A Word on Facebook Competitions and Giveaways plus Great Statistics
Recently I was asked what I thought about using competitions and giveaways as a way to get more fans on Facebook. Is it like "standing in a bar and giving stuff away to make friends?" Here's my response:
It's the same way you built your email database - You incentivised. I think it's not the most creative of options, but it is the tried and tested method of choice.
- Remember that social media marketing offers faster and wider distribution of your message. The more fans you have, the more fans you get via news-feed stories. For example, if I become a fan, then this is broadcast to all 206 of my friends, who may also choose to become fans. The exposure can be viral. Also, your website link gets added to my profile as an 'interest' for all to see - so "standing in a bar and giving stuff away to make friends" is only true for one degree of separation. You could run a simple 7 day competition that gives people an exclusive coupon code when they join your fan page or simply offer them the chance to win something.
- For example: Privatebox.co.nz are giving away an iPad, capitalizing on the buzz around this new product to build their Facebook follower base.
In deciding on what enticement to use, It's important to focus on the reasons people choose to follow Facebook Pages:
Results of Source: Chadwick Martin Bailey and iModerate Study via @briansolis
Notice that the two survey results above do not completely agree with one another, but 2 key motivations hold true:
- Learn about specials / discounts / Exclusive Offers
- I am an existing customer and / or showing my support of the brand (For example, 2 Degrees Mobile built up a sizeable following before even launching.)
Are you a company that cares? Social Media users are 2X likely to believe that companies are genuinely interested in them:
- 16% of respondents overall thought companies were genuinely interested in them. This jumps to 33% when we segment social media users.
Currently your email database is probably the only way you have of contacting your customers.
Don't put all your eggs in one basket - who knows how peoples' habits will change in the future.
Going forward, I think it's important to dis-aggregate your database so you're not completely reliant on email. You will need to leverage existing assets like your email database and product pages to build your follower base on Facebook and other online properties that are likely to become more important to recurring revenue in the future. Don't rest on your laurels.
- Email: Even if you run a Facebook competition, I suggest using your email newsletter to help publicize it. You will need to offer some bait: a prize or exclusive offers. It may be as simply as a coupon code exclusively for Facebook followers, or something that integrates a new product or category launch. If you want to figure out what is most effective in gaining followers, try testing with some Ads on Facebook using variations in the headline and copy (like Adwords, but with much narrower targeting capabilities.) Ads that push traffic to company pages native to Facebook convert better than pushing to external pages. This is because of better continuity and relevance - a conversion optimization issue.)
- Email Database Segmentation: Flowtown helps you identify what social networks your customers are on by matching email addresses. Within minutes, you can see what % of your audience is on Facebook, Twitter etc. Thanks to ConvinceandConvert.com for this tip.
- Product pages: Firstin.co.nz have the Facebook Fan box widget on their website. But now, you can simply add a 'LIKE' button to your product pages. This way, you can turn your website visitors into a loyal fan base on Facebook. These people may otherwise have not signed up to your email newsletters and as the data below shows, people are more likely to become customers and recommend you to friends after becoming your fan on Facebook.
Social Media helps you convert prospects and derive recurring revenue from customers who are not interested in email.
Source: Chadwick Martin Bailey and iModerate Study via @briansolis
- Be aware that companies that have multiple product categories can end up with a Facebook page that can fall foul of, as the old adage goes: trying to appeal to everyone and therefore appeal to no one.
- A great model for style, tone, use of offers and cross-promotions on Facebook pages is 2degrees Mobile.
After all the effort of building up a respectable fan base, you will want to know how to turn your social capital into financial capital (paying customers.) But that's a story for another day. In the meantime, here are lots of Facebook Promotion Ideas.
