21 Mar Facebook Deals – Driving Human Traffic & Face-to-face Transactions

As of today you can now subscribe to Facebook Deals – Don’t get too excited, Facebook Deals is only launching in the USA in Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, San Diego and San Francisco at this stage.

Is Facebook Deals Another Group Buying Site?

Initially, when I heard “Facebook Deals” I instantly thought it would be the end of Daily Deal sites. But apparently not. The Facebook product is actually slightly different. Sites like Groupon / Cudo & OurDeal promote pre-determined & volume dependedent deals to visitors via their website, where they then transact online I.e.– Transacting away from the business itself.

Facebook Deals is built on the Facebook Places Application (which is mobile) and allows businesses to offer customers special deals when they ‘Check In’ to their place page on Facebook – So, deal seekers on Facebook need to claim a deal in person – Transacting with the business face-to-face.

Is Facebook Deals A Good idea?

Facebook changes everything, again. Personally I think it’s a fantastic idea, you’ll be able to grow your community online & then transact with a deal measuring the entire process – it’s going to connect local businesses with Social Media in a way that has never been possible before.

Recently, there’s been a lot of news about group buying actually damaging business – Read: Forty Percent of Groupon Merchants Say Never Again. I feel if a small to medium sized business can see an “offer / deal” working right in front of them & it’s directly measurable then they’ll be far more likely to participate in future.

I asked Andrew Hughes what he thought:

So I see it as 4Square deals on speed. Yet Facebook Deals has so much more reach than 4Square ever had. From a retail perspective I see it giving the opportunity to market ads to a specific (niche) audience, and then once you get these people in store to target them with special offers.

Think about the possibilities here:

Eg. Demo #1: The people like Fish. FB ads to promote a local business as having a fish special to get them in store, you then hit them up with a super compelling companion offer that they wouldn’t necessarily have considered.

Apply this to something like Coles… I go in to Coles and I get hit with the deal: spend $100 in Coles today and receive $50 off your Coles car insurance

Some of the deals already underway in the US include (source anthillonline.com):

* American Eagle Outfitters: Offering 20 percent off.
* Chipotle: Giving its Facebook guests two entrees for the price of one.
* Gap: Giving blue jeans to the first 10,000 customers to claim their deal.
* Cinema: Hosting a free screening at whichever of its movie theatres gets the most check-ins, as well as giving free souvenir Facebook Places pint glasses just for showing that you’ve claimed the deal.

The Facebook Deal Page for Advertisers says:

Let Facebook do the marketing.
Team up with our specialists who will be with you every step of the way to market your business on Facebook.

Generate buzz and sales.
Put your business at the center of the conversation and promote your deal where friends share recommendations.

Build customer loyalty.
Create lasting customer relationships by offering unique social experiences that leave an impression.

Can you really argue with that? Facebook Deals will: Drive human traffic, create buzz around your product & build a retention platform – you’ll be able to measure the lot, right down to the age, sex, location & the personal interest of your customer – at a price of course.

1 year from now…

I’m not saying its a silver bullet or anything, but I reckon in with 1 year you’ll be able to participate in Facebook Deals regardless of your mobile device & it will be common to see the cool kids “checking in”. To make things even more exciting,today Facebook acquired Snaptu a mobile app platform that works on any device.

I also think, daily deal sites will see a decline – Especially with major brands. Why? Facebook will mostly likely be able to show metrics that NO ONE else can – And that is priceless to a brand.

I’m signed up & i’m sure you will be very soon.