This coming Thursday, millions of Americans will be staking out their favorite retail stores. Others will log in to those same brands’ websites. All in search of the next “big deal.”
But they won’t be shopping on Facebook.
This is a strange change of pace, actually. Facebook is a big part of the lives of 1 Billion people. It’s the greatest time suck on the planet. It’s where brands go to communicate with their customers. But users will abandon it to find their deals.
Sure, some deals will be made on Facebook. But the difference is that the deals will find us. We’ll notice an ad in the sidebar. Maybe a friend will claim a Facebook Offer.
But there’s a major disconnect that is preventing Facebook from being the source of Black Friday commerce: You can’t search for the best deals on Facebook.
Facebook Offers Search
Facebook Offers present an amazing opportunity for brands. Many are taking advantage of them. They are a piece of cake to create and even easier for users to claim.
But users don’t find Offers. Offers find us. We see them only when brands decide to show them to us or when friends claim them.
Imagine this for a moment…
You know that brands create great Offers on Facebook. But you want to find the best ones. More specifically, you want to find the best Facebook Offers on flatscreen TV’s that are close to you.
You go to this hypothetical and effective Facebook Search. You filter by “Facebook Offers.” You filter by “Electronics.” You filter by results “Within 50 miles” of your home. Maybe you even provide keywords for “Sony” or “Toshiba” or “46 inch flatscreen.”
You hit “Search”…
Dozens of results. Sorted by lowest price or distance. It’s also clear within each item whether the Offer can be redeemed online, offline or both.
What if you not only received all of the results, but also info on which Offers were claimed by friends? That’s where social proof leads to revenue.
It’s Not Just for Black Friday
Wouldn’t this be great? Wouldn’t this be the best, most comprehensive way to view and compare deals in one place?
And wouldn’t this then make Facebook a booming e-commerce hub? Finding deals would become exponentially easier and more fun. More Offers would be claimed. More Offers would be seen in the News Feeds. Brands would then create more and more Offers…
This is the power of Facebook data. It’s why Search in general could be an enormous money maker for Facebook. And it’s why such a feature could make business on Facebook infinitely more effective for brands — particularly retailers.
Currently, if I’m in the market for something, I’ll do one or all of the following:
- Search Google
- Search Amazon
- Search Ebay
I never think to check Facebook because it’s too much work. I’d have to search out each individual brand Page and then filter through their Timelines to see if they’ve made the product I want available.
That’s just ridiculous.
But if Facebook builds search with Offers in mind? Huge.
This would be huge not only for Facebook but for brands. Facebook wouldn’t need to take a chunk of profits. Simply making e-commerce searchable on Facebook would give brands more reason to create Offers and promote them. Everyone wins.
It’s gotta be coming. It’s a shame it’s not here already. Maybe next year… right?
What do you think? Would you search by Offers on Facebook? Let me know in the comments below!
