, I'm a Freebirds fan through-and-through. But after observing Chipotle's commitment to its' customers, I just may switch today and make use of this BOGO deal.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
A Glimpse at the Future of Foursquare
This article from Mashable.com discusses how the location-based social media tool, Foursquare, plans to dominate "what happens after the check-in." While CEO and co-founder Dennis Crowley acknowledges that the check-in aspect of Foursquare is vital, he believes the real value of this service begins after the access point. These new additions to Foursquare can be expected by the end of this year or early next year.
One feature Foursquare is working on implementing is customized recommendations. These recommendations would be based on a user's check-in history. Crowley wants to be able to offer special deals consumers would be interested in as well as have Foursquare tailored enough to recommend things users should do next. For example, if a user frequents a certain bar, the application would recommend a number of others he or she might be interested in. Or if you go to a city you've never been to, Foursquare would recommend places and activities based on your previous check-ins in your home city.
I think these ideas are essential to the survival of social media tools like Foursquare. The web and mobile continue to become more personalized every day and if services do not adapt, they will not be able to stay at the forefront of the competition. Personalization is becoming the norm for users - it is a part of social media consumers have come to expect.
Another inventive idea Foursquare has developed is the instant check-in. This would enable users to walk in to a familiar place, have their phone recognize that location and ask if they would like to check in. Crowley says the only barriers to this idea becoming a reality are the fact that GPS technology is not quite sophisticated enough yet and in order for the phone to recognize your location, users would have to keep that feature on and it would run down the phone battery.
I think this idea is the perfect balance between ease of usability as well as concern for user privacy. The only action required on the part of the user is clicking yes or no when the device asks if you would like to be checked-in. But also, the feature is discrete in that it would not automatically check the user in which I think people will appreciate.
One feature Foursquare is working on implementing is customized recommendations. These recommendations would be based on a user's check-in history. Crowley wants to be able to offer special deals consumers would be interested in as well as have Foursquare tailored enough to recommend things users should do next. For example, if a user frequents a certain bar, the application would recommend a number of others he or she might be interested in. Or if you go to a city you've never been to, Foursquare would recommend places and activities based on your previous check-ins in your home city.
I think these ideas are essential to the survival of social media tools like Foursquare. The web and mobile continue to become more personalized every day and if services do not adapt, they will not be able to stay at the forefront of the competition. Personalization is becoming the norm for users - it is a part of social media consumers have come to expect.
Another inventive idea Foursquare has developed is the instant check-in. This would enable users to walk in to a familiar place, have their phone recognize that location and ask if they would like to check in. Crowley says the only barriers to this idea becoming a reality are the fact that GPS technology is not quite sophisticated enough yet and in order for the phone to recognize your location, users would have to keep that feature on and it would run down the phone battery.
I think this idea is the perfect balance between ease of usability as well as concern for user privacy. The only action required on the part of the user is clicking yes or no when the device asks if you would like to be checked-in. But also, the feature is discrete in that it would not automatically check the user in which I think people will appreciate.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Gap Turns to Social Media to Draw Shoppers
I came across this article on the Wall Street Journal online. It focuses on Gap's innovative social media idea to draw customers into the stores. They offered 10,000 pairs of free jeans to people who checked in to any men's and women's Gap U.S. location using Facebook's new Deals feature. Deals allows users to earn special discounts when checking in to different businesses via Facebook's Places application. This benefits local businesses because it allows them access to Facebook's 200 million mobile phone users. Customers showed their check-in to a Gap employee and then received the free jeans. Shoppers who weren't quick enough to get one of the free pairs of jeans were offered 40% off any full-price item.
This is just one example of how Gap is creatively using social media to bolster sales. In August, Gap teamed up with daily deals site Groupon to present users with $50 worth of Gap products for $25. The corporation ended up selling 441,000 Groupons and made sales records in the process. That same month, Gap also offered 25% discounts to customers who checked in to a location via Foursquare.
Gap has been aggressive with traffic-driving promotions and the results are positive. The company's pioneering efforts to integrate social media with marketing and sales is genius. Gap is the country's largest apparel retailer and hopefully other businesses will follow their lead. Gap President Marka Hansen said, "This is about igniting our most loyal customer and acquiring new ones where they are." I think this method of drawing customers is effective and should be used by more companies, even smaller ones. It is a good way to raise awareness of your business while also increasing revenue.
Gap says that it will continue utilizing social media outreach techniques but will not overuse them. They plan to learn from the techniques but will use them as one-time occurrences. I think this is a good idea because if a company is constantly offering specials, they are no longer unique and people do not have a sense of urgency to get to the store for the deal.
This is just one example of how Gap is creatively using social media to bolster sales. In August, Gap teamed up with daily deals site Groupon to present users with $50 worth of Gap products for $25. The corporation ended up selling 441,000 Groupons and made sales records in the process. That same month, Gap also offered 25% discounts to customers who checked in to a location via Foursquare.
Gap has been aggressive with traffic-driving promotions and the results are positive. The company's pioneering efforts to integrate social media with marketing and sales is genius. Gap is the country's largest apparel retailer and hopefully other businesses will follow their lead. Gap President Marka Hansen said, "This is about igniting our most loyal customer and acquiring new ones where they are." I think this method of drawing customers is effective and should be used by more companies, even smaller ones. It is a good way to raise awareness of your business while also increasing revenue.
Gap says that it will continue utilizing social media outreach techniques but will not overuse them. They plan to learn from the techniques but will use them as one-time occurrences. I think this is a good idea because if a company is constantly offering specials, they are no longer unique and people do not have a sense of urgency to get to the store for the deal.
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