Written by ContentPowered.com
Facebook contests are a great way to generate interest in companies through exposure. Everyone wants a chance at winning free money, products, services, or other cool gifts that may be offered. The more the product or service is worth in the contest, the more customers that will be attracted.
Studies have proven that Facebook contests are effective, and 57.7 percent of Facebook pages have run a contest. So, it’s not reserved for only large enterprises. Small businesses can benefit from it also. Of the 57.7 percent who have run these contests, 82.4 percent of the users have reported meeting their subscribership goals after hosting a contest online. Most Facebook contests will bring in at least 28.7 percent more likes.
Most companies who launch contests have three main goals. The primary goal is to increase fans and likes. In fact, 44 percent of people who launch contests want to accomplish this goal. Thirty percent of companies want to increase loyalty to their company, and another 19 percent simply want to collect data. The most popular contest types are sweepstakes contests, photo contests, essay contests, and video contests.
Companies who want to yield the most results should try to offer one of these six contest incentives: a Grand Prize, a promotional item, t-shirts, discounted merchandise, a free period of service, or a fan of the week posting. Here are five contests that have successfully managed to pull in a considerable number of visitors and subscribers.
1. Kohl’s Cares for Kids Facebook Contest
Kohl’s Cares for Kids is the philanthropic program that gave Facebook fans the opportunity to vote on schools and their ideas when they were presented online. The company pledged to give $500,000 to every school that gained the most votes on the Facebook page. Any single Facebook fan could vote up to five times per school and 20 times in total.
This campaign was launched on the tenth anniversary of Kohl’s Cares. At the end of the campaign, two million people had submitted 12 million votes, and the company gained 1.6 million new Facebook fans and potential customers. This was quite a progression for six weeks of work through a campaign.
2. Small Business “Seconds & Surplus”
Facebook contests not only work for major companies, but small businesses have also taken advantage of these contests. For instance, a coupon with a 10 percent discount was given to people who liked the company on the page. In addition to offering this discount, he also launched surveys, posted photos, and quizzes to increase customer engagement. This contest or promotion resulted in $12,000 in sales from Facebook. The total increase in sales from the month was $32,000, and Facebook fan count increased by as much as 300 percent. This type of contest generates significant interest and can gain many new customers.
3. Kay Jewelers’ Merry Match Sweepstakes
Kay Jewelers’ is a popular jewelry store offering diamonds and other jewelry to customers. When they offered to give away a piece of jewelry worth up to $2,300 from Kay Jewelers, they quickly realized that they could gain more customers and fans just by offering a giveaway around the holidays when people needed to save money on gifts. Every day participants could submit an entry through Facebook, and a piece of jewelry was awarded every day until 16 pieces of jewelry were given away. Fans received extra entries for sharing the sweepstakes.
This contest was successful. Many factors contributed to the success. The timing of the contest around the holiday season was a primary factor. Another factor was the advertisements in store and on television. This also drew more attention to the contest.
4. Free the Children We Day Campaign
Free the Children We Day Campaign was a campaign that was designed to donate $1 to the campaign for every “Like” that was received on the page. The contest’s goal was to help children improve the lives of other children everywhere. The event focused on the youth in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. The sponsors of the contest included Keg Spirit Foundation, Me to We, and CTV.
Celebrities were asked to participate and help raise awareness. Ellen DeGeneres, Jason Mraz, Al Gore, and Jonas Brothers were only a few people who would help to spread information about the cause. It took three months, but the contest managed to raise $500,000, and they are halfway to their $1 million goal.
5. Adidas
Adidas accomplishes many goals with their Facebook website. The contests they’ve launched will engage fans and has the ability to increase company revenue. One of the most impressive campaigns is the Adidas and MTV campaign that allowed people to win an all-expenses paid house party. This campaign was successful for numerous reasons.
First, the prize was highly coveted. Second, the prize resonated with the Facebook demographic that they were promoting. The company continued to advertise the contest, and it’s winners even after the contest was over. This was impressive and captured numerous new fans and customers online. Adidas found a way to rebrand their product and capture more interest by promoting their product through a Facebook contest.
Final Thoughts
If you have the chance to review these contests, you’ll have a good idea of what you can do to gain more exposure for your company. It doesn’t always have to be a giveaway of a million dollars, a house, or a car. Sometimes, free merchandise is a good enough incentive for people to migrate to a website and sign up online. If you want to learn more about how to create successful Facebook contests and campaigns, here are a few tips that may help you.
1. Determine the Goal of Your Contest
Knowing the goal of your contest will help you determine how to structure the contest to attract who you want to attract. For instance, some companies may want to drive more traffic to their website for more sales conversions. This type of company is trying to encourage people who have money and are interested in the product to sign up for the contest. Other companies simply want more customers and interest. These companies just want more likes and contact information for future campaigns.
2. The Contest Should be Legal and Effective
If you violate Facebook rules and regulations, it could result in the removal of your Facebook page and all of your work will be for naught. Ensure that your Facebook does not require users to “Like” the page to win. This is against the rules. Additionally, running a Facebook contest on the wall is also against the rules.
3. Promote Your Facebook Contest
Don’t forget to promote your Facebook contest to attract more visitors. You can use banners, pay-per-click, in-store advertising, word-of-mouth and numerous other ways to promote your Facebook contest. Email lists are also a great way to market your contest.
These are just a few tips that my help you create a contest that’s successful and gets the exposure you need. Design the best campaign and get the largest return on investment. When you have more subscribers and more interest, you’ll eventually have more customers who want to purchase from you. When your sales increase, you’ll be pleased with the contest results.
