Using Facebook Deals to Promote Your Art Fair Booth

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Back in November, Facebook announced the release of Facebook Deals, a way for businesses to offer customers discount codes and/or a rewards programs via the Facebook check-in feature. If you've noticed a square-shaped yellow icon on the pages you follow in Facebook, those are Facebook Deals. For businesses, here's a great introduction to using Facebook Deals via allfacebook.com. For customers interested in learning more about finding and claiming deals, click here. One item of note: deals are available via the latest Facebook app on the iPhone, Android, and Windows Phone 7. Blackberry users, such as myself, are out of luck. The best work around I can think of is to check-in with the place before heading to the destination, printing, and bringing the claimed deal with you to the destination. Any other suggestions on redeeming Deals with a Blackberry?

We're experimenting with using Facebook Deals in two different ways:
1) Studio pick-ups: Customers can purchase items via our Etsy shop, save on shipping by picking up the order from our Bridgeport studio, and now save an additional 10% on their order when they check-in with Dolan Geiman upon arrival at the studio. While this application of Facebook Deals would not be appropriate for home-based artists and crafters, if you work from a commercial location (perhaps a studio by appointment only), this might be an option to consider. For help claiming your business with Facebook Places click here.

2) Art fair booth The second way customers can claim our deal via Facebook Places is when they check-in with our page, facebook.com/dolangeimaninc, upon visiting our booth at any of our nationwide art fairs. Upon checkout, customers will present the screen on their mobile phone showing they've checked-in and the discount will be applied.

Again, use of Facebook Deals would require an artist or crafter to claim their business via Facebook Places so this opportunity is best-utilized by those with a commercial studio location. Furthermore, the idea of Facebook Deals is that individuals search for Deals around them in a particular neighborhood or zip code using the Places search function. Obviously, our business based in Chicago will not show up as a Deal when we're doing an art fair in Atlanta. However, the spirit of the program is there and it's an interesting experiment in mobile interaction. Plus, I'll be curious to watch how growing trends like mobile food trucks incorporate this sort of discount and/or loyalty program into their social marketing platforms.

We're still familiarizing ourselves with both Places and Deals so other pitfalls and obstacles of using Deals in this way may develop. But what do you think fellow art/craft fair vendors? Is this something you'd consider using?