I’ve heard of a Club Crawl, a Pub Crawl and even a Santa Claus Crawl, but the businesses on Sunset Strip have done something really innovative by combining real-time updates through Twitter with the traditional bar-hop.

This Saturday, businesses like The Viper Room (@theVIPERroom), The Comedy Store (@TheComedyStore) and The Roxy (@TheRoxy) are hosting the first Tweet Crawl. Those participating get a collector-edition button and access to drink, cover and prize specials only available through following the participating businesses’  Twitter accounts.

This is smart marketing. Twitter newbies may be motivated to join the Twitterverse to get all the deals and, after the night is over, they can find out what else is happening on the Strip. The beauty of this marketing strategy is how the clubs are using social media to motivate social behavior with the carrot of discounts. With the right strategy, Twitter can be a strong marketing tool to reach new audiences and keep them interested in shows or the latest acts.

I’m not advocating for copycats, but I like the idea of bringing together something old like bar-hopping and something new like micro-blogging.

If you’re there this weekend, let us know if this is a hit. It has all the makings of one!

(Thanks to Thomas Hawk for the picture!)

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