Social media helps you stay in touch with friends and family. You can use social media tools to stay on top of news and updates from your favorite companies or celebrities. You can use social media to promote your business and connect with customers. But did you know social media can also help you save money?
Let’s look at three things social media offers that can help you do that.
Company Social Media Offers
Some businesses offer special deals to their social media followers. If you follow their account or page or update stream, you might get special coupons or offers not made available to other customers. Or a company might give you advance notice of an upcoming sale, giving you a chance to get what you want for a great price before they run out.
Social Couponing
Daily deals sites like Groupon and LivingSocial help you save money by offering deep discounts from local businesses. These deals spread within social networks. Basically, you save because you’re a part of a large social group. Appealing to local masses is what drives the discounts, and you can find these deals in your email, on social media sites, or referred by friends.
Word of Mouth / Reviews
Along the lines of group couponing we have the general viral nature of social media. Great deals spread via word of mouth (maybe you hear about a sale on a friend’s Facebook page or someone you follow on Twitter tweets a link to a discount code).
Word of mouth can save you money in another important way too. You can hear about bad deals or lousy products that you shouldn’t spend money on. For example, maybe the newest hot gadget is really glitchy and people are complaining on social media sites.
Saving money isn’t just about spending less on things you want to buy. It’s also about not wasting money when a product or service isn’t worth it. Social media tools and websites can help you on both fronts.
Your friends can tell you where the hottest deals are in the blink of an eye. Companies you love can reward you with discounts and advance sale notices for being a loyal customer and follower. And social reviews can tell you when it’s a better idea to buy now or avoid spending altogether.
How do you save money thanks to social media? Share your own tips or ideas in the comments below.
Some great points raised. A few weeks ago I started following some of my favourite clothing brands, along with social coupon sites like LivingSocial and Groupon. Obviously the social coupon sites are constantly offering cheap goods with huge savings, which is great! By following some of my favourite brands, I now know when they are releasing new goods, but also when they are starting sales, this is great for saving money, but in the long run- I probably spend more!
I’m glad to hear the social media sites are helping you track down better deals.
But I sympathize with the greater overall spending. I suppose there’s no substitute for self-discipline when it comes to overspending. Maybe try some budgeting apps to keep you on target? 🙂