It’s happening again. Facebook is in the midst of changing their newsfeed algorithm. It’s another in a long list of unannounced Facebook changes that may result in even fewer of your followers actually viewing your posts.

So what does this mean for a brand/marketer running a sweepstakes or contest on Facebook? Simply put, you must pay to play. Marketers can no longer rely on a “build it and they will come” philosophy. As a public company, Facebook needs to maintain a lightning focus on revenue. Thus, the need to prompt page owners to pay to promote posts. In some respects, Facebook is no longer different than any other online property with inventory to sell to the brand with the highest offer. Allocating paid media dollars to Facebook needs to be a component of the media plan along with content strategy and email communications.

Some other things to also keep in mind when running a sweepstakes or contest on Facebook include:

·     Entry Page Setup – many brands want to limit the data collected at times of entry. Their overall premise is to collect only that information which does not create a barrier to entry while ensuring that prizes can be fulfilled. However, given the need to actively market your promotion on Facebook, one data field that should be ubiquitous on the Entry Page is the “opt-in” to your email list prompt (for further communications). Brands of all sizes should use a consumer’s interaction with a promotion as a means to augment their CRM efforts. So when determining the registration fields of a promotion, the opt-in box, and acknowledgement and agreement to abide by the Official Rules, are musts!

·    Promotion Duration – another impact of the decline in organic reach is the overall promotion duration. While brands like to run quick “surprise and delight” campaigns, without reach, engagement is minimal. When raising awareness of a promotion, a brand/marketer needs time to optimize (essentially to fine tune the call-to-action to ensure the highest possible engagement), so, as a rule of thumb, a promotion should run a minimum of at least two weeks; — even longer if running a contest, as users often need more time to complete the contest ask.

For help in running your Facebook sweepstakes or contest, including helping with a Facebook ad buy to promote your promotion, please contact us to get started.

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