Many local businesses will have run a Facebook competition over the past couple of years, and even if you’re one of those that have stayed on the side lines when it comes to this promotional activity, you will have almost certainly seen others having a go. With this in mind, we take a look at what really makes an effective Facebook competition and provide you with a few tips that might help improve your results and reach.

Do you really need one?

Might be a strange tip to start this post with but it’s definitely worth considering before you dive into any competition or giveaway.

Facebook competitions won’t be for everybody; if you’re in professional services or other B2B markets it is certainly more difficult to justify their presence within your marketing activity. If you have a commodity or product that’s going to be attractive to consumers on Facebook then you should definitely consider giving this a go.
Always think about whether you’re gaining more than you’re giving away.

Get the level of prize right

You want to reach the right people, and those will always be the ones that might buy from you in the future. When it comes to giving a prize, make sure it isn’t too large so as to be the only reason they’re entering. Massive prizes bring with them unfocussed attention. It’s a fine line though, you want it to be enough to attract them to enter after all.

Think carefully about any giveaway and make sure it’s pitched just right!

As an example; a week long holiday is going to be too much, but a romantic night for two in a quieter point of the tourist season would do the trick.

Make them easy to enter

Consider these three very different ways of getting people to enter your competition – the easier it is to put your name in the hat, the more entrants you are likely to get.

Get them to like: Ask people to like your page in order to increase your following.

Get them to engage: Through commenting, voting, or captioning an image or video.

Use a third party app: They can be great for getting email addresses and marketing data.

Keep it snappy

Remember it might be a competition, but it’s still Facebook, so keep the text down to a minimum. You can always link to Terms and Conditions and more indepth information if you really need to; the worst thing any Facebook post can have is ellipsis when someone is viewing so keep it short and sweet.

Pin the post to the top of your page

A really easy win; pin the tweet to the top of your page using the small triangle you’ll find in the top right hand corner of your post. It’ll make sure it’s headline news for anyone visiting your page whilst the promotion is going on.

Use other social media channels to promote it

Sounds a sensible idea doesn’t it, but an opportunity that is often missed. If you have a strong Twitter presence, then use it to steer people to your Facebook competition. Remember to utilise amplifier accounts such as Devon Hour and Cornwall Hour to spread the word even further.

This type of activity will be far more effective in boosting your Facebook presence than merely asking for likes through Twitter.

Have a clear beginning and end date

Having a deadline creates urgency; in this case you want people to enter, so if they know they have to before tomorrow then they’re more likely to. Make sure it’s clear and open when your competition will close.

Follow the rules

There is plenty of confusion over this but just to confirm:

You can ask people to
• Like a post
• Comment on a post (including photos and links)
• Post on a page

You can’t ask people to:
• Like a page (see Facebook Developers Policy)
• Share a post
• Tag a friend in a post or comment

You will see other people breaking these rules but it doesn’t mean that you should too.

Consider promoting your campaign

Might seem counterintuitive to use advertising when you’re giving something away for free but it does still give you the ability to reach the exact people you want to enter, and also spread the word outside of the reach of your current page likes and their second / third connection circle of friends.

Contact the winner first and then tell everyone about it

You should contact the winner directly before announcing it on Facebook. Once you’ve let them know, share their win on Facebook so that people can see that your competition was legitimate and with a clear winner.