There are plenty of benefits to running Facebook contests. Most importantly, they give people a fun way to interact with your client’s brand and a reason to come back to visit and see who gets the prize. But if you’re going to run a contest, Jim Belosic, cofounder and CEO of ShortStack, a self-service Facebook tab building platform, says that Facebook has some strict rules that your client must follow:
Companies are not allowed to run contests in which people enter by commenting or posting to the wall.
Companies are not allowed to use the newsfeed to announce contest winners.
Companies are not allowed to notify winners through Facebook, such as via Facebook messages.
Companies must run their contests through a third party app.
ShortStack allows users to build custom Facebook tabs without any developer experience. You can easily create branded pages using a template, and then there are a host of customization options from there. Using ShortStack’s contest widget, which launched earlier this week, you can quickly set up a contest and not worry about figuring out how to follow Facebook’s rules, as the ShortStack platform takes cares of meeting those requirements for you. ShortStack’s interface allows you to design a contest submission form, customize the look and feel with images, incorporate contest rules and other information, set launch dates and duration and manage several other contest functions. Within the next few weeks, ShortStack will also roll out photo-upload submission capabilities.
Note that beyond contests, ShortStack also lets you add a range of other tabs to your client’s Facebook page including contact pages, YouTube channels, Flickr feeds and polls. Service plans start at $9 per month.
Make Your Fans Feel Special
This May 16, Freedom Riders, a documentary that tells the story of the men and women who participated in the Freedom Rides of 1961, will premiere on PBS’s acclaimed history program, American Experience. In advance of the broadcast premiere, PBS is offering a special preview to its Facebook fans: A 35-minute excerpt of the film debuted exclusively on the PBS Facebook Page this past Monday, and will be available for viewing until the film airs on the 16th. American Experience has offered exclusive content to its Facebook community in the past as well. One week before the broadcast premiere of documentary Earth Days in April 2010, the film was live-streamed in full exclusively on the American Experience Facebook Page. During the screening, viewers were able to live chat with each other and with the director.
Once you have loyal Facebook fans clicking around, commenting and participating on your client’s page, reward them with something special that they won’t find anywhere else. It doesn’t have to be as elaborate as a movie screening, it can be as simple as a coupon code. And the allure of exclusivity will attract new fans, too, so make sure you let people know what’s going on through other channels.
Parting Advice For Your Facebook Page
Ask tons of questions.
Incorporate upcoming events, product launches and other happenings into your client’s content calendar.
Use third-party apps to build out tabs, but remember that the newsfeed is the vehicle for your client’s call to action. Let fans know about new contests, events and other tabbed content by posting to the wall.
Even if multiple parties and admins are posting, assign one person as the primary lead to make sure that the general calendar is being followed and the content of the main posts is in harmony with the voice of the brand.
Take a read through of the Facebook promotions guidelines, Pages guidelines and brand permissions guidelines.
Make sure that people have to “like” your client’s page before they get to enter a contest or get access to a promotion. ShortStack and other third-party apps offer this option.
Give fans a bit of power. If appropriate, consider posting a picture of a new product and letting the community decide what to name it. Or if that’s too risky, try crowdsourcing something a bit safer, such as the flavor of the CEO’s birthday cake (and make sure you post pictures afterward).
Let fans know that you’re listening. Make sure someone is there to monitor for comments that your client should respond to -- and respond fast.
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