No money? Post for free products!!!

Pay for a product with a social media post? Sound hard to believe but it is true and this
trend is just at its beginning. Businesses are using social media posts to broaden their names so
by posting and sharing their posts, the customers get free products from them. This sounds new
and fun, plus the fact that posts and shares are free, so you literally have free stuff after some
click on the phones. As we move along, I will explain to you about the value of money during
Covid time and the result that come with it, how widely used social media is and the reason we
choose it as a base for this campaign, and some benefits that come along with why you should do
this for your business. The world is still struggling with the Covid situation, there are cases
everywhere, money is getting more and more value, it is a smart move to use social media posts
as a form of currency in exchange for people knowing your brand. 
First, what is a post, according to Constant Contact
Knowledge Base, it stated: “Post (also see
tweet) - Content shared on social media through a user's
profile. It can be as simple as a blurb of text, but can also
include images, videos, and links to other content. Other
users of the social network can like, comment, and share
the post.” That is the first step that the businesses will do
for you, they will make a post. In the post, they will
explain step by step how to get their product. Your job as a
customer and a consumer is to share the post and get your
product, for free, simple as that. Next to this paragraph is a
post by MilkUP Ontario and it is about a post-to-pay post.
The result for this is constantly run out of products and
long lines.
Money, especially during Covid, is getting more and more value. Covid makes it harder
for people to achieve their long-term financial goals, or even recover their finances. That’s why
this campaign is perfect, you give away free products in exchange for your name being popular.
There is research stated that: “Anticipating a decrease in real incomes determines the population
to restrict their consumption to what is strictly necessary and to save, but this prudent behavior
will cause the demand to decrease, the productive activity to slow down, the employment to
decrease” (Valentin, p.124, 2020). As you can see, the production rate slows down because
people stop buying and this behavior appears because people's incomes dropped. Why? Because
the industry must slow down the production rate by firing people which leads to people with no
job, no incomes. It’s a full cycle back and forward and if we don’t have any solution to fix it, we
are entering the declining slope of activity in the real economy. This affects both the industry and
the people. People won’t buy that much anymore because they want to recover their finance, and
you can utilize this campaign for your brand identity and its place in the industry.
Social media is commonly used all over the world. You can use it anywhere, in your local
radius, or even worldwide, easy and accessible. Plus the fact that it is free, why won’t you use it
for advertisement? That is smart and it is way cheaper than any advertising company. According
to the Italian Journal of Pediatrics, it stated: “Technology has played a crucial role during the
quarantine for young subjects who have increased the daily use of technological devices to stay
connected with the rest of the world. Particularly, social media platforms have become
fundamental for maintaining and enhancing socialization” (Salzano et al., 2021). Yes, indeed.
Social media have become one of the most essential things to our younger generation. They
 represented us where we post, text, call each other like
Salzano wrote “stay connected”. Not just our younger
ones, even grown-ups or business companies also use
social media to stay in touch, set up appointments, group
chats, … Facebook and other social media platforms are
free and can be accessed from almost every country in the
world. All you need is a Wi-Fi connection and a phone;
you can easily reach out to others with just a click. More
than that, because of Covid, it is hard or even dangerous
to go outside to meet and socialize like we used to before
Covid. There are many social media platforms to reach
out to, the example above about MilkUP Ontario was
posted on Instagram, there are many others like
Facebook, Twitter, … The picture next to this is an
example from Bun Burger from a consumer’s point of
view. I’ll have a link down below to this video. Bun
Burger decided to giveaway their burgers in exchange for
their name on Tiktok, one of the most used social media
platforms in the world. Look how many likes and reposts
she has and imagine pilling it up with every customer. The brand is popular, and it is definitely a
good running business. Social media is commonly used by everyone, and it plays a crucial part
during the time of Covid. That’s why it is a smart move to promote your brand through social
media considering that it’s free and easy to reach out to them since most of them have their own
one. 
Here is why you should start this. Many benefits come with this type of campaign.
According to Mosley, seven benefits come with using it, “greater insight, increase impact, larger
circle of influence, organic growth, higher customer retention, premium prices, better word of
mouth”. “Greater insight” or I could say “far vision”, will always be the first thing to think about
whenever you start up a brand. It’s all about the relationship between the brand and its
customers. Great insight helps you to link up with your customers, find out if there are any
problems in your system, and an effective way to fix them. It is very important to have a great
insight if you are here for the long run. “Increase impact”, is also a great benefit you gained from
using social media as a form of currency. Whenever someone used your brand, they liked it and
they started to recommend it to their friends and family. Congratulations, you have created an
impact. By that time, your brand will become an influencer in
its own industry. “Larger circle of
influence” is made, and the brand
will stand strong with its position, it
becomes well-known. All the things
add up and create a snowball effect
that will continue to grow as your
brand become bigger and attract
more customers. “Higher customer
retention” or “loyalty” for short, take
Starbuck and local coffee shops like Satellite for example, although they are making the same
drinks, same prices but everyone would prefer to have a drink at Starbuck. The reason for this is
that they are loyal to the brand, they like the service that Starbuck provided, and the name
Starbuck is well-known to them. “Premium price” is the ultimate goal that every start-up aims
for, and social media can be a big help for that. It helps customers’ view of the product change,
making it appear to be something that they must have, even with a higher price than the market
price. “Word of mouth” is another way to create impact, you have a unique brand identity, you
please your customer, by creating good experiences for your customers, word of mouth is an
excellent tool for your brand to be promoted and recommended. However, word of mouth can
also be dangerous, if your business accidentally makes bad decisions and upset your customer,
they will eventually be very harsh on your brand and spread out bad information about the brand.
All of the above advantages add up to one last point: larger leads. Your consumers are ready to
suggest their friends and family to your company by this point. This generates a consistent flow
of highly qualified leads, resulting in exponential business growth.
After explaining its benefits, do you think that this is a good idea to use posts as a
currency? Covid is not as rapid as it used to be in America, everyone will eventually go out and
get back with their before Covid life. This campaign is just started, and there are still many
things to improve it. Here is a million-dollar question for today, what industry will have more
benefit with this campaign, food industry or cosmetic industry?
 Works Cited

