You're in business. You have a Facebook page, maybe a Twitter feed.
But have you claimed your Facebook Places yet? And are you planning to make use of Facebook Deals, which launched in Europe last week?
There are more than 200 million people and counting currently accessing Facebook through their mobiles. There are many opportunities for businesses to engage with customers using Facebook and other social media platforms on their mobiles. So before you set a Deal up, carefully decide on where it fits into your marketing strategy and how important social media is to long-term customer engagement.
For those who don't know, the Facebook Deals announcement leverages use of Facebook mobile applications on smartphones by offering people discounts when they 'check in' to a place. Check-ins are the new way Facebook mobile users can announce when they are at one of your locations. To do this, people are not required to download a separate app or join another service.
What Facebook did not promote in its recent announcement is that it will continue to retain detailed demographic information about costumers who use these applications. Businesses will only receive a summary of generic data regarding activity on these pages, which for many does not exceed any current findings businesses have already determined. But businesses can use Facebook Deals as a first step to get customers to opt in to broad-reaching communications before developing the relationship.
This means you should also look at ways to integrate Facebook Deals into your customer engagement strategy, since the person who uses your Deal could join a rewards programme, or provide their mobile number for marketing purposes. This longer-term strategy will let you have direct access to customers, so you can offer a more relevant brand experience.
There are plenty of opportunities. But decide carefully on how your business can develop a marketing strategy that ties social media and mobile together. Facebook Deals should be a component of that strategy, not the sole focus.
Steve Jarrett is founder and CEO of MePlease.
But have you claimed your Facebook Places yet? And are you planning to make use of Facebook Deals, which launched in Europe last week?
There are more than 200 million people and counting currently accessing Facebook through their mobiles. There are many opportunities for businesses to engage with customers using Facebook and other social media platforms on their mobiles. So before you set a Deal up, carefully decide on where it fits into your marketing strategy and how important social media is to long-term customer engagement.
For those who don't know, the Facebook Deals announcement leverages use of Facebook mobile applications on smartphones by offering people discounts when they 'check in' to a place. Check-ins are the new way Facebook mobile users can announce when they are at one of your locations. To do this, people are not required to download a separate app or join another service.
What Facebook did not promote in its recent announcement is that it will continue to retain detailed demographic information about costumers who use these applications. Businesses will only receive a summary of generic data regarding activity on these pages, which for many does not exceed any current findings businesses have already determined. But businesses can use Facebook Deals as a first step to get customers to opt in to broad-reaching communications before developing the relationship.
This means you should also look at ways to integrate Facebook Deals into your customer engagement strategy, since the person who uses your Deal could join a rewards programme, or provide their mobile number for marketing purposes. This longer-term strategy will let you have direct access to customers, so you can offer a more relevant brand experience.
There are plenty of opportunities. But decide carefully on how your business can develop a marketing strategy that ties social media and mobile together. Facebook Deals should be a component of that strategy, not the sole focus.
Steve Jarrett is founder and CEO of MePlease.
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