Facebook Launches New Coupon Feature For Local Businesses

Facebook recently introduced its new offers product for business pages. Currently available in the US, the new feature allows local business pages to create coupons to share with customers via the new timeline and it’s free to use. It is expected that Facebook will rollout the product in other territories over the coming months.

It’s important to note that only businesses categorized as “local business” will be able to use this new feature. So, if you want to take advantage of it you will have to change your page’s settings if is not currently listed as such. This also means that if you’re a celebrity or online business you will not be able to use it as it is intended solely for brick-and-mortar operations.

The first time you attempt to make an offer you’ll be prompted to take the tour.

This is what the offer posting field looks like on Facebook:

How to create an offer for your Facebook page.

1. Start here: Select “offer” from the top your page’s timeline.
2. The headline: Choose a strong headline and include a call to action using clear language that explains what the offer is. For example, “buy one Ferrari, get one free” or “receive 50% off your next purchase”. Facebook has some choice recommendations for headlines.
3. Thumbnail: You can upload a thumbnail image to accompany the text of your offer. Be sure to choose an image that represents the offer directly or the intended target market – Facebook recommends against using your company logo since it is less likely to capture attention and spark conversions.
4. Redemption limit: You may want to limit the number claims so as not to put yourself in a position where you have to redeem an exorbitant number of offers which may prove very costly – similar to what many businesses experienced when using Groupon for the first time. Remember Groupon? This is done by clicking “unlimited” and selecting the desired number from the drop-down.
5. Set the expiration date: Allow sufficient time for fans of your page to take advantage of the offer and word-of-mouth among your customer base to spread. Two to four weeks is generally best.
6. Terms and conditions: Add the specific details – the terms and conditions and make them simple and easy to understand. Avoid tongue tying your fans with legalese, it’s a turn off.

Preview your offer carefully to ensure that it is exactly how you want it to appear and then post to your timeline.

Be sure to alert your staff and give them advance notice of when the offer will be in play to avoid any awkward moments between your employees and customers when Facebook fans arrive to redeem.

P.S. Interested in social media for your business? Contact Grüv Media for a free consultation.

Bravo Starbucks, Cheers to Your Java!

Starbucks is a social media innovator. The coffee giant seamlessly bridges the gap between customers’ online and IRL (in real life) experiences, enhancing the brand’s relationships with consumers with every exchange.

QR codes, mobile apps, social media and points of sale form a powerful system of customer engagement, retention and sales when properly designed and executed. Enter ‘My Starbucks Rewards’ program.

Customers earn a Star for every purchase made with a registered Starbucks Card. 5 Stars delivers Green status which gives users:

• a free birthday drink
• syrup or soymilk on the house
• free refills
• buy beans and get a beverage

30 Stars gets Gold status:

• all benefits of Green
• free drink every 15 Stars
• very own personalized Gold Card (love this touch)
• special members offers

Starbucks ties it all together with their iPhone and Android mobile apps and direct-to-fan engagement via social media channels. Once a consumer registers their card and downloads the mobile app they can:

• manage their Starbucks card balance
• reload their card
• track their progress in rewards program
• geo locate the Starbucks nearest you
• keep track your favourite drinks, your friends’ too
• search jobs at Starbucks
• explore the world of coffee

When performed in concert the result is a sales cycle that integrates the POS with social media/mobile apps, earns new customers and rewards existing ones while providing interest based content relevant to all parties. Bravo Starbucks, cheers to your Java!

9 Awesome Ways Bands Can Enhance Their Email Campaigns

Email marketing is a remarkably effective sales tool for solo artists and bands at any level. Optimizing your email campaigns will have a positive affect on sales, cultivate loyalty among fans and increase the size of your audience in the social web.

Right off the top some standard ways to optimize your E-Newsletter are:

Add social follow buttons: make it easy for fans to find your social profiles by including social icons in your E-Newsletters.

Add an image: images are a great way to spice up your content.

Use a Post Script: include a post script at the end of the body of your email to capture the reader’s attention. You can use the P.S. to emphasize your main selling point, create a sense of urgency or add a special bonus offer. Often times people scan the body of an email but their eye will fall on the post script. Be sure to include a link that leads the subscriber into the sales process.

Include a “special offer”: special offers allow you monetize your email campaigns and segment your lists by differentiating customers from subscribers. You can then design specific email campaigns for each segment to further optimize your sales process.

Optimize the newsletter for mobile devices: to ensure maximum open rates optimize your email campaigns for mobile devices.

Segmenting

Segmenting your subscribers in the following ways will further optimize your email campaigns:

• geographically
• content interests
• brand advocates (social media fans, frequent buyers, customers, non-customers)

Once you’ve segmented your subscribers into best customers and brand advocates you can acknowledge them with special emails:

• thank them for their loyalty
• advanced notice and promotional discounts on new merchandise
• feedback requests
• rewards
• special offers

Special Offers

By segmenting the subscribers and sending each segment a “secret code” or “hidden discount” email that requires them to click through to see what they’ve won, you can determine what kinds of offers work best with your fans and create more of that type.

Conversion Optimized ‘Thank You’ Emails

When someone has made a purchase or downloaded some cool content, sending a conversion optimized ‘thank-you’ email can increase sales and earn more fans by:

• providing access to the offer – a link to the download
• adding social sharing functionality
• include a call to action – like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter
• send an auto-response email in the event they’ve made a purchase with a promo code for their next purchase

Testing & Analysis

Conducting A/B and multivariate testing to determine the optimum placement of social features and calls-to-action by segmenting the audience and analyzing the click-through-rates and goal conversions with direct comparisons to each will provide you with valuable insight into how your email campaigns are performing.

Email campaigns are one element in the marketing mix. Optimizing your social media strategy and engagement, website, eCommerce and email marketing to perform in concert will yield higher profits and a larger fan base.

P.S. Grüv Media is available to discuss how we will enhance your presence in the social web, drive sales and increase your audience. Contact us today!