Latest Loyalty Experiment Support from Facebook
Option to connect Brand Loyalty Programs to In-App Activity being tested by Facebook
Although with the current COVID-19 turmoil happening around the globe, few minor marketing updates on Facebook have been lost in the shuffle. However, brands’ intention to move forward will make these considerations more crucial for the future.
A new pilot program was launched just last week, on Facebook, with a make-up brand Sephora, which they were able to successfully connect a person’s existing brand loyalty membership to their Facebook identity.
The brands now can use Facebook Ads to connect their loyalty program members on the platform by clicking the ‘Link Account’ CTA at the bottom of the post, which, when customers taped, will then allow customers to link their brand and Facebook account.
When the accounts are linked, the account status of the brand loyalty account can easily be tracked using Facebook. Moreover, members will also be able to earn points for their on-platform activity, get member discounts on purchases, and have any points for online shopping linked back to their customer ID.
Currently, this option has only been tested with few businesses in the US, nevertheless, it will definitely appeal to more brands very soon. This option enables brands to better market their products by giving more incentives on repeated purchases by their most loyal customers, have a more improved ad targeting that can be analyzed using the past on and offline purchasing behaviors, and also a more specialization for member-exclusive events.
As of the current situation, where the majority are practicing social distancing, this option may appeal more relevant to the brands. It cannot be denied that there is no definite time frame on how long the social isolation effect will last, but as of now, more users are choosing to spend time online, on Facebook to be exact, and are also looking to shop online, given the current situation.
As noted, this option will not be made widely available yet. However, as everyone is adjusting to the new norm, these options would definitely be received well.
The facilitation of brand loyalty-type programs has always been looked at by Facebook for some time.
In 2017, a “Reward” option was tested by Facebook, where users are able to obtain discounts or rewards linked back to your Facebook profile by scanning personalized QR codes at participating stores. It was a more general option as compared to the new, but the idea was similar. which was to improve marketing efforts by providing a better link between on and offline activity.
However, it was scrapped shortly into the test period, and this new update can be seen to be the more advanced, and improvised version of the previous ‘Reward’, which combines more data sources and individual targeting capacity.
Although with the recent staffing changes at The Social Network which would likely delay the rollout of such tools, it is worth always keep a tab on such features when planning a strategic plan.
Our Take
Social platforms which own lots of audiences database can also take the advantage by using this loyalty program system to better understand the company’s target audiences demographic such as shopping habits, age and living area to reinforce their communication and Ads system in order to narrow down who or where they need to deliver their messages more efficiently.
With this loyalty system, marketers were able to use a more precise angle to leverage content marketing and email marketing to keep efficiently and continuously communicating with the targets to build a stronger impact and engagement with VIP and potential clients. Furthermore, promoting the brand and products by the specialized event to the loyalty program members can also be able to lead to a higher repurchase rate.
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