Southlanders Looking To Facebook For Freebies, Deals

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — The average Facebook user clicks nine "like" buttons every month, but what if clicking the like button could link you to some savings?

Facebook freebies and discounts are popping up all over the Internet and Southlanders are taking advantage of them.

Budgeting is just a click away for La Crescenta mom and pet owner Laurie Dunkin.

"You know things are tight everywhere, so we have to make due and spend the least that we can. Through Facebook coupons, I probably save 10 to 20 dollars a month. Every little bit helps," she said.

That is because Dunkin has discovered the most powerful tool on Facebook -- the "like" button.

"When you like a certain company, it can be a big company a little company, often times they'll put offers on Facebook or if you click from their site on Facebook, it will lead to a coupon," Dunkin said.

"We have a dog, so Petco is a big one. We have a local bookstore that we go to a lot of and often times they'll have a 15 or 25 percent off anything in a store and that's huge," she said.

So who offers the best deals? For a month we followed a dozen or so retailers on Facebook and here is what we found.

Kohl's posted a coupon for 20 percent off everything, another 15 percent off golf attire and also offered a "flash sale" on a pair of shoes. For one day they were marked down from $59.99 to $19.99.

Macy's offered a friends and family coupon for 10 percent off big brand names.

For the young crowd, Abercrombie & Fitch consistently posted discounts, like 30 percent off shorts and 25 percent off new summer styles.

Head over to CVS for your basic needs and the drugstore offers cash-back deals, like a $10 cash-back card for spending $30 on certain items.

But why even pay when you can find Facebook freebies?

By looking online we found websites to tell you where to get the free goods, like a free beauty bag at Target. Just "like" it and it's in the bag.

"If you are setting out particularly to use Facebook as a tool to get free stuff, you have to work at it," said consumer expert Michele Ashamalla.

Ashamalla said you have to be quick to click to get the Facebook freebies.

"You'll see something that says, 'like us on Facebook and receive a free fill-in-the-blank,' and they'll have hundred thousand of them available. To me I'd say, 'A hundred thousand of them, that's a good number.' But something like that will sell out in a few hours," Ashamalla said.

From free fries at Gordon Birsch to free Flax Paks and beauty products, it's not to hard to find a great deal on Facebook.

Even local spots, like Guiseppe's Pizzeria in Montrose, offering a free soda, and Once Upon A Time Bookstore, giving 25 percent off, are deals Dunkin said is worth keeping on her Facebook.

"Why pay full price when you don't have to," she said.

But experts say, same as your friends, only "like" companies that you really like.

"When you click the Advertisers can then see the information you listed on your personal profile," Ashamalla said.

Which could mean your Facebook could end up looking like the Sunday papers.

"If you don't feel that a department store or big coffee chain is your friend, then maybe you shouldn't like them," Ashamalla said.

As for Dunkin, bargain hunting has never been easier.

"If it's not something that I would use on a continual basis, then I will unlike it, so I don't have a million posts on my Facebook," she said.