You Could Almost Taste It…

So here’s another example of how effectively social media can help promote an established consumer brand.

On November fifth, the parent company of Outback Steakhouse started giving away coupons for a Bloomin’ Onion appetizer (a $6.25 value) to the first 500,000 people who signed up as fans on Outback’s Facebook page. To claim the free appetizer, people needed to buy one entree.

Since the Facebook promotion launched, more than 300,000 people have signed up as Outback fans on Facebook, according to this story in the Tampa (Florida) Tribune. Inside Facebook, a blog that tracks traffic on Facebook, ranked Outback’s page as one of the top fan gainers that week.

Now: What if the company had added video to the mix? When you’re selling a product with visual and sensory appeal, we at OMV claim there’s no more effective tool than video.

What do you think—is the appeal of free food enough, or would an almost-first-hand look at the product have sweetened the deal?