How to Run a Successful Facebook Contest
A successful Facebook contest is an excellent addition to your marketing strategy. It can bring manifold benefits to your business from increased engagement, new clients and boosting brand image just to name a few. But it takes careful planning and promotion to set up and guarantee that you get the impact you want. Here are some tips and tricks to ensure your Facebook contest has maximum impact.
1. Make it Mesh with your Marketing Goals
Creating a great contest should not be seen as a merely a way to reward some lucky followers, it should roll over into your marketing strategy and allow you to meet your specific objectives. You should make sure it attracts new customers by strategically ensuring you generate leads not just likes. When you establish a contest you should always require that participants share their email address with you or have to subscribe to your newsletter. This will ensure that you build a database of future potential clients.
2. Pick your Contest Strategically
There are roughly 15 different types of Facebook contests you can run. In general, the best for any business are sweepstakes, photo contests, and referral promotions. Decide which one suits your goals best, as each has its advantages. Sweepstakes are the easiest to set up and easy for customers to enter too. A Sweepstakes will allow you to get tons of entries fast. Photo contests are very interactive, as they require that people upload their photos and then others vote on which photos they like best. They are excellent not only for drawing in existing fans but also driving traffic. Referrals are more complex, as customers only win if they refer a fixed number of people to your company, but the reward is they are excellent for generating leads.
3. Determine Your Prize and Budget
You need to decide how much you will spend on promoting the contest and what you plan to give away. To increase value and mesh with your marketing scheme you should give away a business-related product or service. This could be something you sell, a gift card for, or a discount on something your business offers. Do not give away unrelated merchandise, such as a free iPhone if your business is a cosmetics firm. You want to indirectly promote your products and turn clients into repeat customers.
4. Write an Attention-Grabbing Contest Headline
Once you have chosen what contest you will run, promote your contest in an attention-grabbing manner. Write a headline that draws attention using words like: Free, Magic, Amazing, Ultimate, Special, Win. Make sure your graphics are equally exciting, and ensure you have a call to action button that stands out. Don’t forget to request a name and email address to generate those leads.
5. Determine Your Contest Deadline
Setting a deadline on your contest is essential, or you could also offer a limited or seasonal offer. This is the best way to guarantee conversion. Your contest should ideally not be longer than two, at most three, weeks. You might consider adding a countdown clock to add to the sense of urgency. If you follow these guidelines your contest will be a success.
Intelligent Office offers smart business solutions that help entrepreneurs succeed. Contact us to learn more.
