• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Social Media Examiner

Your Guide to the Marketing Jungle

  • 🔥 Free Newsletter
  • 🎙️ Podcasts
    • Social Media Marketing Podcast
    • Social Media Marketing Talk Show
    • Marketing Agency Show
    • Our YouTube Channel
  • 🗓️ Social Media Marketing World
  • đź’ˇ Society
  • 🎯 Partner With Us
    • Podcast Sponsorship
    • Email Sponsorship
      • Email Newsletter
      • Dedicated Email Blast
    • Event Sponsorship
      • Social Media Marketing World
  • đź‘‹ About Us
    • Marketing Events
  • Search
  • Social Media Marketing WorldImprove your strategy, find your next big marketing idea...DISCOVER WHAT YOU'VE BEEN MISSING

    5 Ways to Improve Your Facebook Contests

    by Amanda DiSilvestro / February 16, 2015

    social media how toDo you run Facebook contests to promote your business?

    Want to reach more people and increase participation?

    With the right techniques, Facebook contests can engage your community and grow your business.

    In this article you’ll discover five ways to create effective Facebook contests that reach more people, entice them to enter and encourage them to share.

    improve facebook contests
    Discover 5 ways to improve your Facebook contests.

    Listen to this article:

    Where to subscribe: Apple Podcast | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS

    #1: Use an App

    Facebook used to require an app to run a contest, which is no longer the case. However, Facebook contest apps are still extremely useful for guiding fans through the entry process.

    When you use an app, you create a tab on your fan page that links directly to a contest page with entry information, official rules and more. That page has its own URL, so you can easily link to it from status updates on any platform or from your website.

    You can name the tab whatever you like, but it's best to keep it simple—use the name of the contest or a short description. For example, Eggo hosted a contest where they asked fans to contribute Eggo recipes, so they named their tab Recipe Contest.

    eggo facebook contest
    The contest tab makes it easy for fans to see where to click to enter.

    Using apps offers much more functionality than a status update asking for a like. In Eggo's case, their contest entry page included an interactive graphic where fans could scroll through pictures of food and click through for the recipe; an option to click on other fan entries to see the competition; and an option to click for fun ideas without having to enter the contest.

    #2: Promote Effectively

    How you tell people about your contest has a huge effect on how successful it is. It's key to let fans know how they can enter and how it benefits them (a prize). If applicable, mention how it benefits you as well, and don't forget the call to action!

    In the status update below Diamond Candles promoted their 1,000 Ring Candle contest via Facebook updates and included each of those bits of information. But they went two steps further. They included an extra call to action (to like and share the post in addition to entering) and a hashtag.

    diamond candles facebook contest
    Give fans all of the information they need to decide if they want to enter.

    Include a hashtag to encourage others to use it and provide an additional way for you to track your success. Hashtags can be used across platforms, so you may be surprised how often it's shared.

    Like Eggo, Diamond Candles used an app for their contest. When people clicked the link in the status update, they landed on the contest page and only had to share their email to enter. Easy!

    These combined tactics—great promotion and easy entry—helped Diamond Candles far exceed their goals and expectations. Their goal was to reach one million fans—they did that in less than six weeks, earning over 30,000 new fans (they only needed 500 to reach their goal).

    The Conference You've Been Waiting For

    As a small business marketer, you can probably only pick one or two events to attend each year. Get an unbeatable conference experience and expert training at Social Media Marketing World in sunny San Diego, California—from your friends at Social Media Examiner.

    🔥 As a valued reader, you can save $750 if you act now! Sale Ends Tuesday! 🔥

    CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

    #3: Ask for Content and Votes

    What better way to promote your business than to have your customers do it for you? Asking for user-generated content is a natural way to encourage people to share with their friends.

    Attention Agency Owners, Brand Marketers, and Consultants

    Marketing Agency Show

    Introducing the Marketing Agency Show–our newest podcast designed to explore the struggles of agency marketers.

    Join show host and agency owner, Brooke Sellas, as she interviews agency marketers and digs deep into their biggest challenges. Explore topics like navigating rough economic times, leveraging AI, service diversification, client acquisition, and much more.

    Just pull up your favorite podcast app, search for Marketing Agency Show and start listening. Or click the button below for more information.

    CLICK HERE FOR THE DETAILS

    When a fan submits something (e.g., a picture or recipe), of course they want their friends to know. Those shares bring additional attention to your contest (and therefore your company).

    rocky mountain entertainment agency facebook contest
    Voters were able to see all the entries and cast their vote.

