Just having a Facebook Fan page is not enough. Many of the 'Likers' just like the page and then forget all about it. Your job is to keep the fans engaged. You have to make sure that your fans keep visiting the page and interacting with you. How do you do that- through a Facebook Contest.
Here are the top 5 snazzy ideas for a Facebook contest-
1. Create a contest around current events- Whatever is happening around you, or related to your fanbase, you can use it to create a contest. For instance, a cricket tournament or a basketball match can be used to create a contest. If you are a clothing retail page, then you can ask people to design a 'fan t-shirt' based on the sporting event. Then maybe encourage them to post the design on your wall, and tell them to get the maximum 'LIKES' for their designs. The result- people will get more people to Like your page, and then the design. Hence, you will encourage participation as well as spread the fan base.
A contest can be woven around any festival-upcoming movie or anything that related it to your fans and products/services. More on contests here.
2. Run a photo contest- This type of a contest is guaranteed to generate user response. They will come back to your page and discuss the product. You can ask them to share photos of their experiences related to your product. If you are a baby clothing company-ask your fans to post pictures of their babies, and then choose the one with maximum likes as the winner.
Facebook guidelines say brands should run contests like this through an app. There are plenty of sharing ideas for photo contests- like if you are a phone retailer, then ask your fans to post pictures they have taken with their camera phones.
This will surely arouse their interest. More on Photo Contests here.
3. Scavenger Hunt / Treasure Hunt- This sort of a contest will surely work for the more intellectuals from your fan base-those who will be lured by a challenge. You may post a small list of things for your fans to find on your website. Then announce a small prize for the person who is the first person to post the URL containing the items that you listed. This contest has the added benefit of actually driving traffic to your site. With a treasure hunt, you can actually give out a set of clues, as to where can they find the thing you mentioned, in your website. For instance- if you have a pizza joint, you can ask them to find a topping that you have hidden in your menu page. For this contest, it’s a good idea to actually create a specific image – a little treasure chest for instance – and then hide it somewhere on your site.
More on treasure hunt here.
4. Ask fans to share their best tips/ quotes- Asking your fans to share their views about your product/services is the best way of connecting with them. They will give you genuine tips and insights about your product. The incentive here, could again be a small gift for the one who gets the maximum 'likes'. Your Wall will be alive with people actually pitching in, and you will be able to spread yourself further among friends of your fans. You can also extend this to sharing funny quotes. the one which gets the maximum likes wins.
This entire effort will make sure that the fans interact with other fans on your wall. Their interest grows beyond the simple 'Like'. They would be interested in participating and further exploring.
More on quotes app here.
5. Reward Likes- Giving a straight incentive is the easiest way to expand your fan base. More and more businesses are adopting this route, however, some experts have pointed out Facebook's objection to this sort of promotion. Anyways, if you want to take it up too, then offer your fans to spread your link on Facebook, and share it on Twitter, and choose one random person for a free gift or a voucher. Make the gift quite interesting for people to pitch in. In some cases, you can announce that the person bringing in the maximum number of new 'Likes' will be rewarded. The new likers have to tag the name of the person, who sent them on the page.
Then you choose the one who referred maximum people and reward them. More on Like and Win here.
Take up any of the above ideas, and create a contest. Make sure to keep it interesting an highly relative to your business. Avoid creating too much complicated contests, as people may lose interest. Stick to innovative-interesting and easy options.
