From:Reuters.com
Ever since Facebook launched Offers earlier this year, big businesses and small merchants have taken advantage of the extremely promising marketing platform. And customers are eating offers up. Literally. “Like” all your favorite restaurants on Facebook, and you’re likely to find more than a few free food offers in your feed during any given week. (Read all about the anatomy of a Facebook offer and how to make the most of them here.) In the last month, I’ve claimed offers from Chili’s, Olive Garden, The Limited, Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, Burger King, Gap, Red Robin, and P.F. Chang’s. Offers are typically good for completely free food, store dollars, and in-store swag.
Until now, merchants could create and distribute Facebook offers at no cost, but, in the next few weeks, Facebook will require at least $5 to distribute offers and, the bigger the business, the steeper the price. The move is, in part, an effort to boost the value of Facebook shares. By tapping into the value of f-commerce, Facebook is fulfilling the money making potential of its social networking machine.
So, how does this affect consumers? It’s all good news for you. Facebook offers are so effective at attracting customers that the new price tag attached isn’t likely to phase businesses big or small any time soon. And, because merchants now have monetary motivation to focus on who’s getting their offers, soon the only offers you’ll see will be those relevant to you. (It used to seriously bum me out when my feed showed amazing offers for stunning pieces of jewelry, from small boutiques, ten states away.) More good news? Facebook offers are being opened up to online-only businesses, so you’ll have more offers from which to choose. And some offers will now come with bar codes, so they should be easier to redeem.
All is well in the world of Facebook offers! Stay tuned for many more offers to come.