In one of my recent surveys I found out that fully 32% of all
Facebook users have liked a Page because of a contest on Facebook.
Marketers want to create a magical competition that increases their
likes on Facebook, engages thousands of users and creates a lot of new
clients, but many fall short and end up violating Facebook’s terms or
giving away expensive products for very few likes or other return.
Over the years I have helped a lot of businesses create contests on
Facebook and I’ve learned something every time. So, what is needed to
create a successful contest on Facebook? As with any social media
marketing endeavor, success comes from good planning, management and
follow-up.
Here are my seven top tips for companies that want to build a successful contest on Facebook.
1. Set a goal and a budget
Why should you have a contest on Facebook? If your answer is “because
it’s fun” or “all of my competitors are doing it”, it’s time for you to
go back to the drawing board. Your contest should somehow contribute to
a business goal for your company. Do you want more reach? More likes?
More sales? Decide what your goal is worth to you and create a budget
that fits.
Say your goal is to drive more likes to your page and each like is
worth $5 to you. If the contest prize will cost you $100, then you will
need to get 20 new likes to recoup this cost. Don’t forget set-up costs;
you will also need to consider the cost of your Facebook App (more on
that later) and any advertising you plan to support your contest on
Facebook.
How you calculate what your goal is worth will be unique for your
company, but the important thing is that you have a goal and that you
can easily measure the success of your contest.
2. Create a simple and shareable contest application
A contest on Facebook needs to be located in an application (read Facebook’s Pages terms
if you have not already done so). With this in mind, you have three
choices. You can build your application from scratch (which requires
some programming skills), you can buy a tool with which you can build
and customize your own applications, or you can outsource the entire
process. I might be a bit biased here, but if you don’t have any
programming skills or a big bank account, I recommend you buy a tool so
you can build and customize your own applications. This will save you
both time and money.
Whatever choice you make, make sure that you end up with a contest
that users can easily understand and that encourages them to share.
Consider four popular types:
- A simple “Motivate and Win” contest with a Like-gate, where the components of the contest application are available only to users who like your Page. These are useful if your aim is to grow your Facebook community.
- A contest with a few questions, the answers to which users can find the answers on your website. These are especially useful if your goal is to drive traffic to your website.
- A competition in which the user needs to vote on other users’ contributions. These usually generate a lot of buzz and get a lovely viral spread as well.
- A competition offering a prize to people who share your content. These can be very effective in increasing awareness of your offerings.
The key here is to keep it simple and give the user the ability (and
incentive) to share the contest on Facebook with their friends.
3. Ensure your contest on Facebook is accessible on mobile devices
Many Facebook users access the site on mobile devices, so running a
contest on Facebook that only works on desktop is a big no-no. The
challenge is that Facebook tabs aren’t visible on mobile devices. Make
sure your contest on Facebook is accessible to everyone; use a webpage
to store your contest on Facebook that can be accessed via mobile
devices. You don’t want to risk making your mobile followers sour on
you, or lose all mobile users, just because your application doesn’t
work on mobile devices!
4. Regularly post about the contest on Facebook
If nobody knows about your contest on Facebook, nobody will
participate. Make sure all of your followers and their friends know
about the contest by publishing new posts at least 2 – 3 times per week.
Offer images of the prize and describe what you can do with it, ask
users to participate, and include other calls to action to get more
followers to participate in the contest. You can also change your cover
photo and point users to your contest. Facebook recently changed its
guidelines allowing you to include calls to actions in your cover photo.
5. Promote the contest on your website, in newsletters and through ads
Just because you’re hosting your contest on Facebook doesn’t mean
that Facebook should be the only place where you promote it. Add links
and banners to your website to make sure visitors are informed about the
contest on Facebook and include information on it in your customer
newsletters. In my experience, advertising on Facebook has been crucial
for contests – just make sure that your ads are targeting the right
audience (e.g. do not target Italians if your prize is in the US) and
try to use multiple ad formats to see which delivers the best results.
6. Send your congratulations to the winner
When the contest is over, you should show the joy that the contest
gave all participants and/or winners. You might, for example, take a
picture of the lucky winner and publish it on your timeline. (Just keep
in mind that, according to Facebook’s Promotion Guidelines, you can’t
notify a winner using the Facebook platform). Also consider talking to
the winner or some of the participants to get their feedback on the
contest, and then use that feedback in posts and for a future contest on
Facebook.
7. Analyze and learn
When you have done all the above, it’s time to become a “number
nerd.” Measure progress toward the goals you picked in Step 1 and how
well the contest contributed to your business goals. Check Facebook
Insights to see how many people visited your contest, how many more
likes you received during the contest period, how your reach was
affected during the contest, and so on. Make sure you understand what
contributed to the success of your contest, and think about what you can
do differently the next time around. Then it’s time to start planning
for the next contest on Facebook. 
To sum things up, set a goal, create a plan, build an app with
shareable content, let the world know about your contest, and keep it
simple and fun.
Are there any good tips I missed for running a successful contest on Facebook? Add a comment below!
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