The Facts About Facebook “Offers”
Confused about Facebook Offers or perhaps you didn’t yet realize they even existed? Either way, this new breed of advertising is likely to incite a rush among small business owners to call their social media manager as soon as spotted. Should small business owners be concerned? Is it possible to get in on the action early? Will it increase the cost of other advertising options? These are just a few commonly encountered questioned social media management firms are faced with in anticipation of the upcoming Facebook Offers.
What Are Facebook Offers?
For those that aren’t yet familiar with Facebook Offers, they are the new advertisements sporadically appearing on the News Feed section of some viewers. When someone “claims” their Offer, it will show up on the newsfeed of their contacts, which not only demonstrates a high level of interest and action (ie purchasing or “claiming” the offer by a friend) but may inspire viewers to follow along. Of course, once that viewer clicks to claim their offer, it also shows up on the newsfeed of all their friends and so forth. A great example of the power of exponential growth to reach both current clients and new prospects.
Benefits of Facebook Offers
In addition to the obvious benefits derived from showing up in the newsfeed of friends of fans, perhaps the most exciting single benefit is the super simple, one-click claim code…that includes mobile! Essentially, the user clicks and instantly receives the Offer in their indicated email. The email confirms the Offer claim, provides instructions on how to redeem and the expiration date of the discount. The inclusion of this new Offer via mobile is an important step in the evolution of one-click mobile marketing especially for the nearly 450 million mobile users currently on the site. It’s also an early example of how Facebook views mobile marketing; convenient, timely and highly effective.
Multiple Methods
by providing users the ability to choose which method of redemption they prefer (click via mobile, click on the newsfeed, redeem directly from the email or even share with others via email), users are able to tap into the methods they find most convenient at that very moment. This is the wave of the future and yet another clear insight into how major brands like Macy’s are using social media marketing to reach consumers 24/7. The message is clear; it’s no longer acceptable to create a single method of online viewer (much less shopping) in an era defined by clients that go from device to device during the course of an average day. Instead, social media consulting firms now advise a multi-point strategy to meet the consumer at their comfort point. This importance of this consideration isn’t lost on big business entities.
A Day in the Life
How do people use technology? In the not so distant past, the preferred (and nearly exclusive method) was the desktop…a device increasingly limited to the office. Today, the average connected technology user is likely to wake up, check their messages via cell phone or tablet, spend a bit of time surfing around on a desktop while at work, use a smartphone when commuting and sit down with a tablet while watching television or relaxing with family at the end of the day. Clearly, choice matters! Of course, this leads to one of the most pressing concerns facing small business owners…”Do I really need more than just a website?”. Well, yes – you need several different sites each optimized for the desired audience. Optimize the website, mobile site and tablet for each desired audience and outcome. This is one more reason social media marketing is becoming a vital component to small business success…it’s simply too difficult for the average provider to keep up with rapid change and technology requirements.
How To Create an Offer
Interested in trying out an Offer? Simply go to your Page from the sharing tool at the top of the timeline and click “offer, Event +. It doesn’t cost anything to create a Facebook Offer but not everyone is able to take advantage of this since it’s still in the beta stage (officially).
Best Practices
1. Add a visual element to add interest and entice others to respond, share and engage in the offer.
2. Use clear, simple $ dollar signs, % or other easy to view data.
3. High contrast, easy to see Offers are more likely to attract attention but keep the design simple. Cluttered areas are less likely to engage readers and may actually add to the overall confusion.
4. Words matter so make them count! What works best? Well, there is some variation but “Get”, “Save” and “Big” tend to rate highly among users.
5. Consider multiple postings. Provide a limited time but be sure to update the offer to reflect the changing status (ie, just two days left!).
Results?
To date, only a few big brands have used the new Offers section but with impressive results. For example, Macy’s Offer was claimed by over 41,600 people and shared just under 2,500 times. Not bad for a quick little beta advertisement!
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