Facebook Deals is a new Facebook product that enables users with smartphones to find great deals on restaurants, hotels, movies and other activities in their neighbourhood. It enables people to save money, while they participate in various activities with their friends.

Facebook announced Deals for the United States market in November 2010, about three months before they launched Deals for the European market. Some of the major brands that featured when Facebook Deals initially launched in Europe were Starbucks, Mazda, and retailer Argos:

• The digital marketing deal for Starbucks announced that the first 30,000 users to check-in to one of its outlets would get a free coffee.
• Vehicle maker Mazda offered a huge digital marketing discount of 20 percent on its MX-5 model, to all Facebook users registering at its dealerships, within a limited period.
• General goods retailer, Argos, announced that they will donate £1 to the Teenager Cancer Trust for each user who checks-in at one of their retail outlets.

Though most people like receiving digital marketing offers, it is not always possible to get a great deal when you urgently require one. For example, imagine you need to take a prospective client to dinner at a posh restaurant. You may wish to locate a stylish place to impress them, which is not too expensive, keeping in mind the company’s budget for such meetings. With Facebook Deals, all you have to do is run a search, and a list of nearby restaurants will be displayed, showing you where digital marketing offers such as free wine tastings, ten percent discounts, or free servings, can be availed.

According to Facebook, their Deals digital marketing platform offers four different types of special offers. They are:

• Individual Deals: This consists of single deals, which may include one-time discounts, free products or some other type of combination offer.
• Friend Deals: Includes group digital marketing deals, which are valid only when people check-in to one of a company’s locations, with their Facebook friends.
• Loyalty Deals: Consists of digital marketing rewards to customers who often frequent a particular establishment, whether a restaurant, movie theatre or a hotel.
• Charity Deals: Enables companies to donate a certain amount to their favourite charity, whenever a user checks-in to one of their retail stores.

To find special offers in their area, all that Facebook users need to do is to sign-in to Facebook Deals, and enter their location in a search box. A list of deals, with a map showing the location of the stores offering these deals will be displayed. Some special offers require customers to ‘check-in’ with their mobile phones. This means that users need to access the deal through their smartphones, and display it at the sales counter of the establishment, to take advantage of a special offer.

Qudos Digital is a leading digital marketing agency, and can be contacted on 0845 388 5583 or info@qudosdigital.co.uk.