Facebook marketing weekly review (October 25th)

Do you want to offer your fans a unique brand experience, build a database of potential customers or increase engagement with your brand? Facebook contests are a great way to achieve these goals. We have some excellent articles on Facebook contests this week, some information about automation and news about Facebook’s custom audiences. Why not let us know what you think of this week’s Pulse? “Like” us on Facebook and leave your comments

#1 What is the Viral Potential of a Sweepstakes Contest?

Author: Emeric Ernoult for ConvinceAndConvert.com

Why read this article?

Most sweepstakes apps rely on participants to spread the word by using the “share” and “invite your friends” options. Brands hope that virality will increase fan recruitment while decreasing advertising costs.

As users have become much more selective in the content they choose to share and Facebook has restricted visibility of these shares in users’ newsfeeds, does this strategy still work?

No time to read the article? No problem, here are the takeaways:

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• 88% of participants never click on the share button, this is based on data collected in June from hundreds of Facebook sweepstakes applications totally 108,800 monthly participants

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• Based on the same data 71,400 invites were sent and of these only 0.23% were accepted – resulting in 165 new participants

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• It is important to reward users for spreading the word

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• Give users a variety of ways to invite participants, for example Twitter, email and Facebook

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• Use frictionless sharing – it results in 7-8 times more referrals than the traditional “share” feature

 >>Read the full article

#2 Are Automated Facebook Posts a Good Idea?

Author: Scott Ayres, Post Planner

Why read this article?

In order to have a successful Facebook marketing strategy your Page needs to be social – respond to comments, engage with fans, suggest likes etc. So where does automation fit in to an inherently social environment?

No time to read the article? No problem, here are the takeaways:

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• It is not possible for Facebook marketers to be online 24/7. Automation is a useful way to fill the gap.

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• If you are automating posts it is important to monitor engagement arising from those posts and to interact with your community. Don’t just dump and run

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• Automation can work well for evergreen content, re-sharing events, promoting contests and staggering posts.

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• Don’t use automation to become a lazy marketer; you will come across as fake to your fans and followers.

>>Read the full article

#3 – 7 Steps to a Successful Facebook Photo Contest

Author: Emeric Ernoult AgoraPulse

Why read this article?

All good Facebook marketers know that when it comes to virality nothing beats photos. Find out why they work so well and get seven awesome tips from our own AgoraPulse expert on how you should run photo contests to promote your Page.

No time to read the article? No problem, here are the takeaways:

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• Make sure a photo contest is the right fit for your Page, keep the contest relevant to your audience and ask your fans to be creative.

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• Photo contests can offer an in-depth brand experience and increase engagement with your current fans

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• Photos contests are not the best way to build a list – sweepstakes or instant win contests are a better fit is this is your goal.

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• Make sure your app has a moderation feature to deal with cheating

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• Choose prizes that are relevant to your audience. Avoid attracting a large number of extraneous fans; this will affect your EdgeRank.

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• Calls to action are critical, make sure they are clear to your fans – use visual prompts where possible.

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• Over 70% of Facebook users are active on mobile. Use an app with a mobile fan gate. Use mobile friendly URL’s

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• Leverage the fans you already have to spread the word about your contest.

>>Read the full article

#4 Contest App Conversion Rates – The Facts

Author: Emeric Ernoult AgoraPulse

Why read this article?

Facebook marketers and Page managers often worry about Fans having to install an app and grant permissions to enter a competition, such as a sweepstakes. The big fear is that it will have a negative effect on conversion rates, but without an app install there will be no fun social context to your contest.  So how does an app install requirement affect conversion rates for Facebook contests?

No time to read the article? No problem, here are the takeaways:

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• Without an app install your contest will have no social context, for example fans will not be able to see what their friends have voted for

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• Using an app allows you to reward fans for inviting their friends

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• An app install is the best way to ensure that you are reaching genuine fans

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• It is the best way to build a database of new fans and potential brand ambassadors

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• An app install is the only way to include a fan gate on mobile devices

>>Read the full article

#5 Global Rollout of Custom Audiences Has Begun

Author: David Cohen, All Facebook

Why read this article?

Facebook’s custom audiences ad-targeting option will soon be available to all advertisers via any Facebook ad interface. Custom audiences had previously been available via the social network’s ads application-programming interface and Power Editor.

Facebook said that a limited number of U.S.-based advertisers can now use the custom audiences option from all ad interfaces, and the feature’s global rollout will begin next week and finish by the end of November.

No time to read the article? No problem, here are the takeaways:

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• Custom audiences are great for Facebook marketers who want to reach the customers that they have in their database with targeted ads on Facebook

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• The process is very straightforward, simply upload your database as a .csv file or via Mailchimp

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• Custom audiences are in line with data protection regulations. Facebook does not share the private information people put on Facebook without their consent.

>>Read the full article

Did we leave anything out? Why not let us know what you think of this week’s roundup? “Like” us on Facebook and leave your comments and if you would like to know more about your page reach, check out our cool [free] tool