Strategy+Design

Setting up a Facebook page is easy, but the hard part comes when you’ve got to figure out what to do with it. Ice cream shop Cold Stone Creamery is one company that has done an amazing job working with Facebook pages and has shown that they really understand the marketing potential of Facebook.

Cold Stone has seen great success with Facebook promotions featuring coupons and contests, both of which have boosted the number of fans by great amounts and have also helped to increase sales for the company. However, the real innovation comes from the company’s ability to do something that not many have been able to figure out how to do – monetizing Facebook.

How did they do it? By allowing users to make purchases from within Facebook, in the form of eGifts. From the Facebook page, users can choose from 5 different ice cream gifts to send to friends in the form of a code that works just like a gift card, which can be sent to the recipient via Facebook or email. It’s a quick way for people to be able to give friends a small gift to say thanks or to cheer someone up. Initially Facebook gifts were just little images you could post on a friend’s wall, but Cold Stone saw the opportunity to turn these into something tangible. If people were willing to spend $1 on an image, they would certainly be willing to spend a little more on a physical item that could actually be enjoyed. Most people probably wouldn’t go out of their way to head over to a retail location to pick up a $5 gift card for a friend, but would happily take the time to spend 2 minutes at the computer to give someone a little present.

It’s a great use of the Facebook platform and is a good example of how we need to adapt to the changing habits of consumers. These days, everything needs to be quicker, easier and more convenient, even when it comes to gift giving. Cold Stone Creamery realized this and managed to create a great way to increase sales.