Use Social Media for Freebies and Deals
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Earlier this month Planters Nuts gave away 25,000 coupons for a full-size package of flavored almonds. Another company gave away coupons for hair coloring. Both used social media to promote and manage the giveaway. These are just a couple of examples of how companies use social media to promote their products and connect with buyers.
Deals on Facebook
It seems like just about every company has a Facebook page. If you want to take advantage of offerings you must have a Facebook account, then just “like” the company (or blog) and updates will display in your news feed. There will usually be another tab to print off the coupon or enter mailing information for special offers.
In addition to coupons for free products, businesses often offer lower-value coupons. It is a way to find out about new products, sales or offers and provide feedback. With a smart phone, it is possible to check local Facebook deals near you using the phone's GPS.
Freebies on Twitter
Many companies use twitter to connect with customers because the medium makes it easy to share sales, special offers and news inexpensively and quickly. You need a twitter account to follow companies. There are sites that will find the most popular twitter deals such as CheapTweet. You can view deals without following the individual companies. There is a risk that you will miss one from a favorite business not on the list.
There are a lot of giveaways promoted on twitter. You can follow the hash tag #giveaway to find many or use a website specializing in twitter giveaways. Two sites you might want to try are TweetGiveaway and LuckyRT.
Other Sites
There are other ways to find free items or good deals. Business websites usually offer mailing list or newsletter subscriptions that may include coupons or sales. Many blogs specialize in deals and/or freebies. Sign up for their emails or subscribe in a feed reader to keep updated.
Don't forget the pioneers of online deals including Craigslist and Ebay when looking for specific items. Social media is integrated into daily life. Use it to stretch your budget with deals and freebies. Do you use social media to save money?
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Really, as much I’m into personal finance, I’ve yet to foray too much into social media for money saving opportunities. For me, it has to be low-effort when it comes to coupons/freebies and the like. Perhaps a separate Twitter account with the right follow might help. I have been underutilzing Facebook for deals, but I know that this is a good way to get deals too.
I did buy my first Groupon deal recently – $10 for $20 B&N Gift Certificate!
Good post.
Squirrelers, I put all the businesses I follow on twitter in a separate list and added that as a column to tweetdeck. It’s easy to seperate those messages from friends and fellow PF bloggers yet check them out periodically.
Good job on the Groupon. There’ll be one tomorrow for three Redbox movies for $1.