In case you missed it, last week Domino’s Pizza held a promotion on Facebook where they gave out a total of 75,000 free pizzas over the course of 4 days. All you had to do was ‘Like’ their Facebook fan page, and be lucky enough to view their contest app within a few minute window between when they opened up the giveaway and before all the allotted pizzas for the day were snatched up. (On the first day they had 25,000 pizzas to give away, and they were all registered for within 23 minutes.)
Luck was on my side Tuesday when I happened to win one, and while I was enjoying my reward that evening it got me thinking about the undertaking Domino’s went through, and the value they placed on Facebook Fans.
Looking at it from just a monetary perspective for now, the pizzas they were giving away, according to their website, are $7.99 each. That’s a total of $599,250 worth of pizzas they gave away in exchange for people ‘Liking’ their Facebook fan page. Add onto that the cost of the promotion itself (all the planning, app development, coordination, etc.), the wages of their employees who had to make the free pizzas, and so on, this was quite an expensive play for more Facebook fans.
Of course, at the end of the day it was just a big promotion. It was a way to get people talking about them (as I am now) and raise more brand awareness. But, the fact that they used Facebook, and made it a point to gather more Facebook fans in exchange for the pizzas, shows that they’re one company that places a decent amount of value on their Facebook fans. (If nothing else, $7.99 per fan.)
Domino’s isn’t the only company to have done something like this, and no doubt they won’t be the last. They’re just one example of the many small and large companies that see the value of social network and marketing, and, at least with Facebook, realize that with a large fan base, your direct reach to individuals and their friends has great value. Only Domino’s will know exactly how successful (profitable) this whole undertaking was, but they definitely saw the potential value in it.
We’re not saying go out and spend thousands (or even hundreds) of dollars on a Facebook campaign for your business. Not all businesses are the same and different approaches benefit different businesses. But, do think about the value of your own fans.
With our apps it doesn’t cost much at all to engage them and build up your fan base more, increasing your reach to not just them but their friends as well. That kind of connection can be quite valuable, as companies like Domino’s show.
Just some ‘food’ for thought!
Matt DeWyer
Matt is the founder and one of the owners of FBiframes. He's a developer by day.. and night.
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