If you’re like me, your Facebook newsfeed might have been clogged with announcements of your friends and family claiming offers, like these (note the friend’s name and page have been removed):
I’ve seen a fair amount of chatter and concern about these in the last couple days, so I thought I’d take a few moments out to address what’s happening.
If you thought such notices were spam, you’re not alone. I sure did too – and I’ve warned you about fake Facebook offers before! Fortunately or unfortunately (depending on how you see it), Facebook has launched a new way for pages to get the word out about their offers. They will be charging pages administrators for this feature, but are allowing them to try it once for free.
Here is how The Coupon Project Facebook page looks from my end (administrator) in the status update area. You see the “Offer, Event” feature is available to me:
So this should at least answer the question “how are pages putting up those Facebook offers?” But now you’re probably wondering “why are pages putting up those Facebook offers?”
It’s my theory that this feature is for pages that have specific offers to share (say a plumbing business offering a 20% off coupon or a major retailer offering a sample of their product) to get the word out quickly (and of course, have Facebook profit from it). When I decided to “claim” an offer, I noticed it immediately broadcast that information to all my Facebook friends and family. So you can see the draw for pages to give this a whirl – it gives them added visibility that a simple status update would not.
Here is where things become problematic, at least in my mind. I’m seeing many third-party offers posted from bloggers via their Facebook pages. Meaning, they aren’t posting offers for their coupon classes or ebooks, but the same “offers” you’d find simply by visiting their blog – the kind of stuff you often find here at The Coupon Project, too. Such as photo offers, freebies other companies are offering, and the like. Two concerns. First, many of these offers are affiliate-based (meaning the blogger stands to profit from them) and *may* infringe upon some of the terms & conditions of those affiliate relationships (that’s solely a concern for the blogger). The second concern is that some of these offers are reading as spammy (at best) or dishonest/misleading (at worst). I’m hearing that some bloggers are getting extremely negative feedback from trying the offers out.
Here’s a popular one you might have seen,which was circulating all over last night:
Enticing, no? I’ll admit it – I clicked on this one myself. After all, who wouldn’t want a $10 Target gift card? And knowing that these are being offered via a new application in Facebook takes a bit of that “phony” layer away.
In this scenario, you realize only after you claim the offer that you are directed to a blogger’s site where it’s clear the offer is only for new Ebates sign ups and only after a $25 purchase is made. This is, in fact, an offer that Ebates has had for a very, very long time. It is nothing new. (If you’re interested – please do take a look at Ebates – and full disclosure, yes, that is my referral link!) Unfortunately, the bloggers that are doing this may make Ebates seem spammy by association. Even worse, by the time I realized I’d been duped, an update had already gone out to my friends and family that I’d “claimed” this offer. Not cool in my book.
“Gee Angela, you seem to be judgmental of these bloggers!” On the contrary, while I don’t agree with this approach, I’m keenly sympathetic to them! As a blogger myself, I’ve been extremely frustrated by how Facebook has altered things making it very difficult to get my posts seen in the newsfeed for the very folks that have opted to follow me there without posting funny pictures of cats every day and begging you to share them or starting every Facebook update with “like this post.” It’s my belief that bloggers are testing this feature to see if it will bring them new readers and traffic. And I can completely understand folks wanting to experiment and try new things when it comes to Facebook!
So let’s do a quick recap:
- These offers are being shared by a new application which was made available to Facebook pages.
- Facebook page administrators can choose the offers they wish to post, which means the offer may or may not be legit.
- When you claim an offer, that information is being broadcast to your friends & family.
- It’s my belief that most bloggers trying this feature out are doing just that – trying this feature out in an attempt to grow their Facebook presence and are not trying to be off-putting or spammy.
Given the negative chatter I’m seeing, I’m pretty sure I will not be trying this feature out because I don’t feel comfortable using it to put up offers from third-parties as well as potentially off-putting my awesome Facebook pals in an attempt to gain new ones.
