I’m upset that I didn’t see this feature earlier this morning, due to looking at my Facebook pages via iphone, which doesn’t give you welcome box of any new features being announced. But, to my pleasant surprise I came across there new feature which by far shadows the weak deals feature, I vaguely remember using.

The offers allow you to put a special promotion or coupon.

But, not only that it allows you to set an date and also gives you the option to set limits on the number of redemption’s. I am in love with this feature already, because until now you really only had the option of using a third party in order to get these features, trust me I know!

I was able to experiment with creating some excitement around a “grouponish” like deal a few months back. Using a third party that would allow us to publish coupons and would show that they printed a coupon from our page on their wall, and also encouraged sharing. After playing with this offers feature I see that businesses will be to use this at there wim, to really drive engagement and virality.

It’s very simple to use and as fast as posting a status update. In order to cure my curiosity I  used a popular coupon that we send in monthly newsletters. I didn’t screenshot the before picture, so since I already clicked on “get offer,” it now says “resend” offer.

The first time you click the offer it gives a quick message letting you know that the offer is being sent to your email address (the one linked to your FB account.

Then of course like any other million apps out there it encourages you to post your activity to your wall. Almost instantly the coupon is in my email ready to be printed or presented over my iphone for redemption. I love the instant gratifying world we live in!

Now when I refer to this as a “grouponish” feature, as a consumer we love getting the deal of the day being able to try a new resturant or taking an outing spending next to none. But, on the business side of things advertising a highly discounted item or service and then taking 50% off of that already discounted deal doesn’t always make sense for the bottom line.  So now small businesses can really get creative with these offers, maybe allow 50% off a hot item to a limited number of people in a short time frame, the possibilities are endless. Get creative add some facebook ads to the mix, this a chance to really drive excitement, and to reconnect with out of touch fans. But, like any other advertisement just be sure to let your staff know the deal is out there and how consumers will present it.

I’m pretty sure I know how big brands are going to use this feature, and I’m sure fans will be a lot more attentive to what kinds of deals they can get or perhaps free coffee…

Ciao~

Tanesha White