Reward Twitter/Facebook friends with coupons

We talked before about the importance of being present on Twitter and Facebook as part of your online strategy. Using social networks can certainly drive traffic, but perhaps its greatest potential is to build a loyal following, expand your audience and encourage consumers to convert.

One such way to reach these goals is by offering perks to new fans, friends and followers. Eli's Cheesecake, a Chicago legacy, has a long history but is clearly wise to the times.  Whenever someone joins their network, they send a thank you along with a coupon redeemable at their online store.

The offer works on several levels:

• It's targeted - sent as a direct message to someone with a clear interest in their product.
• It's defined. The offer's terms are clearly stated.
• The call-to-action is focused. The coupon is intended for use on elischeesecake.com - driving traffic to the website and opening up a channel for conversions.
• It's limited. The coupon is only good for a set amount of time, so the user is urged to take immediate action.
• It's trackable. The coupon code (hidden) means that Eli's can track every conversion from this coupon to optimize future campaigns.

Twitter and Facebook are great ways to extend your business presence online and drive some traffic to your website. But as Eli's shows here, it can also be a powerful way to encourage brand loyalty and generate revenue.

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