Get ready for Facebook ‘GIFTS’

Eager to monetise their data (after all, that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it), Facebook are on the brink of opening their ‘Gifts’ facilities in the US… with plans to gradually roll out to Europe and the rest of the world.

Facebook originally launched a smaller scale gifts feature back in February 2007 but, after several changes in the proposition, it was pulled down in 2010.

The new system appears to be much better developed and includes a much wider range of regular birthday/celebration gifts that are posted to the recipient within a few days.

Users may be prompted in a number of ways about ‘Birthdays and Live Events’ related to their friends. When a gift is purchased an email, as well as a Facebook notification, is sent to the recipient. When they click on the notification, they can then view the item and read a virtual card the purchaser has written for them.

One very positive feature provides recipients with a chance to select the colour, size or flavour that they want, or even ‘swap for a different gift’.

What’s in it for Facebook?

Not only will it provide Facebook with affiliate commissions for every gift purchased, it will also enable them to gain yet more information about users – not least their postal address, that is optional in their usual registration process. The recipient is the one who needs to enter their details and they only have two weeks in which to do it, else the whole order is cancelled. On the positive side, the sender does not need to enter any address – not can they see the recipient’s address, which provides a layer of privacy and protection.

Purchasers’ credit card details are also stored by Facebook unless they opt to ‘remove’ the data.

Merchants have the chance to connect their products, but Facebook have not disclosed the criteria they’re using for merchant selection. If interested, merchants are simply pointed towards a form.

Facebook has a distinct advantage over Amazon with this model in that it’s able to tap the ‘always on’ connection with its registered users, the timeliness of the moment, and the emotional tie people feel to their friends (well, their real friends, at least).

It’s not clear which merchants are already signed-up, but I’m imagining that Amazon would have been one of the very first.

I’m sure Facebook have done their due diligence but, let us know, would you buy a gift for a friend through Facebook?

Written by Patrick Bray, Senior Consultant

James Lawson

The first thing I thought of once I’d finished reading this is the opportunity for B2B gifts. Instead of the marketeer having to buy in a batch of 200 mugs or pens (or whatever other gift they fancy putting in the recipients hands) they can merely throw out the offer to people. Should the recipient choose to accept they get sent the gift which is only produced to order. This connects the recipient to the marketeers company. The marketeer can then follow up with further advertising by targeting those that have accepted the gift.
James Lawson

The second thought i had, which is more on a consumer level, is that facebook promotions could point to the gifting system. Perhaps this could be integrated into apps and page apps as the distribution method for the reward in a Member get member scheme.
http://www.stream20.com Patrick Bray

James. Good points. I agree it could be used for marketing – though I don’t yet know how much data will be available for the gift sender or, in fact, if a company/page can give a gift the same way that an individual can. Yet to see what the facility really offers.
http://www.stream20.com Russell McAthy

I have been informed that Facebook are still actively recruiting partners for the gift facility, especially looking for regional – will the gifts be able to be targeted to decrease shipping costs for Facebook?

Touching on James’ comment on the opportunity for B2B its also a way that brands could reward its social media advocates in a B2C environment. Sending their socially proactive users a gift through the same social network that they are engaging with the brand with – its just great for PR as well as will no doubt increase the engagement of the advocates.