Facebook Deals is similar to check in on Foursquare and Groupon deal of the day. On Foursquare when someone checks into a business on their mobile device they can find deals from businesses offering deals. On Groupon you sign up for deal of the day and invite your friends to do the same to get the huge discount. There should be a minimum number of friends need to sign up to trigger the offer. This means huge volume of customers for a business.

Now businesses can leverage foursquare and Groupon features using Facebook. Businesses can pull more crowds to their business using Facebook places check in. Here we are referring to more local customers who pass by your brick & mortar store every day!

How Facebook Deals work?

• Businesses participating on Facebook deals will upload a coupon describing the deal. There are Four types of deals available.
  • Individual Deal – This is like when you check in you will see a discount offer from the business you checked into. This could be a free doughnut with a coffee purchase or an offer like buy one get 50% off on the second item.
  • Friend Deal – This is similar to “Groupon sign deal of the day”. You check in to the business and invite your friends and family to check in to be eligible for the offer. If you are running a restaurant you can offer a lunch deal. Buy five lunches at $15 each($20 value), a friends group must have #5 members. Share savings with friends.
  • Loyalty Deal – If you have a regular loyal customer show your loyalty to them by offering a deal. Encourage them to buy more. This is one of the best ways to keep your customers. If you are a coffee shop you can offer a deal like “Every 1oth cup of coffee free!” The customer needs to check in 9 times when they buy coffee.
  • Charity Deal – If you are a business that are more community oriented encourage your customers to check in every time they visit. Donate a portion of the revenue to your local charity.

Remember, every time someone checks in on Facebook using their mobile device it shows up on their wall for their entire friends network. Generally friends are influenced by friends, they are more committed to do the same as their friend. Every wall post is like a recommendation to their friends.

How to Claim A Deal at your favorite retailers, restaurants, entertainment venues?

1. Open Facebook on your mobile device, if you have a latest version of the app you can see places icon. Select places to find nearby businesses on Facebook Places.
2. Look for an yellow or green coupon next to the business listing. These are the businesses participating on Facebook Deals.
3. Select place’s name to see the discount or charitable donation the business is offering. If your are interested in that deal, check in and show your phone to responsible person at the business to claim the deal.

This is a simple but powerful way to build awareness about your business and keep loyal customers. Check out more information on Facebook Deals here.