When it comes to Facebook contests, the sky’s the limit. The more creative you get, the better your contest will be.
But what about the non-creative types? To them, trying to come up with a contest idea is just plain scary. Well, we’ve got your back. While there’s all manner of contests floating around the web, many fit neatly into categories.
The tag-along
The contest invites people to post a comment about a certain subject. Let’s say you will give away a free dinner for two to the person who gives the best reason why they need a date night. Whichever comment gets the most likes will win the free dinner.
The beauty of this contest is that every person who participates brings others with them. People will share like crazy on their own walls to get people to go to your wall in search of their comment.
Picture me a winner
An easy and effective photo contest, you simply invite people to post a photo of a certain subject. Let’s say you’re a real estate company and you’re giving away a gift card for patio furniture. Invite people to post a photo of where the patio furniture would go if they won.
In this contest, you could even piggy-back the tag along.
Mad gabs
Here’s where your fans’ creativity gets to shine. You simply post an incomplete sentence and invite fans to fill in the blank. The trick here is to keep it light-hearted and fun. Let’s say you’re a dog grooming salon, an example might be, “My dog goes most crazy for ________.” The best answer wins.
This is another contest to deploy the tag along on.
Caption it
When doing a photo caption contest, you’ll really get to see your fans’ creativity come out. In this contest, you post a funny photo and invite people to write a caption for it. The most creative answer wins.
The funnier the photo, the more participation you’ll see. Have fun with this one.
It is what it is
In this contest, contestants have to be quick on their feet. Take a close-up photo of a product, preferably one of your own, and post it. The first person to figure out what the object is and respond with the correct answer wins.
This will obviously be a much quicker contest.
More than a contest
Sure, contests can easily lead to more likes for your site, but that’s not the point. They’re a great way to spark engagement with your audience.
A good contest is one that goes beyond luring someone in with a prize. A good contest gets people actually thinking about your brand. A great contest gets people talking about you. It’s creative. It’s engaging. It creates dialogue. It gets people to care. When people care, they share. So, if done correctly, a contest can draw people to you who want to know you, even after the prize is gone.
The interaction you create with a contest can lead to a deeper relationship, which can lead to more brand loyalty. Now there’s a prize worth having.
Thanks for the reading,
