Are you thinking of running a Facebook campaign or looking for ideas to re-focus your next one? Here are 5 tips for why you should run one and when you should plan to. We’ll walk you through with Red Lobster’s current campaign to find their “Ultimate Lobster Fan”, it’s a great example.
Run Social Campaigns Quarterly
We recommend making Facebook campaigns a pillar of you social strategy and running 4 a year. Your fans are constantly looking for new ways to engage with your brand, so let them eat cake! If you run campaigns quarterly, it gives your marketing team plenty of time to plan and execute and gives your fans something to look forward to every few months.
Have Brand Related Prizes
Ensure your giveaway is related to your business and markets your business. Give out a product you sell, a gift card, or even an exciting experience (like tickets to a concert) if it aligns with your brand and mission statement. Pick a prize that will appeal to your audience and attract future customers. Try not to give away prizes for their “cool factor” if they don’t tie to your brand. Red Lobster is currently running a campaign to find their ultimate lobster fan and the grand prize is $5000 and a lobster feast! What lobster fanatic wouldn’t love that?
Inspire User Generated Content (UGC)
Keep in mind that the goal of a Facebook campaign is the sharing or creating of content by fans and friends. User-generated content will ultimately create a snowball effect and result in hundreds of entrants and provide you with digital assets that can be used after the campaign has run its course. Red Lobster is featuring individual fans by name by picking a new “LobStar” every week and featuring them right on their cover photo, just like Darrell here.
Include Calls to Action
Having phrases like “SHARE a photo of your favorite Splashscore reward” or “TELL US what you’ll buy with your $25 gift card” will encourage sharing and commenting. This makes fans participate more and will increase participants’ chances of winning a prize. Other suggestions to increase activity include liking your brands page, tagging friends, or using hashtags (especially around trends and holidays). Red Lobster does this by asking Facebook users to “like” their page to enter to win the grand prize, but also to show support to fellow “LobStars” and to submit your own “LobStar” entry. Darrell’s received 999 likes!
Launch with Influencers
Kick-off your campaign with influencers, people who engage their friends the most on Facebook. By doing so, you’ll accelerate participation and the reach of your campaign from the get-go. If you are looking for a quick refresher on influencers, loop back to our influencer spectrum post.
This post was updated on 1/31/18.
