"You like us. You really, really like us," wrote American Eagle Outfitters in a Facebook status last week. The retailer recently hit six million fans on the social network, and to thank them for helping them reach such a milestone, American Eagle posted a 20% off coupon for online and in-store use to its page only for Facebook fans to use.

 

On Thursday, Feb. 2 the retailer's Facebook page hit six million fans. American Eagle posted an image announcing the number, and told fans to check back to next day for "a special thank you." When fans logged onto Facebook the next day, multiple statuses with an offer for a 20% off coupon or online code, free shipping and links to its website and a coupon to be used in-store appeared on the newsfeeds. When they visited the Facebook page itself, a tab on the left took fans to a page with a printable version of the coupon as well as the online code. The offer was available through Sunday, Feb. 5.

 

On the statuses, fans commented with questions about which items were eligible and if they encountered problems when checking out online such as being unable to redeem the free shipping. American Eagle replied to all problems within the comments themselves, helping answer questions and resolve technical issues fans may have encountered with the code.

 

By "thanking" its fans and interacting with them in real-time to solve issues, American Eagle made a direct effort to engage with its customers. The retailer was able to get customers' feedback on the promotion and can use that information to determine whether promotions like this could be beneficial in the future. The effort also helped to boost online and in-store sales and traffic, as well as continue to up its Facebook fan count from fans who shared the promotion on their own newsfeeds.