Try Your Luck on Facebook: New Promotion Rules

Who doesn’t like winning free stuff?  I could be the richest person in the world, but to me the adrenaline and joy of being told I – among thousands or even millions of people – have been chosen to win something is incomparable.  Everything just seems better when it’s free!  But how does one have such luck?  A few times now I’ve tried my luck with those scratch and win lottery tickets.  To me, spending ten dollars and wining $50 is truly winning the lottery! (Maybe that’s because I’m a broke college student, but nonetheless…)

Aside from the lottery, we all have the option to try our luck with contests.  Many companies have been using marketing strategies such as contests to evoke consumer emotion and build brand loyalty.  What better way to create a positive brand association then by offering consumers a chance to win free product, a fancy trip, or even a cash prize.  Though contests are nothing new in marketing, there are some changes to where these contests are taking place.  A highly notable contest platform is Facebook.  Previously, in order to run a contest through Facebook, marketers had to create a contest app. Yet having to hire a developer and pay for a full build is simply too costly for the smaller fish in the sea.

I was recently re-directed to an article on marketingmag.ca published earlier this week called “Facebook changes its promotion rules”.  As of this past Tuesday, marketers no longer need to create apps to run contests on Facebook.  The change has made it easier for businesses of any size to run promotions, and removes some barriers making it easier for brands to increase engagement through contests.

Marketers can now use brand page Timelines, meaning functions such as likes, comments and posts on a brand page can be used as contest entries. So you tell me, what are your thoughts on the changes? As for me,  let’s just say the next few hours of my day will be spent searching Facebook.

For the official Facebook announcement click here.

Jaclyn Bickerton, Social Media, Raven5 Ltd, Oakville & Toronto Ontario, August 2013

---

View All