Step in the Social Reward Program – a Reward program that is developed from the ground up to be a fun and engaging experience for consumers. Basic asks of social marketing programs such as Liking, Sharing and Friending should be core components of every Reward program. Moreover, Reward programs are a natural fit for game mechanics – points, levels, rewards, and leaderboards – which, when combined with the social graph and social actions, can be turned into a fun experience that consumers want to engage with. Add to the mix standard Reward program purchase asks and mobile actions such as check-ins and you have yourself a powerful Social Reward Program. Just as Facebook is prevalently becoming the hub and is outperforming as a channel for digital marketing campaigns, so should Facebook become the hub of Social Reward Programs.
For organizations such as Coca-Cola that have a legacy Rewards program–My Coke Rewards–making the move to a Social Reward Program presents challenges and benefits similar to moving legacy IT infrastructure into the cloud. For companies that are considering developing a Reward program from the ground up, a Social Reward Program with Facebook serving as the hub of the program is the way to go. Like sugar adds sweetness to strawberries, the social graph and game mechanics add goodness to Reward programs.
