If you’re a bargain shopper who hates sorting and organizing coupons, there’s good news for you. Facebook has offers from both national and local businesses where you probably already shop.

For the uninitiated

If you haven’t discovered Facebook’s Offers, it’s easy to do. Simply go to the webpage of the business that you frequent (or would like to) and click the ‘like’ button. This usually appears at either the top or bottom of the webpage and may appear as the Facebook symbol (the white lower-case ‘f’ surrounded by a field of blue). You’ll notice right away that their offers and promotions begin to appear in your timeline. When you see something you want to take advantage of, click that offer. It’s really that easy.

How it works:
Because Facebook is such an enormous social networking site, businesses pay them to place their offers before a larger audience than they could ever gain in any newspaper ad. They can also pay extra to promote the ad, according to ConsumerSearch.

When you ‘like’ a business, Facebook shares your profile with them, giving them access to some of your personal information. Ads and offers are then generated to meet your specific interests, career or status in life. If the promotions you see on Facebook all seem to be tailor-made for you, it’s because they are.

Old Facebook pro, newbie or just interested:

If you don’t want to clutter up your timeline with a bunch of advertisements and offers (or release your personal information to a business), you might be interested in a site that provides many of Facebook’s offers in one place. Foibly.com provides “the best facebook offers” all in one place. You can peruse offers without linking them in to your personal Facebook page. Clicking on what you’re interested in will ensure an email with the offer arrives in your inbox, where you can print it off and take it to the bank ... or, rather, to the business. Unlike Facebook, however, Foibly does not provide offers from local businesses and store. For them, you’re back to ‘liking’ and having them appear on your Facebook page.

Who gives offers on Facebook?

Almost every business with a webpage wants a piece of the Facebook action. From Sleep Number beds to Burger King, offers cover a wide range of interests and budgets. And, if you don’t see a business you like, drop them an email and suggest that they begin creating offers on Facebook. Who knows? Next time you log in, you might just see a discount from them ... and take advantage of it!