Reward your best guests with Facebook Credits

A lot of people are still wondering how Facebook makes any money apart for the advertising bit. Facebook Credits is a new revenue stream that was officially launched earlier this year for people who want to purchase stuff on the social networking site like a truck on the game Farmville. Facebook Credits are part of what we call virtual currency in the same way we had Linden dollars in Second Life.

You would need to buy Facebook Credits with real money via PayPal or credit card. For instance you could buy 50 Facebook Credits for $5.  With this money, you could vote for your favourite candidate on the X Factor, or watch movie on PayPerView.

At the moment, the online gaming industry is taking advantage of the virtual industry (MafiaWars, Farmville, PyramidZ are game where people trade in millions of dollars). Facebook Credits can also be used to purchase Deals if you have run a promotion on the site.

So what's in it for us in the hospitality industry?

I can see 5 ideas that could be explored in your business.

#1 If you have created deals on Facebook Places with your restaurant, bar and hotels, you can allow your prospects to purchase in advance what you offer.

#2 You can run a campaign on your website and reward your best customers with Facebook Credits. For instance, you can track repeat guests and give them Facebook Credits based on what they spend at your property.

#3 On your email marketing, you could reward your guests with Facebook Credits if they fill an online guest satisfaction survey

#4 You could reward people with Facebook Credits if they talk about your company  on Twitter. A tweet about @yourhotel will give you 20 Facebook Credits

#5 You could reward your guests if they reffer your hotel to their friends with a secured booking (which won't be cancelled eventually)

This virtual currency on the largest networking site (750M users around the world) is very exciting for retailers and brands. Let's see how the hospitality industry will take advantage of this.

Feel free to comment your feedback on Facebook Credits and share the pros and cons.

Comments

[Florida Internet Marketing]

I understand what are you trying to implement. I am glad you have expressed your own idea and view point about this topic. :)

[Ireland hotels]

It is a nice option to purchase stuff on social networking sites but i think that it is secure or not.

[Amaury Leconte]

I like the ideas, creative yet pragmatic. Generally speaking, Facebook credits and virtual goods/currency are relevant tools to incentivize guests to talk about your hotel or your company.

Question though: should tweets and referral be considered as "sponsored conversation" and disclaimed as such? I would say so.

Is there a business model there: virtual rewards for fair, non anonymous and certified hotel reviews? Who are the players in that field?

[Eugeniums]

Thank you for interesting post. I think Facebook credits have really great potential. Only question for me is money. It is easy to buy and reward, but how to measure better this investment in terms of feedback.

Br,
Eugene Mischenuk