Facebook Deals

The biggest news of the day is from Facebook who will be launching their Facebook Deals service that will offer businesses the opportunity to promote coupons via Facebook. The service is being offered initially to 20,000 small and medium sized businesses in the US with rollout over the next couple of months. The deal check-in feature uses Facebook Places and seems similar to the Foursquare process.

Foursquare Getting Smarter

And speaking of Foursquare, CEO and co-founder Dennis Crowley gave us a glimpse of the future of his location based checkin app. Little surprise that smarter algorithms that make customised recommendations based on checkin activity is part of the plan. Other features include ‘automatic checkin’ and more of a focus on deals.

Groupon Embraces Smartphones

Groupon now have a mobile redemption tracking app that helps users access deals and allows businesses to track redemptions in real time.

Facebook Page Coupons Tab

Rounding off the the coupon news of the day is a new feature by Myzerr that allows any group or business with a Facebook page to add a tab to their page with exclusive coupons available to page fans. This has relevance to businesses with a page on Facebook that want to give fans a reason to come back to their page, or to local chamber of commerce groups that have a page on Facebook and want to promote deals on their Facebook page.

So what does this mean for your business?

Businesses have more opportunity than ever before to connect with customers via Social Networks and location based apps. If you don’t have a Facebook page then you may be missing out on the opportunity to connect with your customers who may be fans or advocates. If you are not using location based services (the ability for people to find your business on the map using their smartphone or mobile device) then you may be missing out on business.

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Here are some good reasons for you to get started:

1. It’s Free. Services like Facebook, Foursquare, Google Local, Myzerr and others don’t charge you to setup a page. This means you can generate leads with location based apps for free.
2. Monitoring. Good location based services monitor activity and provide real time statistics on your business and promotions.
3. The Early Bird Catches the Worm. Because these services are still very new, most businesses haven’t yet taken advantage. First mover advantage will put your business on the map before the competition.
4. Connect with the Community. Social networks are a fantastic generator of buzz. If you have something special and people want your deal then sites like Facebook and Twitter make it easier than ever for customers to share information about your business promotions. You can also promote exclusive deals to groups or associations to better target your deals.
5. Targeting. Social Networks and location based services are focused on developing better algorithms and recommendation tools that help you connect with customers based on relevance.

If your business isn’t already thinking about social networks and location based services it’s time to get your head out of the sand. Using these tools is easy, even for the technically challenged, and if it seems too hard then call on your 12 year old neighbour to help you get started.

Technorati Tags: Facebook, Foursquare, Groupon, Myzerr

Technorati Tags: Deal of the Day, Local Business, Myzerr, Slideshare

I think this development is great for businesses and every small business should be considering promoting on social media for a number of reasons:

1. The only cost in promoting is your time.
2. Most social networks like Facebook, Foursquare and Myzerr offer excellent targeting options.
3. In many cases social networks are ‘open social’ and allow promotions on one network to be easily shared allowing for promotions to go viral.
4. As the web becomes more mobile, people will be searching for your business ‘on the move’ using their phone / ipad etc, and you need to be on the map for these mobile savvy customers to find you.

Technorati Tags: Facebook, Foursquare, Myzerr, Social Media, Web2.0 Weapons

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So what is Myzerr?
Quite simply, this: Myzerr is a virtual meeting place, an online platform that connects communities and users with each other and with businesses using a social object – coupons, in this instance, or what we call ‘Zerrs.’ There are three aspects to Myzerr: individuals, communities of which they are members, and businesses of which the individuals and indeed the communities are, or could be, customers. So Myzerr is where all three can cooperate for the good of each. More…

Free Promotion For Business:
You can promote your business and it’s FREE so please sign in and add your business today. More…

Discounts for Community Groups:
Myzerr allows you to setup a page for your group and then invite businesses to give your group members ‘member only’ discounts. Setup a community discount program for your group today and it’s FREE. More…

If you notice any problems, please tell us. If you think it’s awesome, tell others and forward this email to all your friends!

Best regards,

Slade

For updates please follow Myzerr on Twitter.

Technorati Tags: Business Promotion, Group Benefits, Myzerr

Tech23 is an event bringing together innovative companies with experienced industry leaders, investors and entrepreneurs. I will be presenting in the ‘Consumer Web’ panel along with Andrew Coppin, Brett Murrihy and Simon van Wyk to panelists including Alison Deans, Nick McNaughton and Ric Richardson.

The event will also include my first public demonstration of Myzerr.com at ‘Innovation Island’.

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Last week was a very exciting week for me as I commenced the development of my new website platform called Myzerr.com. Following months of planning the under-construction page went live yesterday and can be viewed at www.myzerr.com.

I have founded Myzerr on principles of delivering services that significantly improve the promotion of businesses online. The end users of Myzerr are our number one priority and the focus of Myzerr search will be to deliver information that connects businesses to customers based on relevance.

Over the upcoming months I’ll provide more updates on the development and welcome any feedback regarding the logo, site look and structure.

To keep up to date please visit Myzerr and register by entering in your email address or visit our Twitter page to follow us.

Technorati Tags: Discounts, Local Business, Myzerr