A few years ago, nobody could have imagined the possibility of receiving discounts through a social network. Looking into the past, we see that the only way to get discounts was through special offers, coupons in magazines or through contacts with friends.

Since the advent of social networks, however, interaction between people on both a personal and business level has changed forever. Following this path, American Express launched its new discount program through Twitter, enabling fans to get discounts by simply using a hashtag.

How does it work? It’s simple: all you need is to link your Amex card with your Twitter account in order to synchronize both. So, every time you see a tweet on Amex’s Twitter account, you can ‘request’ the discount by using the corresponding hashtag. Within seconds, you will receive a ‘virtual coupon’ with the discount you can use while making your purchase.

This is another pioneering idea for social networks which meets all the objectives sought in advertising communication: to raise awareness, interact with users and provide real benefits for consumers.

Are you ready to try it?

This is one of the ways social starts to get really exciting for brands, and it’s not with a cool Facebook app or innovative social play, just smart thinking combined with the drive to make it happen. So, IKEA created a seriously good PR stunt, the Facebook Fan Sleepover …

After finding a Facebook group with almost 100,000 people called
“I Wanna Have A Sleepover In Ikea“. IKEA themselves created a competition for their Facebook Fans to be part of a giant sleepover at the Essex IKEA store for 100 people. What a great way to turn fans into advocates!

Not only was it a PR stunt, but also a way to actually have people test out products like mattresses for longer than 10 minutes … complete with a sleep expert on hand for advice.