Thanks Andrea. I look forward to the questions!

I’m obviously a big fan of contests but it’s important to engage your fans in a variety of ways – apps for contests, sweepstakes, and coupons/offers along with sharing great content on your timeline. Of course contests, especially with user photos or videos, can provide great content for posting and activity that can be utilized as sponsored stories. Our most successful clients tend to have some sort of promotion going almost all the time with bigger campaigns anywhere from 4-6 times per year. A good rule of thumb is to run a contest for about 4-6 weeks, as interest tends to wane after time unless you are doing something like a prize a week for a year, which basically amounts to a series of weekly contests. But it does depend a bit on the type of contest. If it is user submitted content (photos, videos, essays) you want to allow people enough time to put their entry together. And if you have voting in your contest, which is a great way to drive sharing and engagement, then you want to budget an appropriate time.

@bpicks Is it necessary to use a 3rd party app if you are going to do a Fan of the Month announcement through a cover photo?

@f20baio You don’t need to use an app to announce a Fan of the Month but it depends on how you are selecting the winners and if there is a prize of tangible value. If there is no prize and you are simply acknowledging them on your page then no problem. If you actually want people to enter information for an opportunity to win a prize then it is a sweepstakes and would require an app. Does that clarify?

@david-c-jones-cpa it depends on the type of app/plan but we do have a mobile solution. It’s tricky in Facebook because they don’t support page tabs in mobile. We’d be happy to chat specifics with you for your next contest!

ShortStack* sorry for the misplelling,  @david-c-jones-cpa

@russell-pottinger Hi , yes Facebook has taken action against pages that violate their policies. In this example, they are directly incentivizing people to use Facebook sharing and Liking in order to enter a contest and this would be in violation. They aren’t able to police everything but it’s always best to play within the rules and use an app that is FB compliant. Our contests absolutely can generate the same level of interest.

@bpicks Hey Ben,

This question is a bit off topic, but I figured that since you are the Facebook Guest Expert, that there really isn’t a better person to ask.

With Facebook locking down business pages from actively searching for new customers through user directories; and preventing methods that entice people to like a business page, what would you recommend businesses do to utilize Facebook as a marketing tool?

I find that I use Twitter to actively seek out customers and network with businesses all over the world. As such, I find I accrue Twitter fans at almost four times the rate of the Facebook fans. Without advertising the Facebook business page externally, what would your recommendations be to attract interested consumers and businesses? I believe that advertising the Facebook page is pointless, as web site owners would actively seek to advertise their web sites over a social networking profile page. Just my two cents. 

Thanks for your help!

Rob Raine

@effexo I think you’re correct that it is easier to amass followers on Twitter and specifically to connect with other businesses. I do feel that Facebook is much more B2C than B2B, however, there are still people behind every business that you can connect with on Facebook. We have seen a number of B2B clients successfully use contests and promotions to build and engage customers. The key is to have a concept and offer that resonates well with your target audience. If you have other existing channels such as Twitter or email in which you can promote your Facebook page you should definitely cross-promote. If you are trying to grow organically on Facebook then it is certainly worth considering ads. You may pay a bit to build the audience but once you have them I think Facebook is a much richer channel to engage on than Twitter.

Hi, what are your thoughts on simple photo contest. I’ve had a few clients who manage their own facebook pages run a post a photo for a chance to win type contest. I’ve always recommended the use of apps for contest however some find that since their contests are so simple and harmless, and they feel they are a small fish in the big Facebook sea that they are not worried. Should they be? From an insiders point of view, how strict is Facebook with the policing of contests and promotions on Facebook via pages? In your opinion. I do agree better to play safe but do you have any insight into what COULD fly and what to really NOT DO?

Thanks @bpicks for replying.

Do you think facebook will do this? Make the apps work in mobile? And do you think it will be something in the short or long term?

I know there is no way to know for sure, just interested in your opinion and thoughts on it as it is difficult to know whether to pump money into it???

Cheers