Every now and then, you come across an idea that is so simple, yet so genius, you can’t help but let your jaw go slack.
That was my reaction to reading about an incentive offer currently available from Toyota.
Tweet about buying a Toyota and you’ll get a $500 rebate. For every follower or friend who re-tweets the message within 48 hours (up to 10 friends, total), receive another $50. That means there’s a $1,000 rebate for sending one tweet and asking 10 friends to do the same.
That’s $1,000 for little more than a couple minutes of work. And, let’s face it. People who are using Twitter are likely to tweet about a new car purchase anyway. Now, they are going to get paid for it.
Another institution using social media the right way is SunTrust Bank, which used Facebook to engage its customers.
The bank asked customers to supply tips as to how to stay within their holiday budget. Each week, a random customer would be selected to win a $100 gift card. At the end of the promotion, one winner would be selected for a $1,000 grand prize.
Auto lenders could easily adapt these ideas to engage their customers and make some marketing hay at the same time. Lenders could offer incentives or rebates to customers who tweet about obtaining financing. Staying on a budget is always a topic that lenders want their customers to be aware of, too. If nobody ever did it, then the saying, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” wouldn’t exist.
Rather than using Twitter or Facebook solely as a means of pushing out content or PR to the masses, lenders should be using these tools to interact with their customers. Money is always an effective incentive of driving behavior. Using money as an incentive to engage and interact with customers is the easiest way to use social media. It’s also a no-brainer in today’s world.
