Pretzel Crisps Grows its Facebook Fan Base With Coupons

Problem: Snack food company Pretzel Crisps sought to increase its number of Facebook fans.

Solution: Provide coupons to consumers for becoming a fan.

Results: In two weeks, Pretzel Crisps went from 6,800 Facebook fans to 13,700 fans. By offering a second coupon, Pretzel Crisps’ Facebook fan base jumped from 14,000 fans to 29,000 fans in just 36 hours.

Pretzel Crisps’ slogan reads, "One bite and you'll rethink your pretzel!" Maybe it should read "One coupon and you'll rethink social media," because coupons and word-of-mouth marketing is exactly how the brand grew its number of Facebook fans.

Pretzel Crisps knew its customers were on Facebook, it was just a matter of getting them to become a fan of the brand. "It's a place where we're connecting with friends, family, our favorite activities and hopefully our favorite brands, too," says Jason Harty, director of interactive and field marketing at Pretzel Crisps, of the social networking site. "We think that Facebook is a place to connect … for us to build brand awareness and reach new users. We want to be a part of that conversation and community."

Pretzel Crisps sought out its blogging community first in an effort to build brand awareness. The company shared a dollar-off coupon with its blogger network in February, giving them the "inside scoop" and encouraging them to share the coupon with their readers and fans. Pretzel Crisps also posted the coupon as a status update on its Facebook page. The coupon was passed around around the web via Facebook and the blogger network, which caused Pretzel Crisps’ Facebook fan base to grow from 6,800 fans to 13,700 fans in just two weeks.

What's more revealing is the response Pretzel Crisps got from a second coupon offer. With no media, no status updates, no hype, no blogger network, no advertising, the company switched the coupon from a dollar off to a buy-one-get-one free coupon.