13 | July | 2013 | It's Pixel Perfect

By Glenford Scott – GSCOTTY.COM

When running a Facebook there are a few, or more than a few rules you have to follow or face the risk of having Facebook suspend your contest and page all together for breaking those rules. So we’re gonna go through a few Do’s and Don’t of running a Facebook promotion.

DO: Use a third party to run your contest
DON’T: Ask fans to use any of Facebook’s native features to enter a contest, these include liking, commenting, sharing, posting to your wall etc
DO: Acknowledgment that the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.
DON’T: Use any of Facebook native features as a voting mechanism, meaning don’t ask fans to “like this picture” in order to vote for an entrant, that goes for comments and shares as well.
DO: Make it clear to participants that they are providing information to YOU and not to Facebook.
DON’T: Notify winners through Facebook, such as through Facebook messages, chat, or posts on profiles (timelines) or Pages.
DO: Use the emails captured from entrants to notify them that they have won.

For the full list of rules regarding Facebook promotions you can go here. Facebook doesn’t have the resources to track and monitor every single page on the site but it’s always best to play on the safe side and abide by the rules so your page doesn’t get punished when you think no one is watching.

By Glenford Scott – GSCOTTY.COM

Engagement is the name of the game on Facebook and business owners and marketers alike know the importance of having an engaging page, one sure way to boost engagement on any Facebook page is to entice fans and non-fans to engage with your brand through a Facebook contests. Here are a few benefits you can gain from running a Facebook Contests:

Get Exposure for your page: Humans have an innate want to be the first person to know about something and be the source that tells their friends about it, so launching a contest with an enticing prize will push people to spread the word about the contest to their friends hence spreading the word about your brand at the same time. Once their friends come to your Facebook page, they will probably give you a ‘like’. And even if they don’t their awareness of your brand has already been increased.

Increase Number of “Likes”: The main benefit of launching a Facebook contests is the new fans you’ll gain during the period the contests take place. Most if not all 3rd party apps that you’ll be using to host your contest give you the option to “Fan-Gate” your contest so entrants and voters have to “Like” your page to participate, which will ensure an increase in your fanbase through your Facebook contest.

Grow Your Email Database: As with everything in life there is a trade-off, people are more likely to give you their email addresses when they know they have a chance of receiving a prize in return. Hosting a contest is a great way to increase your email database, the most simplest way being a sweepstakes where people simple enter their name and email address for a chance to win something, as all 3rd party apps gives you the ability to capture information from contest participants.

Encourage Participation and Engagement: A contest that requests participation from your followers is much more likely to increase their attachment to your brand than a simple sweepstakes where a winner is drawn at random. Think about asking your followers to submit photos of themselves interacting with your product, or tell their personal story about your brand’s role in their life, or even come up with a slogan or jingle. Not only will this encourage followers to spend time really thinking about what your brand means to them, it could also provide you with some valuable marketing collateral for the future (just make sure to get permission to use it!).

A Facebook contests is a strategy you should always look into when considering ways to boost the exposure and engagement on your Facebook page. Hope these benefits helped!