Plink pays you Facebook credits to eat out

January 26, 2012 | Hotel Marketing

Buy a hamburger and get rewarded with Facebook Credits to spend on a virtual cow. That’s the mouth-watering promise of startup Plink, which is launching a virtual currency loyalty rewards system for restaurants.

You register a credit card with Plink, and then when you make purchases at Taco Bell, 7-Eleven, Dunkin Donuts, or one of Plink’s other clients you’ll get Facebook Credits automatically deposited into your account. As demand for Facebook Credits to spend on social games and media increases, expect more virtual currency incentive companies like Plink to pop up.

The reason virtual currency microincentives work is because they are so cheap to distribute, and users perceive their value as higher than their cost. Mailing someone a coupon or rebate can cost enough to prohibit small incentives for small actions and purchases. Since it essentially costs nothing to drop Credits into someone’s Facebook account, businesses can cost-effectively reward users with just a few Credits, which typically cost $0.10 each.

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