Freebies becoming all the rage online

Looking for freebies online?

Millions of us sign up for freebies on Facebook and companies are using it as a new way to reach consumers. The question is, "Are you aware of what you give up to get the freebies?"

Regardless of the answer, there's no doubt that Facebook freebies are all the rage.

"If I don't find at least one or two new freebies every couple of days on Facebook, I am surprised," said Ryan Eubanks, founder of HeyItsFree.com, which has over 40, 000 Facebook fans.

The freebie craze really began two years ago when Burger King made an offer: delete ten of your Facebook friends and get a free hamburger. In less than a week,  233,000 people had been dropped as friends--the lure of "free" was strong.

Facebook demanded the promotion be stopped.

"People who go for freebies have the attention of a five-year-old," said Eubanks. "I am not going jump over a million hoops in order to get some gummies. If its not easy I am not going to do it."

Recently Canada's largest online retailer of glasses blitzed Ottawa using Facebook. It took them just a couple of hours to give away 5,000 pairs of glasses in an online-driven campaign. It gave them a quick base of potential clients who signed up and gave their email address.

"Overwhelming response in Ottawa," said Steve Wallace, the chief of marketing for Clearly Contacts.

Last year, the company did their first national campaign using Facebook. Wallace says he is learning what works in this new kind of marketing.

"What's interesting is a lot of companies who are trying to do this through Facebook are not being authentic, some won't even let fans comment on their wall. One thing about Facebook if you are not authentic or real then your Facebook fans will call you out on it."

The Gap clothing chain gave away 10,000 pairs of jeans on Facebook. Combine freebies with the booming use of online coupons and consumers can get some deals. But there is a cost. You give up email and in some cases other personal information and that may be sold to other companies. Often you don't even know.

Companies believe that giving away a free product can lead to that consumer coming back to buy in the future. There are a wealth of sites that will help you find freebies but you may want to start with a simple Google search. Set up a Google alert with the word "freebies." You do have to give Google your email address and then they will mail you the latest on freebies.

Sites offering freebie information

Clearly Contacts Facebook page

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