What is Facebook Places? On your mobile phone, you can check IN (tell the world where you are at). This is cool and a bit spooky at the same time. Instead about worrying that Big Brother watching everything you are doing, you are telling him. There is great info here for advertisers and potentially bad people. So I can enthusiastically encourage businesses to use places, but more cautiously consider it for your personal use. As a page owner you can offer 1 (and only 1) of 4 deals at a given time. Here is an overview for each Facebook Deal:
1) Individual Deal
Reward individual customers when they check in at your business. Best for simple discounts or gifts with purchase. This is a simple coupon with nothing to print. People simply show their phone to get the deal. It (the coupon) is displayed on the phone after you check-in with your phone.
2) Friend Deal
Reward groups of customers when they check in together. Help spread the word about your business more rapidly. Similar to a individual deal, but you only get the “coupon” if you and multiple friends check-in. The page owner determines how many check-ins required to get the deal.
3) Loyalty Deal
Reward customers for visiting your business a certain number of times, similar to a traditional punch card.
4) Charity Deal
Pledge to donate to a charity of your choice when customers check in at your business. A win-win for everyone! We are currently running a Charity Deal @ our studio to support Project Joplin.
Watch the Video
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10100211990206733
So how much does it cost to offer a Facebook Deal?
It is currently free, I’m not sure if this is just until they are out of beta or if this is free forever.
Claim your Place:
As I said above you need to claim your place on Facebook to be able to offer a deal.
To claim your Place, search for your business name on Facebook via the normal Search bar. If your business’s Place already exists on Facebook, click on it to visit its page. At the bottom left side of your Place you may see a link that says “Is this your business?” Click on the link and you will be directed to a claiming flow.
Facebook will ask you to verify that you are the owner through a phone verification process, or you may be asked for document verification. If your claim is confirmed, you will be able to admin your Place on Facebook. This took about 3 days for FB gave me admin access to our “Place”.  I then requested that they combined my Page and my Place. This took 7-10 business days to combine.
If you do not see the “Is this your business?” link on a Place, then it is not available to claim at this time.
The Deals features are going to be HUGE. I recommend you take claim to them ASAP. If you’d like to learn more about how to use Facebook, please check out our website or give the office a call to learn about upcoming FB Classes and Facebook Consulting, available Monday through Friday 9am – 5pm.
We take care of your marketing – online and off – so YOU can take care of business!
omOriginals Marketing is owned and operated by Oscar Myre IV and Michelle Myre of Longview, WA. To see how he can put the “Master” influence into your marketing, call (360)575-9839 or online omOriginals.com

I recently made a purchase and the clerk said, “You don’t have a coupon?!”.
She then gave me hers.  Our retailers are training us to expect a discount.  Doesn’t this also say, “our prices are high?”

Here is an interesting article that discuss how coupons could be good for short term results, but how it may hurt you in the long run.

Coupons, Groupons & Cocaine

The point is that eMail is old.

So why with all of the “new media” should you consider eMail marketing?

1. Inexpensive: The cost per message is very low.
2. Trackable: eMail marketing makes it easy to track the results of a campaign. You can tell who open the message and what links they clicked on.
3. Effective: With the low cost of entry and the ability to track results, businesses can continue to fine tune their offerings to a targeted audience. The end results can be powerful.

Ready to start? I like your enthusiasm, but first some eMail marketing tips.

Let’s determine your audience.

The best place to start is with current your current customers. You can export addresses and names from your computers address book, add a newsletter subscription link to you website and if you have a retail location you can have a box on your front desk inviting people to join your list. Don’t forget the social networks, be sure to put invites on these sites for your eMail offering.

Delivering Value. Before we get too far we should figure out what your eMail is going to offer. Most people think they need to write a elaborate newsletter. This can be a lot of work. These same “most people” don’t have a ton a free time to invest in this type of project. But, they do have something of value that they can share with their customers. Sometimes it is information (as I hope you find this article) it can also be savings or coupons. When I meet with clients we determine how to deliver the greatest value to the readers with the best ROI (Return on Investment) for the client.

SPAM

We can’t forget SPAM or unsolicited bulk eMail.  I strongly recommend that only send permission based-eMail, that is opt-in mail.  Sending SPAM will have a negative impact on any legitimate business. To learn more about SPAM and the whole eMail process I recommend that you read “Internet Marketing Best Practices.” See below under Speak with a Geek to see how to get a free copy.

Once you have an audience in mind and a plan for you offer please keep these 3 keys in mind.

1. Personalization: How valued do your customers feel if a marketing piece is addressed to “Valued Customer?” With a up-to-date client list you can address the message to “Mike.”
2. Branding: You want this eMail to clearly and consistently communicate your message.
3. Call to Action: The “call to action” is one of the most important concepts in marketing and promotion. Simply put, after you’ve established that you have something of value to offer and that you’re the perfect choice to deliver it, you want to ask your prospect to take the next step. You deliver a call to action.

Realistic Expectations: Don’t expect to sell a ton of stuff with your first newsletter. You need to be in it for the long run. Try out some ideas and continually improve on your offer. eMail marketing allows you to build a positive relationship with your readers.

The reason main reason that I write GeekSpeak is to open your eyes about web and geek stuff and to let you know when your business needs it – I’m here to help. ~:-)

Speak with the Geek! If you run a business and want to find more customers—or connect more powerfully with the customers you have, I offer a Free Initial Consultation for eMail marketing to identify needs, opportunities and present a clear plan of action to succeed!  I will also share with you a free report “eMail Marketing Best Practices.”  A good read and valuable tool to read before starting a campaign.

~ Oscar is the Creative Director for omOriginals Marketing! You can take him up on his offer of a free consultation by visiting omOriginals.com or calling 360.575.9839.