29 Nov 2013
Posted by davidboland 
Facebook competitions can be a great way to promote your business, as there are so many people out there that turn to social media these days. If you aren’t tapping into the potential involved with your social media marketing, you could be leaving money on the table. The key is to find what works for you, and use it to your advantage. Facebook contests can really bring you a good return on your investment, considering the fact that they really are low cost options that can get your business out there in front of a lot of people.
Here are a few common mistakes that people make when they are running a competition on Facebook
#1 Not Following Facebook Guidelines
Everyone is guilty of this one from time to time, because most people don’t want to take the time to read all of the rules and regulations before they put their contest into action. If you don’t do this, then you may find that you are in violation- which could result in you getting your page removed from Facebook. It really is just a good idea for you to read up on everything. It doesn’t take too long, and it is well worth your time.
#2 Not Abiding by Local Laws
Aside from abiding by Facebook’s regulations, you must also make sure that your contest isn’t going against any local laws. You can’t just assume that your local laws are the only ones that are important either, because people all over the world use Facebook.
Any time you run a contest, you need to make sure that your goals and objectives are clear. If something isn’t really clear, then people may not be willing to participate. You have to let them know what to expect, so that they will be able to take part and enjoy the competition. Set up terms and conditions that lay the ground work for your competition, so that you can ensure everything goes smoothly.
#4 Creating a Contest that is Too Complex
When you are setting up a contest, you may have some really great ideas. While some of your ideas may be really wonderful, it is best if you keep your contest simple. After all, most Facebook users are not going to be interested in something that is going to be too complex for them to understand. Keep it easy to understand, and you will have much more success.
#5 Not Promoting Your Contest Effectively
All successful Facebook competitions must be promoted effectively. You have to take some time to spend getting the word out there, or you may not really have many participants. The more people you can get involved, the better it will be for your business.
#6 Not Notifying Winners the Right Way
When you host a competition, Facebook has certain regulations when it comes to letting your winners know that they have won. You can’t just go the easy way out and let them know via their Facebook wall or a status update. This isn’t professional, and isn’t always effective at letting them know they have won- especially if they don’t check often. You must let them know privately.
#7 Not Using a Special App
There are a variety of applications that are designed to make running a Facebook contest simple and easy on your part. If you use these apps, you can rest assured that your competition will run smoothly, because most of the legwork will be taken care of for you. Some of these apps are free, while others are paid apps. It is about finding the app that works best for your business.
#8 Not Properly Testing Your App First
When using an application, you must realize that nothing is foolproof. You can’t expect the app to deliver a perfectly formatted contest that will work every time. Take a few minutes of your time and test it out before you put it out their for your followers. This will ensure that you don’t have any embarrassing mishaps along the way. #8 Basing Winners on Milestones
This is seen quite often on Facebook competitions. You will find a business that offers a reward to the “100th person to like the page”, etc. This isn’t professional, and it doesn’t do much for the other people that are helping to promote you. What about everyone else that liked the status to help you get to the 100th like? Instead of having people compete by “liking” and “unliking” your page just to try to get it up there, look for other ways to choose winners.
#9 Using the Contest to Promote a Photo or Status
If you read up on the rules and regulations that are required for a Facebook competition, you will find that using your contest to promote pictures and statuses is really looked down upon. There are many other ways to go about hosting a competition to get people interested in what you have to offer.
#10 Not Offering a Built In Option to Share Promotion
On Facebook and other social media networks, sharing is essential. You have to make it easy for people to share your information if you want it to be spread to the many Facebook users out there. You can do this easily through an app, which can take a lot of stress away from you.
#11 Offering Unrelated Prizes
Many times, businesses will offer prizes that don’t really relate to the type of business they have. While that is great to get people interested for the time being, it really doesn’t do much when it comes to them coming back and revisiting your page often to see what you have going on. This can really hold you back in the long run, so why not consider prizes that relate to your business. This will help you target the right audiences.
#12 Not Following Up with Participants
After the contest is completed, you will want to do some type of follow up with the participants. Thank them for taking part, and make them feel important. This will help them to feel more compelled to take part in future contests, which could really benefit your business.
#1 Not Following Facebook Guidelines
Everyone is guilty of this one from time to time, because most people don’t want to take the time to read all of the rules and regulations before they put their contest into action. If you don’t do this, then you may find that you are in violation- which could result in you getting your page removed from Facebook. It really is just a good idea for you to read up on everything. It doesn’t take too long, and it is well worth your time.
