8 Important Facebook Contest Tips

Engaging your fans through a contest is a great way to get more Likes on your page and create a buzz around your brand. Setting up a contest only takes 5 minutes which further makes it super simple. However to make your Contest work, you need to plan it and execute it properly. So Here's a few key CONTEST TIPS to help yours be a success:

Relevant Prize 

The prize worth should be in line with the time commitment the entrant will invest in order to develop the entry. (Basically offering an iPad does not help you draw attract relevant fans if you sell fashion art!)

Design Matters!

An incredible visual presentation is vital to attracting fans. Take the time to design graphics (or hire a designer) so that design is clean, pleasing to the eye, and keeps the main thing the main thing! Too often a unclear, busy, or bland design can cause users to not enter or not finish their entry.

Keep the Contest Moving!

Do not run a month-long contest. The attention span of a Facebook user is not geared toward keeping track of an entry and voting once a day for 30 days. A better span is 5-7 days, or perhaps 10 days if it’s a two-stage contest (initial and final rounds).

Set voting to once per day.

This encourages entrants to get voters to come back each day, a perfect situation for your Page! You want return visits and more interaction, so keep them coming back.

Promote it well!

Simply having a contest or promotion live is not the end. You 've got to capture attention and drive fans and their friends to the promotion. This may be one of the BIGGEST mistakes we see, not promoting the contest by making posts about it coming, posts about the launch, updates during it, etc.

You've GOT to share about it widely so people know about it!
 

Consider 2 Stage Contest

2 Stage contests include a main open round of entry and voting, followed by a second round of narrowed down "finalists" voting. A Case Study on a 2 Stage Photo Contest showed that engagement could be increased, by the fact that the initial round generated interest and therefore voters were motivated to come back again in the second stage to view finalists and vote again. More stages with daily voting = more interaction and engagement.
 

Use #Hashtags!

Include a specific and unique #hashtag in the posts you share on Facebook, Twitter, and Google + (etc.). Remember to include your hashtag in your contest text and instructions on the contest tab for further reinforcement.
 

Be Mobile friendly!

Over 70% of Facebook users are now accessing Facebook on a mobile device! This means if they see your post in the news feed and want to enter, you better make sure they can via their mobile! Facebook DOES NOT naturally make this possible. You MUST use a tool like our Smart URL that lets users on a desktop, tablet, or mobile phone access it because we detect their device and display what works!