Here's 5 Examples of Brands Perfectly Executing Their Facebook Contest

Facebook contests can go a long way toward getting your brand in front of as many people as possible.

After all, everyone likes the feeling you get when you win something. And with an appealing prize, people will jump at the chance to throw their hat in the ring.

But what does a successful Facebook contest actually look like?

The whole concept is relatively new, and has only recently gained tons of popularity among social media marketers.

Sometimes, the best way to get a handle on something is to look at an example.

These five brands saw tremendous success with their Facebook contest campaigns. By looking at what they did right, you can get inspiration for your own contests.

From gift card giveaways to fitness contests, there are tons of ways you can structure a contest, and plenty of options for genuinely tantalizing prizes.

By taking a page out of these companies' books, you can create a contest that's bound to capture your audience's attention and boost your engagement on Facebook.

London Drugs

Contest

Canadian drugstore London Drugs ran a number of weekly, targeted contest. Entrants simply had to like the London Drugs Facebook contest page, and submit their email.

Prize

The prize was very brand related. They gave away gift cards of up to $500 in value, exclusively for their store. Gift cards are a fantastic way to ensure that your contest entrants are actually interested in your business' products.

[image source: Wishpond]
Not only did their campaign result in a massive 600% increase in Facebook likes, but Facebook has become their #1 source of website traffic referral. By keeping their sweepstakes prize brand related, they are creating both brand awareness and brand loyalty.

Fatherly

Contest

Fatherly teamed up with Skinny Mom to run the perfect “beginning of the year” fitness contest. A seriously-professional header image, large headline and great prizes meant both businesses got a couple thousand new fitness-conscious contacts to promote their brands to.

Prize

Endless “Kind” bars, the latest Fitbit and a year's supply of Lululemon fitness gear.

[image source: Wishpond]
This giveaway was advertised pretty heavily as well as promoted on a few high-traffic websites. It received 57,100 views and converted 86% of them (49,000 people) into prospective customers.

Gillie's Coffee

Contest

Gillie's coffee ran a simple holiday promotion exclusive to their Facebook fans. I love the holiday theme (if I had my own business I'd run a Facebook contest on every holiday as well as make up a few, and I'd run three during the Christmas holidays).

Prize

A chance of one of two prize packs containing one aeropress coffee maker and one 12 oz bag of their Bleecker Street espresso.

[image source: Wishpond]
This Facebook contest got 2,274 entries – which is a lot, given that the prize was probably valued at about $25.

The name of the game for this kind of promotion is simplicity and professional images. Run a contest like this one (with a prize which appeals to every adult) during the holidays, make entry easy appealing, and see what happens!

Gyft

Contest

Simplicity at its very best, this Facebook contest from Gyft gives away a $50 gift card to Target. This contest was run primarily to promote the launch of the “Gyft” app, and the company ran several such contests.

Prize

A $50 gift card to Target.

[image source: Wishpond]
274 people entered this contest, which means 274 people downloaded the Gyft mobile app (as “participants have to download […] to qualify of the draw.”) In the early stages of an app's launch, 274 isn't a small number. And this was all down to a simple Facebook contest which probably took a Gyft marketer 30 minutes to create.

Poof New York

Contest

This ugly sweater-themed holiday Facebook contest is a referral promotion, meaning that each entrant receives a unique “share URL.” Everyone that enters the contest via that URL increases the original entrant's chance of winning by +1. This is a fantastic way to get your contest to promote itself, taking a lot of the load off your hands.

Prize

An “adorably ugly” Christmas sweater

[image source: Wishpond]
What I love about a referral contest like this is that Poof can promote it to their Fans on Facebook to drive Friends of Fans to enter. And their product/target market works really with a referral strategy. Not every business will be able to reliably sell to “friends of friends.” Poof's target market (young women) will likely share with other young women to increase their chance of winning.