Running a contest on your Facebook page is a popular and effective strategy. According to a poll conducted by Econsultancy, special offers and promotions are the first reason for Facebook users to “like” a Facebook page. By running a contest, you can have the opportunity to make your Facebook page more fun, build a list of people interested in your business and expand the number of your fans.

If you have been using Facebook for a while, you may already know about these benefits and may have run or are about to run a Facebook contest. However, are you confident that you know how to do it right? After running your contest, will you achieve your marketing goals successfully, without violating Facebook’s guidelines? In this article, you will find some helpful guidance about how to create a Facebook contest, do it right and maximize its benefits.

Structure Your Contest with Your End Goal in Mind

Before starting to structure your contest, you need to determine your marketing objective. Are you running the contest to grow your community, increase the subscribers of your newsletters or build brand awareness? You should answer these questions to clearly determine what you are trying to achieve and then decide how you can achieve it.

For example, if your marketing objective is to grow your e-mail list or Facebook community, the type of your contest should be “sweepstakes,” and you should require people to give their email to enter to the contest. On the other hand, if you want to build brand awareness, then you should run a contest where people choose the winner with their votes. Entrants will share your contest information with their friends and encourage them to vote. Therefore, your message will be carried to many Facebook users helping you reach your objective of building brand awareness.

Follow Facebook Promotions Guidelines and Applicable Laws

You need to clearly understand Facebook’s promotional rules before structuring your contest. This is very important because Facebook may remove all your promotional materials and terminate your Facebook page and account if you violate the restrictions.

One of the important rules is that you can’t administer your promotions through Facebook. Instead, you can use third party applications, like Wildfire and Votigo, or your own application to collect entries, conduct drawings or notify winners.

Also, you need to be aware of some legal restrictions before you publicize your contest. For example, although the minimum age requirement for Facebook membership is 13, you can’t open your promotions to people who are younger than 18. Moreover, there are some restrictions for some countries and prizes. You should visit www.facebook.com/promotions_guidelines.php to find the complete guidelines.

Promote Your Facebook Contest

To be able to successfully promote your contest, you need to use all channels with which you can reach your audience. If you have a website or blog, you should add a button or banner that announces the contest and lets your visitors join. Also, you need to use your Facebook page and other social media accounts, such as Twitter and LinkedIn, to promote your contest. Additionally, you should announce your contest to your e-mail subscribers and ask for their support to spread the word and use Facebook ads to direct interested Facebook users to your Facebook page for the entry.

Wrap Things Up and Analyze the Results

At the end of the date and time you determined for your contest, you announce the winner on your Facebook fan page and complete the process of the contest. Now, it’s time for you to use some strategies to keep your new fans that were just interested in the contest and are ready to leave. You may start new events or offer valuable content to keep these people interested in your Facebook page.

Finally, you should analyze the results. You should analyze the data on the third party applications and Google Analytics to measure the success of your contest. Obviously, you need to add Google Analytics to your site prior to promoting your contest to track the entries to the contest from your website.

Keep It Exciting and Fun from Beginning to End

People are more willing to engage in businesses that provide exciting and fun experiences. If you give your Facebook page a human touch, reveal your personality in your content and encourage them to talk about themselves, you can make it exciting and fun for people, and your promotional efforts pay more than you expect.

Contact Marden-Kane today for promotion marketing that creates behavior change!