Skip to content
Tweak Your Biz home.
MENUMENU
  • Home
  • Categories
    • Reviews
    • Business
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Growth
    • Sales
    • Marketing
    • Management
  • Who We Are

Five Simple Steps To Run Successful Competitions On Facebook

By Aoife Rigney Published January 22, 2013 Updated December 1, 2022

Facebook is a great platform for running a contest because it can expand your audience, raise awareness about a product or service, boost audience engagement and increase your fans. However, Facebook states that if you are running a competition of any sort, then the following rules MUST be adhered to or you run the risk of getting your page removed. Facebook clearly state that “We reserve the right to reject or remove Pages for any reason. These terms are subject to change at any time.”

To read the full details of Facebook Page Rules

# 1. Establish your objective

Why do you want to run a competition? Don’t just run a Facebook competition because that’s what everyone else is doing. Who are you targeting? What do you want to get out of it? Are you hoping to grow your community, or to engage your current fans or do you want to increase awareness about a new product? Or perhaps it’s something else?

# 2. Plan ahead, keeping in mind the rules!

What is the prize? How do your fans enter the competition? Remember don’t make it too difficult! Also be aware of relevant competition rules and licensing laws. For example you require a license to run a lottery. You can get around this by making your competition a ‘game of skill’ which means entries require a particular knowledge level. For example, entrants must answer a question.

You also need to put together some terms and conditions and link to this within your competition, because people need to be able to see the fine print of your competition.

# 3. Set up

Choose a third party application which has the functionality required to run your competition. There are strict rules outlined by Facebook about running competitions – you should read them before running any competitions or contests on your Facebook page. If you violate the rules, you risk having Facebook disable your Page or account.

Can I select a fan at random to give away a prize? No. This constitutes a lottery. You’re effectively using Facebook to “collect entries.” Moreover, you cannot contact winners via Facebook at all—via private message, chat or posting on their wall—nor can you post winners on your page wall.

So, get to grip with 3rd party applications which are built to host competitions on your Facebook page. Here is a list (in no particular order of preference)

  • Wildfire App
  • Offer Pop
  • Easy Promos
  • North social
  • Short Stack App
  • Bulbstorm

# 4. Posting schedule and promotional updates

Have a content calendar created with your posting plan. Often, when running a competition, these promotional updates about the contest take over. Remember to continue to post the information you normally post and include the competition updates in where they naturally fit. Of course, keep in mind your Facebook page’s particular “hotspot” or best time to post. Don’t overload your fans with status updates about the competition. Consider spending some money on promotional posts to boost interaction and increase reach of the post, i.e. more people will see it.

# 5. Wrap up and Review

In scouting, there is a motto: Plan, Do, Review. It is very much appropriate for the business world too! Once you’ve planned your competition in advance then you can execute it step by step knowing exactly what is going to happen at each step. Finally, reviewing it to gain valuable lessons and experience is critical. Don’t forget to take note of what didn’t work, chances are you’ll remember what did!

 Have you ever ran a competition on your Facebook page? How did it go? 

Did you like this article?  Write for the site. Sign up for our RSS.

Connect:                        

Images:  ”Facebook Website / Shutterstock.com“

Posted in Business

Enjoy the article? Share it:

  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on X
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Email

Aoife Rigney

Aoife Rigney recently graduated with Bachelor of Business (Honours) in Information Systems at Cork Institute of Technology. She has a passion for social media, search engine optimization (SEO) and all things marketing and technology. Having worked with SMEs throughout Ireland over the last few years, she has helped them to get to grips with their online presence, developing strategies and supporting implementation. While relatively new to blogging, she loves to spend a lot of time reading while online. Aoife is a techie at heart with marketing on the brain. A twitter addict; @aoiferigney :)

Visit author twitter pageContact author via email

View all posts by Aoife Rigney

Signup for the newsletter

Sign For Our Newsletter To Get Actionable Business Advice

* indicates required
Contents
# 1. Establish your objective
# 2. Plan ahead, keeping in mind the rules!
# 3. Set up
# 4. Posting schedule and promotional updates
# 5. Wrap up and Review

Related Articles

Business
Finance

When Payments Lag, Patient Care Suffers: The AR Crisis in Healthcare Services

Ernest Ragsdill August 18, 2025
Business
Technology

Beyond the Hype: Former AT&T and Synchronoss CEO Glenn Lurie on What the $4 Billion GenAI Telecom Market Really Means for 2025

Jessica Jones August 15, 2025
Business
Technology

How AI Mockup Generators Provide First-Mover Advantage

James Harding August 14, 2025

Footer

Tweak Your Biz
Visit us on Facebook Visit us on X Visit us on LinkedIn

Privacy Settings

Company

  • Contact
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Statement
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Sitemap

Signup for the newsletter

Sign For Our Newsletter To Get Actionable Business Advice

* indicates required

Copyright © 2025. All rights reserved. Tweak Your Biz.

Disclaimer: If you click on some of the links throughout our website and decide to make a purchase, Tweak Your Biz may receive compensation. These are products that we have used ourselves and recommend wholeheartedly. Please note that this site is for entertainment purposes only and is not intended to provide financial advice. You can read our complete disclosure statement regarding affiliates in our privacy policy. Cookie Policy.

Tweak Your Biz
Sign For Our Newsletter To Get Actionable Business Advice
[email protected]