Contests are captivating ways to attract more visitors and generate bigger brand exposure. Small businesses run numerous types of contests on their Facebook Pages that not only drives more traffic to their site but also enhance engagement and increase follower count on their Facebook Page.
A list of a few Facebook Contest Ideas that are popularly run by businesses has been discussed here to help you pick some insight on the type of contest you can run to promote your business or brand:
1. Like the Page to win
Find a gift to give away and ask people to LIKE your page to enter the contest. You can simply increase your page likes and followers count through this process.
2. Comment to win
Ask your followers to comment on your post, answer a question or just type in a symbol to enter the contest. This is a great way to promote because Facebook’s algorithm give more importance to comments than likes.
3. Like the Post to win
Simply create a post and ask people to like it. This will attract a pool of likers and enhance the reach of the page. However, your post won’t be able to receive much traction if people merely keep liking the post.
4. Post to Page to win
Ask your fans to submit their entries by posting a picture or status update on your Fan Page’s timeline. Caption contests are a great way to promote your page and come with the bonus of your fans enjoying the entry posts.
5. Fan of the week
The entrants are asked to send a photo with your product in the picture. The photo is posted on your page and one winner is chosen every week.
6. Multiple Choice
Simply ask a question, give fans a few options in terms of answers and then select your winner from among the entrants with the right answers.
7. Fill in the blank
Fill in the blank contests consist of a sentence or paragraph in which you ask your fans to add their own unique perspective by filling the blanks. It is an effective way to increase engagement on your page.
8. Tag the Photo
Post a picture and ask your followers to tag themselves in it. No sooner do they tag themselves than it will show in their friend’s timeline, creating a buzz about your page and getting more visibility for your product.
9. We will hold a giveaway when we reach _ fans
Specifying at what number of follower count you will hold the giveaways is a great way to encourage people to like your page or post and share your contest.
10. Vote for your favourite photo
Ask your fans to submit photos and then vote for their favourite photo. This is one of the most effective ways of promotion since people ask their family and friends to vote, meaning bonus likes and more engagement on your page.
11. Solve to win
It is slightly different from #2 because in this you are not merely asking your fans to post a random comment but to solve a puzzle or answer a trivia question.
12. Upload Pictures to win
As soon as your fans start uploading images, there will be continuous engagement on your page since other fans and their followers will like, share and comment on those images.
13. Be # _ and win
This is almost like #9 but with a little twist. Instead of specifying that you will give away a prize when you reach a certain number of followers, award the 100th or 1000th fan a prize.
14. Photo Comment
It is another creative timeline contest where you can create a post and ask fans to comment using a photo. Ideas could also include a contest of photos submitted by fans using your product or why they need your product.
15. Rate our new product
Ask your fans to rate your new product on a scale of 0-10 and what they think about it. The person with the best feedback will get the product totally free. This not only doubles the rate of engagement on your page but also popularises your product.
16. Crowdsource contest
This is an useful newsfeed contest as it helps you come up with great ideas for a problem. You can ask the fans to pick a logo for your business, help decide a book cover or the name of a menu and much more.
Facebook has become a popular marketing strategy for businesses of all sizes. Large businesses have great success stories as they often have paid blog posts, celebrity endorsements and much more. However, there are numerous success stories of small businesses that did not spend much but still tasted success. Some of them include:
- Seconds and Surplus, a small retailer, ran a contest in which they gave away 10% discount coupons to fans who liked their Facebook Page as well as launched surveys, posted photos and quizzes to increase their customer engagement. This resulted in $12,000 sales from Facebook, 300% increased fan count and new customers for their products.
- Maes Beer started a campaign on Facebook as per which they would give a free beer barrel to anyone with the last name Maes with the condition that they would share it with 20 of their friends. The result was, 7,000 people changed their last names to Maes on Facebook and the company ended up getting 75,000 Facebook likes in a single day plus 500,000 visits to their page in just six weeks.
- Motion PR, a Chicago public relations agency, started a campaign ‘Nut Year’s Resolution’ to promote awareness for tree nuts. The users had to like their Facebook Page and make a pledge to add 1.5 ounces of tree nuts into their diet. This resulted in 2,433 Facebook fans for the company besides 6,400 interactions by 5,700 unique users.
- Mohop, an eco-friendly footwear company, started a Facebook campaign to raise funds for a project where they posted photos of their sandals and wrote a message for fans to support their campaign. This ended up as the top 1.2 % of highest-funded fashion kickstarters with a total of $67,020 raised in just 45 days, 1,721% increased new customers and 52.3% click-through rates.
- Elaine Topper of BellaSoleil, a Tuscan home décor retailer, offered a 10% discount via a special code on a reveal page that users saw only after liking their Facebook Page. This produced $10,000 profit for the company and 200% increased Facebook likes in just 3 weeks.
Whether you’re a marketer or a business owner, chances are that you too will get involved in running a Facebook contest of one sort or the other. However, to get the best returns on investment from these contests, it is advisable to keep your contest idea and the give-aways brand specific. This will not only attract more active participants and boost the visibility of your products, but also make more users to buy your products.