#2 Not Abiding by Local Laws
Aside from abiding by Facebook’s regulations, you must also make sure that your contest isn’t going against any local laws. You can’t just assume that your local laws are the only ones that are important either, because people all over the world use Facebook.
#3 Not Including Clear Goals and Objectives
Any time you run a contest, you need to make sure that your goals and objectives are clear. If something isn’t really clear, then people may not be willing to participate. You have to let them know what to expect, so that they will be able to take part and enjoy the competition. Set up terms and conditions that lay the ground work for your competition, so that you can ensure everything goes smoothly.
#4 Creating a Contest that is Too Complex
When you are setting up a contest, you may have some really great ideas. While some of your ideas may be really wonderful, it is best if you keep your contest simple. After all, most Facebook users are not going to be interested in something that is going to be too complex for them to understand. Keep it easy to understand, and you will have much more success.
#5 Not Promoting Your Contest Effectively
All successful Facebook competitions must be promoted effectively. You have to take some time to spend getting the word out there, or you may not really have many participants. The more people you can get involved, the better it will be for your business.
#6 Not Notifying Winners the Right Way
When you host a competition, Facebook has certain regulations when it comes to letting your winners know that they have won. You can’t just go the easy way out and let them know via their Facebook wall or a status update. This isn’t professional, and isn’t always effective at letting them know they have won- especially if they don’t check often. You must let them know privately.
#7 Not Using a Special App
There are a variety of applications that are designed to make running a Facebook contest simple and easy on your part. If you use these apps, you can rest assured that your competition will run smoothly, because most of the legwork will be taken care of for you. Some of these apps are free, while others are paid apps. It is about finding the app that works best for your business.
#8 Not Properly Testing Your App First
When using an application, you must realize that nothing is foolproof. You can’t expect the app to deliver a perfectly formatted contest that will work every time. Take a few minutes of your time and test it out before you put it out their for your followers. This will ensure that you don’t have any embarrassing mishaps along the way. #8 Basing Winners on Milestones
This is seen quite often on Facebook competitions. You will find a business that offers a reward to the “100th person to like the page”, etc. This isn’t professional, and it doesn’t do much for the other people that are helping to promote you. What about everyone else that liked the status to help you get to the 100th like? Instead of having people compete by “liking” and “unliking” your page just to try to get it up there, look for other ways to choose winners.
#9 Using the Contest to Promote a Photo or Status
If you read up on the rules and regulations that are required for a Facebook competition, you will find that using your contest to promote pictures and statuses is really looked down upon. There are many other ways to go about hosting a competition to get people interested in what you have to offer.
#10 Not Offering a Built In Option to Share Promotion
On Facebook and other social media networks, sharing is essential. You have to make it easy for people to share your information if you want it to be spread to the many Facebook users out there. You can do this easily through an app, which can take a lot of stress away from you.
#11 Offering Unrelated Prizes
Many times, businesses will offer prizes that don’t really relate to the type of business they have. While that is great to get people interested for the time being, it really doesn’t do much when it comes to them coming back and revisiting your page often to see what you have going on. This can really hold you back in the long run, so why not consider prizes that relate to your business. This will help you target the right audiences.
#12 Not Following Up with Participants
After the contest is completed, you will want to do some type of follow up with the participants. Thank them for taking part, and make them feel important. This will help them to feel more compelled to take part in future contests, which could really benefit your business.
Author Bio:
Jason Smith is an online manager for Amish Furniture Outlet Store. He likes blogging about online strategies that are related to SEO, Content, PPC & Lead generation.
7 Comments
Thanks for sharing the article Jason, it is very useful for anyone who is about to organize a Facebook contest. When it comes to testing an app, I would also add that it is important to check if app is accessible via mobile devices. The number of people using mobile device to access the Internet is constantly raising, and therefore using a mobile-friendly app is of great importance.
thank you for this tips.. when facebook got a competition again?
For real informative blog like this is a really helping resource for a needy information seeker. Thanks a lot for your participation by the article
These are the nice practical tips David. Facebook has become such a great platform to drive traffic to your website, we can’t ignore it.
Well I’m planning to run an ad campaign for my new project which I’ve made few steps to execute it. But I was worried that I’ll bring me results or not. The guide is really helpful.
Thanks for sharing!
Nice and practical tips buddy.
#4 will definitely not attract people. Thanks for sharing these tips.