Facebook recently launched Facebook coupons and offers.  Coupons can now be created, shared and syndicated directly on Facebook.  As a marketer, this added functionality makes it easier to reach targeted audiences with relevant messages.  We already know that coupons, discounts and offers are among the top things that fans want from pages.  Facebook offers now makes it easier for brands to offer coupons.

How Facebook Offers Work

It is extremely easy to create a Facebook Offer (you probably already noticed them on your timeline).  You simply click “Offer, Event +” in the update status section on your Facebook timeline.

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Next, customize your offer.  You can add an image to showcase your offer (I recommend testing different images to see what pops with your audience).  You can write a headline for the offer that describes it, and also include any terms and conditions.  One of the nice features is that you are also able to easily limit the # of redemptions as well as the expiration date.

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The customization offers many possibilities:

  • Limited time offers that expire that night
  • High value coupons for fans only
  • Promote new products
  • Have daily extremely limited offers to encourage fans to check back often (like a free product only to the first 10 people who redeem the coupon)

How They Look to Fans and Friends of Fans

The nice thing about Facebook Coupons is that it allow coupons to spread….  When I logged in to Facebook, I see in my timeline the Julie and 2 other friends claimed an offer from Coastal.com.  You will notice that the offer has a strong image and descriptive text about the offer.  The offer is also very attractive (free glasses).  This offer was obviously effective as over 350,000 people redeemed it.
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Offers travel through the Facebook timeline much like other status updates.  In this case, however the offer was sponsored (which means they paid for it) as you can see by the sponsored text at the bottom.  I clicked Get Offer, confirmed my email address and was emailed a coupon code.  Simple and easy redemption.
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You Can Also Target Your Coupons

Facebook Offers allows you to target who will see your coupons/offers, so you can make them more relevant to the right audiences.

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Sharing is Built in and the Holy Grail of Facebook

The word viral, which makes marketers drool, really just means sharing.  After I click on the offer I can share it with my friends on Facebook, and they also encourage sharing in the email (as shown above).  This shows that there are significant opportunities to drive incremental views of an offer beyond your immediate fan base.  If you are looking to gain traction with new audiences (and drive awareness) these offers could be a great way to do it.
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We’ll be testing with these over the next few weeks and we’ll share back our learnings and results.

Resources:

Facebook Offers Help Center

How to Create a Facebook Offer

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