I’d love to hear from you. What are your thoughts on this new feature? If you’re a blogger – have you tried it, and if so what was the result?
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{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
I love your blog, you’re so smart!
I am really hating seeing all of these offers and have begun un-liking the pages who are flooding me with the Target GC offer. I have been really patient and sympathetic as well, but this is comparable to sleazy car lot and reputable dealerships.
Thanks for your thoughts on this subject, as usual!!. If people do not know- they will click and click as usual, get their trust broken and then be clicking ‘unlike’.
Thank you. That is my thought/fear too – that I would alienate the readers that have been with me for the long haul and I would never know they’d left!
I have not been following the blogs for a few days. I was curious when I saw a post this morning regarding this issue from another blogger. However, the post was so poorly written that I had no clue what point(s) the author was trying to make. You have made it all very clear. Thank you for you stance on this issue. I have always appreciated your ethics!
I’m glad I was able to clear it up for you. Goodness knows it took me awhile to get my head around it.
I love that you’re addressing this issue! I’ve been seeing it a lot from one blog in particular and it just didn’t make me feel right. I completely think that it’s a way of taking advantage of the system. I won’t say who the offender is, but she isn’t the most reputable coupon blogger out there. After I started up my coupon blog, and realized what it’s all about, I really started to see that this one person hides a lot of stuff about her profit. When I started seeing the offers, I distrusted her even more! Thank you for making it known what this is all about! You wrote it out so well and addressed the issues I was thinking myself about this whole “offers” business
Keep up the great work!
I get frustrated with bloggers posting about Living Social deals and using their own refferal link to get whatever they purchased for free. I understand they need to make money from their blog and that is one way they get a kickback, I just dont like how sneaky it is. I dont think many people realize that this is happening. I wish bloggers were more up front (like you, today!) about using referal links. I dont mind supporting eachother, but I wish bloggers we more upfront about it.
Clairissa, you bring up a very good point and one I’d like to address, if I may.
While I adore doing what I do here, this is a job. I have had early mornings, late nights, given up outings with my family. I’ve gone to the store when I didn’t feel like it and spent hours finding deals in stores and reporting them so readers can use that as a free service here. Given that, I don’t feel bad accepting gifts or items I earn for sharing deals. I do make money, but I also have two contributors I pay around here, my monthly hosting fees, technical services, as well as materials and supplies I use for posts (for instance, the homesteading series was easily a few hundred $$ out of my own pocket).
Another thing I don’t think I’ve ever shared, but might as well since we’re chatting about it – sometimes when I earn or receive items I give them away as gifts or giveaways here at the blog. I’ve passed on food I’ve gotten to struggling families, or restaurant gift certificates onto my contributors as “thanks” for job well done. I know you weren’t trying to say that I’ve done something wrong here, but I know that some readers do wonder about this things and for what it’s worth, felt I should share my heart a bit on this topic. I’m not trying to toot my own horn, but I hope open up folks’ understanding that blogger may have lots of ways they use referral links in their posts that may not be solely to benefit them (and even if it does, more power to them IMHO).
I would also direct folks to this post for more information: http://thecouponproject.com/2011/03/how-bloggers-earn-credit-and-how-you-can-too.html
Thank you Clairissa, for bringing this up and allowing me to address it. I think you have voiced what many have felt/wondered about. Please DO let me know if you have any further questions on this topic – it’s so important to me that my readers know I’m here to be honest and up-front as you’ve mentioned.
Unfortunately, I do know there are several bloggers out there who aren’t as upfront or honest about their links and how they make money. However, Angela is one of the most reliable and upfront bloggers I have ever met. She is consistently linking to her disclosure page and letting her readers know that her links are affiliate links.
As a blogger who, like Angela, spends countless hours on the computer (super early mornings and late nights), I see absolutely no problem with using my referral or affiliate links. We have to use a link of some sort and it doesn’t make sense to use a generic link that people will be clicking on anyway, just out of principle. I am very clear about my links, have a comprehensive disclosure page and try to make sure my readers are aware of what they are clicking on. I avoid spam like the plague, so hopefully I have gained that trust with them as well. I work VERY hard for what I do get, which isn’t always monetary, but in the form of a free deal here or there.
