By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-22 00:11:09 | Updated at 2024-11-24 05:36:53
2 days ago
A Massachusetts café has a unique promotion to get people in the door - do a dance and get a free coffee.
Coffee Milano Café is in Middleborough, which has a population of about 24,000 people. But the shop's most recent TikTok has reached well beyond town limits, getting nearly 7 million views as of Thursday afternoon.
The video showed over a dozen excited customers boogying their way through the door to snag their free cup of joe.
One woman did a very convincing moon walk, while a mother danced with her toddler.
Owner Josh Rashid spoke to CNN and said foot traffic increased after the video was posted.
'We're a small little town here in Middleborough, and it's fun. A couple of people were in the store when it happened, and they came in the next day and said, "Oh my gosh, I saw your video on my For You page,"' he said.
Rashid was inspired to do this by a pizza shop that ran a similar promotion.
He posted a sign on the door telling customers they'd receive a free coffee if they danced for five seconds. The sign also told them that they'd be recorded and posted on the café's social media.
Over a dozen excited customers boogying their way through the door of Coffee Milano Café to snag their free cup of joe
Rashid said the cafe’s TikTok account has gained more than 10,000 followers since the video was posted, up from about 4,000 followers.
'Small businesses really need to be on these platforms where potential customers are searching,' Kristyn Shay told CNN.
Shay, a social media director at SCORE, a nonprofit offering resources for small business owners, added that 'it's really an exciting time for small businesses to go viral on platforms like TikTok and be where younger potential customers are hanging out.'
Rashid said his staff only began creating short, fun videos on TikTok about four weeks ago after he decided it was time to switch up their marketing strategy.
'We're in a digital world and word of mouth is great, but at the same time, we're glued to our phones,' he said.
'It just shows us how powerful social media is, and as a business owner, we have to adapt and do what we can.'
The café plans to bring back the dancing promotion, but there's a catch
The videos are often short skits that use trending TikTok sounds and so far, they've received glowing reviews in the comments.
That includes the dancing video, which had such a positive reception that Rashid plans to bring back the deal every month.
The catch is that he won't post an announcement or an official day for when customers can dance for free coffee.
To make it more fun, he's going to leave 'Easter eggs' across the café's social media profiles.
Rashid added that he's not worried about losing money with the promotion.
'You've got to have some joy in this world, and if a little five second dance brings you joy, then it's worth the free coffee,' he said.
