Leveraging Facebook competitions to gain social awareness

4/26/2011

Facebook has quickly become a go-to marketing tool for many small businesses, mainly because it is a very inexpensive platform to leverage. Brands can launch a Fan Page for free, while the pay-per-click self-serve advertising tool is relatively cost-efficient compared to other display advertising channels.

However, many small business owners don't realize how much effort is involved in running a successful Facebook marketing campaign. Companies can't simply launch a Fan Page and expect the social network to automatically generate new leads and sales for them. Rather, entrepreneurs need to actively build their community and interact with their fans.

This leads to one question that every entrepreneur asks: "How can I successfully engage my audience?" As the American Express OPEN Forum recently suggested, one of the best ways to do that is to launch contests.

Creating ideal contests

Contests can be as involved as entrepreneurs want them to be. Some companies simply like to hold weekly giveaways while others try to make them more fun by tying them to new product launches or current events.

For example, TimeToPlayMag recently ran an Easter Egg hunt. "They hid five Easter eggs on their website each day, for a total of 15 days. The first player to find an egg and click on it won a $20 Toys"R"Us gift card. All of the clues and hints to find the eggs were posted on Facebook - smart way to drive people to your site," notes the source.

Other brands prefer to have their fans get more personally involved by creating content. Another common contest example is a photo competition. Usually, companies will provide a series of guidelines or stipulations that fans have to follow for their entry to be counted.

For example, pizza company Fresh Brothers had a mascot that would attend local events. If fans snapped a photo of the mascot and posted it online, they could get a free slice of pizza as thanks from the brand.

If companies are trying to be productive with their campaigns, they could use giveaways to garner feedback from their fans. This is a win-win situation for both parties - brands can get some valuable insight to improve their products and services while fans can win some free merchandise.

Finally, other businesses give[space]away products for simply becoming a fan. "You must be careful how you do this to fall within Facebook guidelines, but there are many ways to reward people for becoming fans," notes the source.

As is the case with any brand-building effort, companies need to gauge their expectations - one contest isn't going to suddenly shoot them to have millions of Fans.

"You have to be patient because the success doesn’t come overnight, it takes time and persistence. Persistence is key, you have to keep on moving forward and not stop," notes the source.

Leveraging Facebook moving forward

Small businesses that are looking to build a Facebook presence may want to consider hiring a social media expert. While this will cost some money up front, and an expert's touch will greatly expedite the whole process of creating brand recognition on social media. Not to mention, these specialists will also be well-versed on the ins and outs of social media, preventing any money loses.

Fortunately, with access to commercial loans growing more lax, this is the opportune time to spend the money required to bring on a third-party contractor.