Looking for a new way to engage your audience and earn more “likes” on Facebook? A Facebook contest will entice users and draw them to your page, and you’ll learn a ton about your audience. That all leads to better sales! So, what are you waiting for? Below are five steps to a successful Facebook contest. Good luck!
- Determine your objective
Before you begin creating your Facebook contest, you must ask yourself what the objective of the contest is for you. Are you promoting a new product? Are you trying to boost sales? Looking for customer feedback? Or are you simply trying to generate engagement and gain followers? Think about what your business needs and all the ways you might benefit from a contest. Your objective will determine the type of contest you should hold and what prize you will offer.
- Determine what type of contest you want to host
Your objective and your audience both come into play here. How do you want to reach people? What do you want to gain from this experience? Here are a just a few
types of contests to consider:
- Sweepstakes – In a sweepstakes, users simply submit their information and enter a random drawing for a prize. This is a great way to gain more followers.
- Voting Contest – Provide a few models for your next product and have your users vote for their favorite. This type of contest is sure to lead users to purchase your product.
- Caption-this Contest – In a caption-this contest, your users will submit captions for a photo you post. The user with the best caption wins. This is a fun, creative way to engage your audience.
- Essay Contest – If you’re looking for customer feedback, this is the contest for you. Your users will simply comment and tell a story about a product experience. Then your audience can vote for the best story.
- Consider using a third party app
Facebook no longer requires you to run your contest from a third-party app, so you can host your contest on your timeline, but doing so requires extra work. You have to make sure you comply with
Facebook’s contest rules, and the easiest way to do so is through an app. Not to mention, sorting through all those likers and commenters yourself can be time-consuming. Apps like
ShortStack,
WishPond and
Woobox are all tremendously helpful.
- Promote
You can’t hold a successful Facebook contest if you aren’t reaching your audience. Make sure you promote your contest, not only on Facebook, but on multiple modes of social media, like Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. You will not only draw users to your contest, but to your brand in general—so promotion is a double-win!
- Assess
You held this contest for a reason. What did you gain? What did you learn about your fanbase? Carefully read through the comments. What did your users say? Who was commenting? Contests are a great way to get to know your audience, and when you know your audience you can market your product or service more effectively. If your first contest doesn’t work out for you, try another type. You’ll learn over time what method works best for you and your brands.
