I just bought a new shipment of loose tea from Adagio Tea, and saw first-hand how they use Twitter and Facebook for social media marketing. Adagio lets you follow the shipment of your package on Twitter, and also provides you with a simple, but clear incentive to get you to promote them on Facebook.After I'd clicked the last button on the shopping cart, when I knew my tea was on its way to me, Adagio gave me the option to track the shipment using Twitter. It uses Twitter direct-messaging, which means I have to follow the Adagio account to get the messages. That's clever--they're not just asking me to follow them on Twitter, they're offering me an incentive. And I'm sure they hope that even after my package has arrived I'll stay subscribed to the account.

Likewise, Adagio offered me the option to update my Facebook friends with a notice that I'd just bought tea from them. However, they didn't just do that--they set it up so that I could send out an automated code allowing my Facebook friends to get a $5 discount in the next 24 hours.

Would I want to post an update to Facebook just to say I'm buying tea? Maybe, I like to post updates to Facebook. And I'm even more likely to do it if I can give my friends a $5 discount.

Adagio's use of social media for marketing is clever, I haven't seen anything quite like it. But will it result in their selling more tea? That's what marketing is all about, after all--selling more of your company's product or service. In the excitement and hubbub over social media, it's easy to lose sight of that.

In the interest of journalistic integrity, I am obliged to note that I also buy loose tea from Upton Tea, and I actually prefer them very slightly to Adagio because Upton is less damn cute. When you are a lover of loose tea, you are constantly fending off damn cuteness.

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