"Constant Contact Knowledge Base". Knowledgebase.Constantcontact.Com, 2022,

https://knowledgebase.constantcontact.com/articles/KnowledgeBase/6260-definition-of-common-
social-media-terms?lang=en_US. Accessed 27 Feb 2022.

Giuseppina Salzano, et al. “Quarantine Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic from the Perspective of
Adolescents: The Crucial Role of Technology.” Italian Journal of Pediatrics, vol. 47, no. 1, Feb. 2021, pp.
1–5. EBSCOhost, https://doi-org.libproxy.unm.edu/10.1186/s13052-021-00997-7.

"Home". Satellite Coffee, 2022, https://www.satellitecoffee.com/. Accessed 28 Feb 2022.

"Starbucks - Wikipedia". En.Wikipedia.Org, 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starbucks. Accessed 28

Feb 2022.

Sava Valentin, and Tureatcă Manuela-Violeta. “Perspectives for Economic Recovery after the Covid Crisis
19.” Risk in Contemporary Economy, vol. 1, no. 1, Oct. 2020, pp. 118–30. EBSCOhost,
https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=edsdoj&AN=edsdoj.6ccf0c198bc473f8de0dc829c502980&site=eds-live&scope=site.

"What Is Social Currency? Definition, Benefits, And Examples". Referral Rock Blog, 2018,
https://referralrock.com/blog/social-currency/. Accessed 28 Feb 2022.

Bun Burger TikTok video:

https://www.tiktok.com/@aisha.4164/video/7027426944874499329?
referer_video_id=7027426944874499329&refer=embed

MilkUP Ontario post:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CTS4xbjL_e7/