It was just last year that we all saw our Instagram feeds swarming with pictures of the same red swimsuit everyone wanted for free. Sunny Co. started this trend last year, by letting their followers know whoever posted a picture of their red swimsuit and tagged them in it would get a free swimsuit, worth over $60. Instagram users went wild over the opportunity and hundreds of thousands of users posted the picture to their own profiles. Sunny Co. ended up having to cap the amount of users that could receive the free suit, which created a massive outrage across the internet. Sunny Co. had to shut down their account because of the influx of users on to their account.

Brands often use these posts to increase engagement on their social media platforms and website. When brands have a high number of followers, they are perceived as more reputable, which is very helpful to smaller businesses. To do this, brands often only give offers to users that follow their account or like their latest picture. This increases their reach for future posts and increases engagement on their current posts. Businesses often rely on the consumers not unfollowing them directly after they redeem the offer, so it creates a longer-term bond with the consumer. These online businesses do most/all of their marketing through social media, due to the low costs and high reach capabilities, so these promotions are what they rely on to get the word out about what they have to offer to consumers. 

Social media is an amazing place for businesses to offer products and services to consumers. For young consumers, free items are a pull to try new things and purchase from businesses that they have never heard of. However, try to do your research before putting your credit card information into any website to make sure that it is reputable. If you get lucky, though, you score a free swimsuit and businesses score your trust.