    Rocky Mountain Entertainment Agency is a small business in Montana. They ran a contest asking wannabe models to submit a photo of themselves with little to no makeup. The company then asked people to vote on the collected pictures to determine the winner.

    Since contestants want to win, they're very likely to re-share their submission with their friends and ask them for a vote. That translates into even more attention and engagement for your company. Take advantage of that reach and provide clear calls to action for additional interaction (e.g., to like or share your page or sign up for your newsletter).

    #4: Incorporate Current Events

    An easy way to engage your audience and increase entries is to play off of a current event. This is such a simple idea, and it's easy to set up. Any company—large or small—can adapt this type of contest to match its own audience.

    Here's a fun example. Granite Office Supplies ran a contest that was loosely based on the NCAA basketball tournament. They created their own tournament with 64 office supply items, all seeded and set up in four regions.

    To get maximum traffic, they had contest components for both their website and Facebook. The company created a website page where they had brackets with an official scoreboard. All fans had to do was fill out a bracket and submit it on the website.

    granite office supplies facebook contest
    Come up with a fun way to bring attention to your products based on current events.

    To include Facebook in the mix, the actual game was played on the company's Facebook page. Updates pitted office supplies against each other and people submitted their votes by commenting on the updates about which office supply items should win.

    The beauty of the contest was that people made their own luck—if users could influence their friends to come vote on the contest, their “team” would move to the next level.

    That influence (bringing new eyes to your Facebook page) has the potential to bring new fans and much more page interaction.

    #5: Create Urgency

    Nothing spurs action like the feeling that time is running out. Creating a sense of urgency is one of the oldest tricks in the book and encourages people to participate sooner rather than later. And yet few Facebook contests take advantage of this tactic.

    In many of its contests, Linen Works creates a sense of urgency. They include a countdown clock that tells people how long they have before entries close. They combine the urgency factor with easy entry to entice even more participation.

    linen works facebook contest
    Combine urgency with sharing for increased entries and exposure.

    The entry page also provides easy access to secondary calls to action—liking the page, sharing on Facebook or tweeting—each of which results in that all-important extended reach.

    Conclusion

    Combining any of the contest tactics here can lead to increased participation and extended reach.

    What do you think? Do you use any of these tactics in your Facebook contests? Have you seen any cool Facebook contests over the past year? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.

    how to improve facebook contests
    Tips for improving your Facebook contests.

    3 Days of World-Class Training—Zero Travel!

    Social Media Marketing World

    Travel to Social Media Marketing World off the table? Get all of the great content at a fraction of the price with an On-Demand ticket.

    That’s full access to recordings of every keynote, workshop, and session—the ones people travel thousands of miles to see. Don't wait. Get your On-Demand ticket and enjoy actionable content that you can watch anytime, anywhere.

    GET YOUR ON-DEMAND TICKET NOW

    Tags: Facebook

    About the authorAmanda DiSilvestro

    Amanda DiSilvestro gives small business and entrepreneurs SEO advice ranging from keyword density to recovering from algorithm updates. She writes for Higher Visibility, a nationally recognized SEO consulting firm that offers national and local SEO services.
    Other posts by Amanda DiSilvestro »

    Get Social Media Examiner’s Future Articles in Your Inbox!

    Get our latest articles delivered to your email inbox and get the FREE Social Media Marketing Industry Report (37 pages, 50+ charts)!

    Industry Report Cover

    Worth Exploring:

    Facebook

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Instagram

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    YouTube

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Linkedin

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Web3

    Next Frontier Explore More →

    Social Media Marketing Industry Report

    Get Free Report →

    Social Marketing Trends

    The data you've been missing!

    Need a new plan? Discover how marketers plan to change their social activities in the 15th annual Social Media Marketing Industry Report. It reveals what marketers have planned for their social activities, content marketing, and more! Get this free report now and never miss another great article from us. Join more than 400,000 marketers!

    Enter your email to get
    our free report:


    Footer

    Your Guide to the Marketing Jungle
    Copyright © 2023 Social Media Examiner®
    All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy.

    Helpful Links

    • About us
    • Our content via email
    • Our podcasts
    • Our YouTube channel
    • Our live show
    • Our industry report
    • Sponsorship opportunities
    • RSS
    • Accessibility