sweepstakes

If you are a business that is looking for ways to get more Facebook or Twitter followers, providing free resources that are relevant to those in your industry or are of interest to your target audience can be a great way to continue to grow your online communities while also setting your business up as a valuable resource. There are several great resources to promote via social media: white papers, exclusive information, or free products. These resources (and others), that are only available by liking a Facebook Page or following a company on Twitter (offerpop offers a service that allows you to send exclusive coupons or content to followers only).

White Papers

A white paper, according to Wikipedia, is “an authoritative report or guide that helps readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision.” Many marketers use white papers as a way to promote their survey or research findings or to elaborate on a specific area or issue of marketing that they specialize in. White papers are great to share via social media because they can be downloaded easily as a PDF from a customize Facebook page tab.

The key to a successful white paper is an engaging topic and title. These is what people notice first and what will entice them to complete the actions required to receive the white paper.

Exclusive Information

While white papers provide an extensive, multi-page look at exclusive information, there are other ways to package and present unique information, such as articles, ebooks, a set of tips, or specific instructions on how to complete a certain action. Just like with white papers, these headlines and snippets or previews of the information promised must be engaging enough to entice users to follow a Twitter profile or like a Facebook page.

Free Products

Several companies give away products or entries into sweepstakes for prizes to users who have liked their page on Facebook. While in some cases, this may be against Facebook’s policies (please do your own research before setting up a sweepstakes on Facebook), sweepstakes, contests, and free products can help increase your online following and user engagement.

However, the hardest part of the strategy of providing free resources via social media is keeping these users engaged after the promotion is over. Companies must continue to provide useful and engaging content on their Facebook pages and Twitter profiles that will keep users interested. Because fleeting interest is so common online, the fight to keep the attention of users should always be a high priority.

The way that giveaways are managed via social media versus other mediums, like paper entries, text to win campaigns, or other methods. There are several things that need to be taken into consideration, including legalities and the established guidelines that Twitter and Facebook have established for promotions held on their social platforms.

Facebook Guidelines

Legal wording is very important, especially with Facebook, which specifies how contests should be held on their platform.

This is the wording in Facebook’s Page Guidelines regarding all Promotions:

Promotions on Facebook must include the following:

a.    A complete release of Facebook by each entrant or participant.

b.    Acknowledgment that the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.

c.    Disclosure that the participant is providing information to [disclose recipient(s) of information] and not to Facebook.

iii.    You must not condition registration or entry upon the user taking any action using any Facebook features or functionality other than liking a Page, checking in to a Place, or connecting to your app. For example, you must not condition registration or entry upon the user liking a Wall post, or commenting or uploading a photo on a Wall.

iv.    You must not use Facebook features or functionality as a promotion’s registration or entry mechanism. For example, the act of liking a Page or checking in to a Place cannot automatically register or enter a promotion participant.

v.    You must not use Facebook features or functionality, such as the Like button, as a voting mechanism for a promotion.

As you can see from “v.”, you cannot use Likes as a voting mechanism for promotion. This is a rule that many businesses may violate. Making sure you are in compliance with all page regulations can prevent your page from getting penalized or deleted.

Twitter Guidelines and Suggestions for Promotions

Twitter’s guidelines and suggestions when it comes to contests are pretty clear and straight forward:

Discourage the creation of multiple accounts
Discourage publishing the same tweet repeatedly
1. Ask users to include an @reply to you in their update so you can see all the entries
2. Encourage the use of topics relevant to the contest
3. Follow the Twitter rules and regulations

It is important to pay attention to these guidelines, including reading them fully, so all your promotions are compliant and don’t experience any hiccups. It also protects your company or organization from promotion participants who could question contest procedures.

Skip links

Footer