I know you weren’t calling Angela out, so I hope this doesn’t come across as pointing fingers. I just feel passionately about how hard some of us work for the rewards that we do get. Like I mentioned above, I know there are some out there who are far less than trustworthy, but hopefully those are not in your reader or daily email subscription for long.
Thanks Melody for adding your thoughts! ITA – I don’t think Clairissa was in any way pointing fingers, but I’m glad she brought that topic up as it’s one that I think some conversation can help clarify.
This is also why I think it is good to be selective about which blogs you choose to regularly follow. You should be able to feel good about clicking throught the links or following the deals knowing that the blogger is being honest and not feeling like you’ve been duped.
Feeling duped is pretty much exactly how I felt last night when I thought I was going after a Target gift card….and instead realized I couldn’t get it as I’ve been an Ebates user for about 4 years now.
I think a lot of readers would be shocked at how hard it is to make money blogging. Many of those links are literally earning pennies a sale!
I totally agree that it’s important to disclose, but I have no problem using the links of bloggers who have shared a deal I’m interested in. In fact, I make a point of trying to remember where I first saw a deal so I can click through that blogger’s post.
I’m not planning on using this new feature, pretty much for the reasons you mentioned, Angela. It just seems really spammy, and less than honest if the so-called offer isn’t really yours to share, and has a bunch of catches to boot. However, like you, I totally understand wanting to make sure people who have liked your fb page are seeing your posts. I’ve worked super hard to build my fb community, and with all the changes afoot, it’s been a real roller coaster. I had a couple fb posts today that were seen by less than 20% of my fans. Super frustrating.
As always, I appreciate your transparency and research. Maybe the take away for readers is to continue to interact with the blogs and sites you really like to make sure your feed stays full of content you value.
Thank you so much, as always Maegen, for your thoughtful & kind comments! I’ve said it many times, but I worked for 8 months solid before receiving my first check…which was $100. Even still, my hourly wage is pretty modest considering the time I put into it and my expense.
It truly is frustrating when I have 12,000 folks on Facebook and I see that only 10% of the folks there saw a given update. I wish there was a better solution.
Thanks.
As mentioned before Angela… I love your post, blog, emails, etc! I do believe you operate with the utmost integrity and this makes me glad to follow you as well as recommend you to others! I have a question for you (and other bloggers reading this comment)… there have been MANY times that I have shared your post, sometimes, I put The Coupon Project in the comments and give you credit. Others, I just share the post which most of the time has your blog page attached. Here is the question… are you cool with that? You and those working with you are doing All the work and I come along and just hit share! Many of friends have thanked me for posting deals and steals… when in fact all I did was play the middle (wo)man! I do tell them that I saw it on so and so post and just shared it… but I get some joy out of knowing “I” helped someone save a buck or two or get in on a fabulous deal. BUT, I feel like I am cheating you, those who did the real work. So, what are your thoughts on that…? I must say, many friends now follow your blog because of learning of you through my “shares” so I feel a bit redeemed, but nonetheless, I am just being the middle man!
Goodness, I should be thanking you for sharing my posts and these deals and this site with others – however you choose to do it! Honestly, that’s the sort of stuff I love hearing about and I love hearing how folks find me! And if you’re doing a straight link over of a post? Truly I think I speak for the vast majority of bloggers out there when I say there’s no need to also “thank/acknowledge” the blogger since you’re directing your friends/family to the blogger’s site. If I’ve missed something though, do let me know!
This is actually one of the big reasons I installed the “share” button which you’ll now see to the left of the screen when you’re reading a post – it’s to make sharing the deals or posts easier on Facebook, Twitter, or whatever else makes sense.
Thanks so much Ginean for all your comments and participating here