Running Facebook Competitions Just Got Easier!

You can now run competitions and sweepstakes on your Facebook page without needing to use a third party app. What does this mean? Read on to find out the upside…and the downside too…

If you manage a Facebook page, you may have been aware that Facebook had rules in place to stop you running any competitions on your Facebook page that used the ‘Like’, ‘Share’ or ‘Comment’ buttons (that was it in a nutshell anyway!).

This meant that all businesses that wanted to run a competition (and that was lots as they are GREAT for engaging fans), had to do it through a specially built application. But, this week, Facebook announced that competitions can now be run straight from the page – making it much more striaght forward for any business to do!

Examples of competitions you couldn’t run before but can (and should) now:

  • Caption Contest! Find a funny photo (that you have the rights to use) and ask fans to write a funny caption! Winner gets a prize, you get lots of engagement and viral spread on your post.
  • Share to Win! If you have some important news or a promotion, make it into a post and ask fans to share it to their own Facebook page. Winner gets a prize, you get your news / offer spread all over Facebook – hopefully increasing the uptake.
  • Like to WIn! Ask fans to like a post of yours for a chance of winning a prize or receieving a special offer. Winner gets a prize / discount, you get post engagement, viral spread and energy on your page!

Why this change in rules is Good

Competitions are one of the best ways to get fans engaging with your page. The more fans engage, the more your posts are shared around Facebook – increasing your fan base and the amount of people who see your content. Competitions also give you more control over which content is shared and spread (such as with the examples above).

Why this change in rules is Bad

Now that competitions are easier to run, you can bet your bottom dollar everybody will be doing them! As a Facebook user, I can already imagine this may be a little annoying and might stop me entering competitions on the basis that they are no longer exciting. 

Another negative is that using a third party app gave the business the opportunity to gather extra information about the fan (such as their email address) to be used in other online marketing efforts. Not anymore.

Think of the Positives

But now that we’ve stopped the party, try to forget the negative bits of this change in rules and lets focus on the good! Be one of the first to test out this new strategy and run a competition on your page! Make the prize a gooden for the best engagement!

From the Horse’s Mouth

Follow this link to see the official update straight from Facebook. There’s also downloadable promotion guidelines so you can read up on all the ins and outs.

If you want to know more about the best ways to run a Facebook page, please contact us! We’re a friendly bunch and we have lots on offer to help your business boom online!