There is no shortage of options for creating engaging contests on Facebook. But before you choose one, you need to ask yourself one question: Which campaign type is right for your business at this moment? To answer this question, you need to go one step deeper and answer two more questions (Inception!): 1. What is your goal from this campaign?

• If your goal is to simply get new Facebook fans or increase your email list, then a Sweepstakes is best. It’s simple and it has a very low barrier to entry. This option will maximize your number of entrants.
• If your goal is to make immediate sales then you can run a group deal, or offer a coupon to push users to buy right away.
• If you goal is to build a bank of user-generated content to have users vote on and use in the future, then a Photo, Video or Pinterest Contest is the right choice.

2. How much engagement do you currently have on your Facebook Page? If the answer is a low number (<1000 people talking about you in the past week), that means that your fans are not very engaged with your Facebook Page and/or you don’t have a very large fan-base to begin with. But don’t fret! Contests will boost this number quickly! If you are at this point, we recommend running a Starter Contest - which include Sweepstakes and Vote Contests - which have very low barriers to entry and will entice a higher percentage of entrants than a contest that requires them to submit a photo or video. If you have over 1000 people talking about you in the past week, then you are in prime position to run an Intermediate or Advanced contest which require users to create something or make a purchase to enter. See a full list of different contest options below:

Starter Contests

Starter Contests have the lowest barrier to entry of any contest. Users simply need to enter their contact info and click a button to enter: Sweepstakes A Sweepstakes is the simplest type of contest – users submit their email address, click ‘Enter Contest’ and they’re entered into a random drawing for a prize. This is the best type of contest to start with if you have low engagement on your Facebook Page. Vote Contest A Vote Contest is the easiest way to get users to interact with your brand in a personal way. These can be used to vote for which products should appear in your next product line or go on sale next season.

Intermediate Contests

Intermediate Contests require users to submit a piece of user-generated content to enter your contest, but the type of content is easy enough for most users to create: Photo Contest Photo Contests are an easy way to entice users to upload a photo and have the community vote on their favorite to win. With the popularity of camera phones these days, taking a photo is a very easy thing for most users to do. To maximize entries, choose a photo theme that is easy for most users to get a photo of. Also – photos are the best type of content, as they are eye-catching and are easy to digest, so this is the most recommended type of contest that requires user-generated content. Photo Caption Contest Photo Caption Contests entice users to write a caption (title) for a photo that you upload to enter. The community then votes on their favorite to win. This is an easy way to take advantage of online memes, which are becoming extremely popular on sites such as Reddit and 9GAG. Essay Contest An Essay Contest is a great way to get entrants to submit their thoughts, feedback and stories for a chance to win. You can have entrants write about an experience they had using one of your products or at one of your physical locations. The community can then on their favorite to win.

Advanced Contests

Advanced Contests require users to upload a more time-consuming piece of content or actually pay money to get something. This will require a very large audience (over 10,000 fans minimum) to be successful, as only a very small percentage of users will take the time to enter: Video Contest Entice users to create a video to enter to win a prize. This is bit harder to do than simply taking a photo, but it has the potential to give you great user content for your brand. Just like in Photo Contest, the community votes on their favorite to win. Pinterest Contest Pinterest Contests entice users to create a board on Pinterest and submit the link to enter. The community then votes on their favorite to win. This is a great contest option, as it gives your brand reach on both Facebook and Pinterest. Group Deal A Group Deal is a great way to get users paying money right now in order to take advantage or a limited-time offer. These deals normally require offering a minimum discount of 40% off a regularly-priced item in order to make them attractive enough for users to purchase right away.

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