Last week Facebook held a big mobile event at their headquarters in California where they made several announcements that could potentially change the way consumers, businesses, and web developers interact with the the site while on the go. The announcement of the location based Facebook Deals platform may be the one that makes the biggest immediate impact. So, should your business be using Facebook Deals?
Yes. And start today.
Facebook Deals allows local businesses to offer discounts, freebies, and more to customers when they check in to their business with their mobile phone. Offers can be given for repeat visits, visiting with friends, or you can donate money to a worthy cause in lieu of a discount for the customer. There are many options but set up is easy and accepting coupons in store is as simple as looking at the customer’s phone.
All that sounds great, but how is that any different from any other sale or coupon you could offer? Like everything else with Facebook the deals are social. Every time a customer redeems a deal, all of their friends are notified that not only are they at your business but they’ll also find out that you’re running a special promotion right within their news feed. They can then click to learn more about the deal and about your business.
Turning customers into advocates isn’t the only way a Facebook deal can send more customers to your business. When you’re running a deal a large icon will be next to your business name on the business listing screen. Since the service is new, not many companies are currently taking advantage of it. As you can see from the image included in this post, the two businesses currently running deals stand out from the other listings and draw your eye to them. A customer at a nearby Starbucks could learn about your business while trying to tell their friends to come meet up for frappuccinos.