Facebook is still the #1 marketing tool for online word-of-mouth. A recent study found that Facebook has 1.86 billion active monthly users, and that number is growing at a rate of 17% each year. One of the easiest ways to help your dental practice take advantage of that huge crowd is by running a Facebook contest. Before you do, make certain you’re following a few key guidelines:
Check the Rules
It’s easy to get excited and ready to run with your first Facebook contest, but check the rules first. The quickest place to get the most accurate information is by reading Facebook’s own Promotional Guidelines.
It’s smart to check them often, because the rules change frequently. For example: one important rule is that a promotion cannot ask for shares. Facebook’s rules explicitly state:
“Personal Timelines and friend connections must not be used to administer promotions (ex: “share on your Timeline to enter” or “share on your friend’s Timeline to get additional entries”, and “tag your friends in this post to enter” are not permitted).”
Know the rules and follow them.
Outline Your Contest FAQ for Patients
Before starting the contest, it’s important that you have outlined all the participant rules and requirements. Facebook requires that contest specifics, rules and exclusions be clearly explained, so it’s a good idea to place these on a blog or other post that you can easily link to and reference. A clear set of rules can also help you avoid any potential headaches down the line, though negative reactions to contests are rare.
Pick a Fun but Reasonable Prize
Your first prize shouldn’t be an iPad. Start small and see what works. Remember that the barrier to entry should match the size of the prize. Larger prizes can have a higher requirement to enter, whereas smaller prizes should have a simple method to enter.
For example: we’ve seen a coloring contest on Facebook that required parents to download a coloring sheet, have their kids color it, and then scan and upload the coloring sheet back to Facebook – all for an electric toothbrush. Needless to say, they didn’t have many entries.
You can give your followers a reason to enter your contest by offering a fun, simple prize that it isn’t too expensive, and that it is something your dental practice can easily deliver. Prizes like movie tickets, passes to a local amusement park and Starbucks gift cards are always good options.
Finally, take photos or video of your prize so that people can get excited about their prospective treasure. Feature the prize photo on all of your Facebook contest pages. This will help get more people to interact with your contest, since visual content generates much more social media interaction than non-visual content.
Start Small, and Make it Easy to Enter
To increase the number of participants, you want to make your contest as easy to enter as possible. We suggest running a Like Contest that asks your followers to like or react in a way that corresponds to your contest. This is an easy way for your followers to enter your contest, and presents a very low barrier to their engagement.
You May Want to Avoid Check-in Contests
Check-in contests can be a difficult action simply because participants need to be present in your practice to enter. You’ll also need entrants to physically show you’re their phone because Facebook’s default privacy settings will only show a small percentage of people who have checked-in. This type of contest is an easy way to drive more Likes on your Facebook Page, and spread word-of-mouth advertising to the friends of your patients, but you’ll need to be prepared to ask your patients to see their phone if you want to accurately track who is entering.
Talk About Your Contest – A Lot
Use each of your social media platforms to remind people to participate in your Facebook contest. Be sure to include a link to your contest page so that people can easily get to it. Also, post during the peak times of each social platform to maximize their power. By posting at the right times, you give your self better odds of generating interaction. Click here to learn find out the best posting times for each social media platform.
Share the Outcome
After you’ve selected a winner, be sure to share their selection! Reach out directly to that person and schedule a time for them to come into your dental practice to claim their prize. Be sure to get photos of them coming in, and share on Facebook – with their parent’s permission, should that apply.
It’s Easy Being Social
Running a Facebook contest can be quite fruitful for your dental practice, and really help you connect with your neighbors. However, as a dentist it can be difficult to dedicate the time needed to run the contest.
Smile Savvy offers an array of social media support and solutions that improve your dental practice’s social media presence. Click here to learn more about our social media packages, and how they can help your dental practice.
