In our previous post, we covered Facebook communities and how to get followers. Running a Facebook contest is a strategy you can use to generate buzz around a product or a brand. It’s an effective method to get likes and gain more followers. What’s more, Facebook contests are budget-friendly since you can choose your budget and prize.
Our experts at Social Know How have developed these 7 tips to run a successful Facebook Contest.
1. Set Contest Goals
You have to make sure your Facebook contest has well-defined goals and that these goals align with your business. For example, if your goal is to get more followers, ask yourself why this goal is important to your business.
The most common Facebook Contest Goals:
- Get 1000 more followers
- Collect 1000 email addresses
- Generate brand loyalty
- Increase website traffic by 10%
- Improve brand awareness
To make sure your goals are clear and reachable, each one should be:
- Specific (simple, sensible, significant).
- Measurable (meaningful, motivating).
- Achievable (agreed, attainable).
- Relevant (reasonable, realistic and resourced, results-based).
- Time-bound (time-based, time-limited, time/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive).
An example is “Get 200 new followers” instead of “Get new followers.”
Try to prioritize the goals you think are the most important for your organization.
2. Choose a prize
The prize you choose to giveaway in your Facebook contest should be enticing enough to convince your target audience to participate. The following are some points to consider when selecting a prize.
- Prizes shouldn’t be expensive but relevant to your target audience. You want to attract the right leads, so avoid pricey and irrelevant products.
- Offer exclusive or limited-edition products. Don’t you love getting something unique and special? I bet your followers do too.
- Offer coaching sessions or services. If you have a consultation or coaching service, you can give away a one-on-one session with an expert.
- Combine several prizes in one. A prize package makes contests very attractive and appealing.
An example can be a beauty store giveaway. You can give away top-selling products like nail polish or makeup. An online retailer can give away gift cards that allow the winner to choose a prize themselves.
3. Contest Type
A Facebook Giveaway is perhaps the easiest type of content; however, it is not your only choice.
Popular Contest Types:
- Sweepstakes. This is where a random draw chooses a winner; typically, you may need to use a service like random.org.
- Photo contests. In this contest, you can ask followers to share a photo with you. This can be done privately or on your company’s Facebook Community Page. The community determines the winner.
- Comment-to-win. In this type of contest, your followers answer questions in the comments, and the best or first correct answer wins.
- Caption. The winner is the person who comes up with the funniest or most creative caption for a photo.
The best choice for a Facebook Contest depends on your goals. For example, a photo contest might be better for increasing engagement, while a caption is good for spreading brand awareness.
4. Write Clear Contest Rules
Let participants know your guidelines and requirements. You can use a bullet list to communicate the rules to your followers.
Things to keep in mind while writing your Facebook Contest Rules:
- Entry Rules. Be clear about the action required to enter your contest. For example, making a purchase, commenting on a Facebook post or blog article, etc.
- Publicity Rights. Require these rights to be able to announce the winner.
- Deadlines. Tell your audience when your contest will start and end.
- Laws. Every Facebook Contest must follow all applicable federal, state/provincial and local laws. It would be best if you outlined these for your audience.
- Process of deciding the winner. What are the judging criteria? How will you determine the winner? Make sure you explain this for your Facebook Contest.
- Prize. Describe the contest prize for the winner, runner-up, and other contestants, if applicable.
It’s essential to check Facebook contest rules on the Policies page. For example, Facebook prohibits having a “share contest on your timeline” as a condition to enter. That’s why “share to enter” style contests aren’t recommended.
5. Contest Landing Page
A contest landing page is a web page to promote a contest and collect the data from participants. Landing pages can collect participants’ email addresses, communicate with them, and promote the contest more effectively.
A landing page can be complex or a simple one with a sign-up form. Online businesses also use many landing page techniques to encourage participation.
With a landing page, you can use live chat to answer questions and help reduce hesitation to enter the contest.
6. Promote your Contest
The campaign to advertise your contest starts when you hit the “Post” button. Use all the channels available to you. This could be through emails, blogs, website pop-ups, chatbots, Facebook posts, etc.
To promote your Facebook contest:
- Describe the main prize (or add the photo)
- Make sure that promotion emails contain a link to the contest landing page (if applicable)
- Encourage sharing the contest with friends – 81% of customers trust recommendations from friends and family.
Announce the Winner Properly
Here are some recommended ways to celebrate the winner of your Facebook contest.
- Write a post to congratulate them.
- Mention the winner in an email newsletter
- Write a short blog post
You can even try to get the winner to share a photo celebrating the win!
Remember to use friendly and positive language to write that announcement!
7. Evaluate your Contest Performance
A Facebook giveaway performance metrics can provide more customer insights and show where you can experiment with ads and promotions,
Check audience data to see who’s been most active and could be targeted with future marketing campaigns.
Conclusion
Your work isn’t done once you’ve announced your Facebook Contest winner. You must check all contest data from Facebook and evaluate performance and find insights for future campaigns.
Running a Facebook Contest can be time-consuming. At Social Know How we have experience running a variety of Facebook campaigns.
Interested in knowing how we can help you run your Facebook Contest? Contact us today!
