We have experimented with a lot of contests at Yo!DogMarketing. Our current platform for administering contests is Vitrue and we like it for the cost versus others out there.

In general, you’ll get the best results from contests where you require the least amount of work on behalf of the contest entrant. If they have to produce a picture, video or any amount of content, your volume of participation will go way down. Sweepstakes tend to produce the best results, followed by commenting or tagging and then photo and last video.

You definitely want to have someone with photoshop/graphic design skills to put together compelling imagery and a great message. You’ll also want to think through how you are going to promote it and make sure you are giving a prize that will both draw attention and entrants. We usually allow for a 1-2 week prior to launch promotion time where we tease the contest a few times each week. Then we promote it daily and make sure we are tracking results.

If you are interested in specific help on this, please feel free to send me a private message.

Apryl, I have run a lot of contests for my clients ranging from Sweepstakes, to Photo, Essays and Video.  Re: applications I have used Wildfire, Shortstack, Offerpop, North Social, and Rafflecopter.  I have found that the contests that are the easiest to run are definitely sweepstakes oriented.  The harder it is to enter the less entries you get.  Wildfire is by far the best when it comes to analytics and support, although it can get costly.  Offerpop has a unique Twitter contest app, it’s free if you have less than 500 fans, not as easy to implement.  Rafflecopter is the new kid on the block.  Not very visual, but it has the ability to really get some engagement going by asking contestants to do multiple things.  Promotion is key, not only before, but during and after the contest.  Obviously blogging about it, tweeting, and getting sponsors who will help spread the word helps immensely.  Regarding the cost/benefit.  I would say a resounding YES.  

Here is a video blog post I did awhile back for one of my clients.  Contests are great for photographers and they are jumping on this approach big time.  Facebook Contest Ideas

@shanekeener, @leecg, @georgiamccabe, and @jfouts, thanks for your replies! I’ve been using Wildfire for one of my clients and while their support has been great, I would also definitely recommend starting simple. And Georgia, I’ll definitely take a look at your link–very helpful!

One thing I noticed in running our video contest campaign, is that there is a lot of last-minute interest just before the upload phase ends (as well as in the very beginning). Whew! Do you notice that with other campaigns, such as photo or sweeps?

@aprylparcher Yep, I often see the contest really pick up at the end. I’ve been planning to test to see if it’s the length of time, the “enter now before it’s over!” messages or what… Hard to say since they are all unique campaigns and markets.

Thanks, @jfouts & @chrismccarty! Great insights. I’ll have to look more closely at Woobox and North Social. We did ok as far as the video contest initial phase with Wildfire, and voting is going ok. Going to pick a winner after the 20th and work on more promotions over the next few months.

One thing I’ve seen that I’m questioning–a few of the competitor sites for my client have used Google Docs to post what looks like a sweepstakes promotion tab on their FB pages. Enter your email info for a chance to win something–but they don’t seem to be powered by any 3rd party provider, and don’t have any language specifying how they’ll pick the winners, etc. Looks like a quick-and-dirty to me, and may not conform to FB’s promotion rules, which I haven’t had time to pore over yet to see. Any thoughts?

Hey guys you can also check out SocialAppsHQ’s Sweepstakes App -https://www.socialappshq.com/products/sweepstakes_tab-for-fbpages & it now got internationalize. You can use it at affordable cost & use your own preferred language.

Also check out the pages using us – http://blog.socialappshq.com/2012/06/27/check-out-incredibly-powerful-sweepstake-campaigns-that-drive-most-of-the-engagement-on-facebook/

Thanks!
Monalisha
http://blog.socialappshq.com

Cool. Will take a look.