The other day, a friend of mine asked “But why would I “like” a Facebook page or follow a company on Twitter?” You see, we had been talking about what I do and some of the cool ways marketers can use social media. When she asked this question, I realized that because it’s what I do for a living, I know how to use social media as a consumer. However, that may not be the case for everyone.
This is the first of a mulit-part series (at least two, maybe more) about how consumers can use social media.
Use #1: Save Money
Yeah, yeah, that’s what you hear. But how do you actually do it?
Well, you do have to put some effort into it and actually LOOK? Here’s an example:
A few months ago, it was around 11:30 a.m., I didn’t bring my lunch to work but I was hungry. Not knowing what I wanted to eat, I thought, “I wonder if any of the restaurants nearby have coupons on their Facebook page…” (Yes, that’s the creepy way my mind works.) So, I set to looking.
I’m not sure if it was the first I came to or if Subway didn’t have one, but I found the Quiznos Facebook page. A few posts down, there was a link to coupons for a free drink and chips with the purchase of a sandwich. Score!
I became a fan of their Facebook page (for more coupon opportunities – plus their sandwiches rock), printed out the coupon and went to get lunch. It was a win-win: they sold one more sandwich that day and I didn’t have to pay for my drink and chips. Had they not had a Facebook page or not had a coupon on it, I probably would have gone somewhere else altogether.
Twitter can be used similarly. I can’t think of an example off of the top of my head, but I do know that travel services are very active on Twitter. Have a trip coming up or looking for a good vacation deal? Follow airlines, hotels in your desired destination, cruise lines, convention and visitors bureaus (i.e. the Fresno CVB @playfresno) and anyone else you can think of. Then, monitor your feed for a few days and see what comes up.
Have you found any good deals on social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter? Let me know!
Up Next: Who says there’s nothing to do in Fresno?
Allyson is a digital marketing and communications enthusiast, who spends her days as a 
