Like us on Facebook. Or not.

In a local mall a shoe store has a sign out front that tells me to like them on Facebook.  Each time I read it, I think, “Why should I?”  Recently, I was in Chicago with the family and we went to Gino’s East.  While waiting on our table, the host bribed us with free appetizer coupons if we liked them on Facebook.  Naturally, we did because we were hungry – for Gino’s – and we were at Gino’s – planning to eat at Gino’s – and he was offering us free Gino’s food.  Now maybe people like pizza more than discount shoes, but Gino’s has about 1,500 likes per location compared to the shoe store’s 7.

The point is it takes more than the presence of a Facebook page (or any other technology for that matter) to get people to change their behavior, and we need to give more than cursory consideration to what those things are or our technology initiatives will never fully live up to their promise.  If you’re like that shoe store, it’s probably not too late to take a lesson from Gino’s East.