Tips to Running a Successful Facebook Contest

Are you looking to increase the number of likes and fans you have on your company’s Facebook page? Running a Facebook contest is the perfect way to spread the word about your business and attract new customers.

However, as with any new marketing tactic you might want to try, it takes a good bit of thought and strategy to run an effective contest or promotion.

Below are a few tips and suggestions for you to follow to make running a Facebook contest as easy and as successful as possible:

1.     Know the Rules

Facebook has set aside a few very strict guidelines and rules when it comes to running any type of promotion or contest. The most important thing to remember is that ALL Facebook contests or promotions MUST be run through a third party application.

There are many third-party applications available to build and administer your promotion, such as Woobox or Shortstack. Facebook requires any business running a contest to identify to your audience that your contest is not sponsored, endorsed or administered or associated with Facebook.

What this means is that Facebook wants it to be clear to entrants that they are not a part of your contest. Another thing to keep in mind is how the winner is contacted once the contest is over.

The safest way to contact the winner of your contest is through the personal email address they provide when they enter the contest. Announcing the winner of the contest on your Facebook wall is prohibited.

For more information and a full detailed list of the rules, be sure to look through Facebook’s official contest rules.

2.     Set Goals

Every good Facebook contest requires a good deal of planning and thinking. A successful contest should be entertaining but also relevant to your business.

Remember that you are competing against other businesses on Facebook for the attention of Facebook users. You will need to select a contest and prize that sets you apart from your competitors.

Be sure that you select a prize that is related to your business offering and appeals to your target audience. The goal isn’t to get as many random likes as you can, it’s to increase likes from those who could be potential customers.

When you offer a prize that isn’t relevant to your business, users are more likely to enter the contest and then unlike your page once it’s over. If you sell a certain product, you could give away what you sell on a day to day basis.

If you are a service based company, such as landscaper, you might want to give away a free winter landscape cleanup or a free bed of flowers.

3.     Promote Your Contest

Now that you have set up your contest and picked the perfect prize, be sure to promote it. Just because you can’t run the contest on your Facebook wall doesn’t mean you can’t promote it there.

Be sure to offer instructions on how to get to the contest and what they will need to do to enter. Be sure to leave your contest up long enough so that people can start talking about it.

Be sure to promote it on any other social media channels, such as Twitter or Google+.

4.     Follow Up After the Contest

Once the contest is over and you have contacted the winner, take some time to look at how you did. Did you meet your goals? How many new likes did you get? When you run a contest, often times you collect email addresses.

Now you can use those email addresses for email marketing. Be sure to continue to communicate with Facebook users and thank them for participating in the contest.

Remember to continue to provide insight and information so that they can continue to interact and learn more about your brand.

Now you have a few tips and suggestions to help you get started. While the rules and steps to setting up a Facebook contest seem strict and a little bit overwhelming, the overall benefit of gathering new fans and potential customers is priceless.

This guest blog post was written by Full Media, an Atlanta SEO firm. Specializing in internet marketing and website design in Atlanta, we offer a high level of expertise and service to organizations of all kinds, regardless of size or industry.