Social media success does not always mean you close a sale. It can be better that—it can lead to viral PR success.

Here's a great example from Samsung Canada.

According to Canada’s Globe and Mail:

"On Wednesday, Samsung customer Shane Bennett, who owns a Galaxy smartphone as well as a laptop and LCD TV made by the company, wrote a private message to Samsung Canada on Facebook. On a whim, he asked whether he could get a free upgrade of his phone to the latest model, the S III, not yet in stores."

Via Facebook, Bennett also sent Samsung a picture of a dragon he'd drawn.

The Globe continues:

“The crudely scribbled green monster, which sports a beaver-like tail and an amazing ability to breathe fire despite the fact that his mouth appears to be closed, appeared beneath the message. A helpful sound effect, ‘Rawr’ was scrawled above the flames."

Cool stuff, right?

Samsung Canada's response was way cooler. The company's community manager, denied the request for the free phone citing costs as the reason, but replied by saying:

“That being said, your drawing of the dragon is epic, so we’re returning the favor. Please find attached a drawing of a kangaroo on a unicycle.”

Bennett, thrilled with Samsung's response then posted the picture to Reddit, where it was voted to the front page.

End result: Samsung did not have to give away a free phone, but managed to make a client happy and get significant positive exposure. While it may be hard to measure the return on investment of a Kangaroo on a unicycle, there is no doubt this little interaction on social media was great.

(Image via)