How To Set Up Your Facebook Page For a Promotion

Posted by Tina Hoang

Facebook’s Timeline provides you with a platform to share your brand story. It also affords you free space to advertise your promotional marketing campaigns. Your Facebook Page can help increase engagement on your promotional marketing campaign - only when done right!

The #1 reason why people Like brands on Facebook is to receive discounts and promotions. So when you’ve got a promotion like a contest, sweepstakes, coupon, or instant giveaway going on, every person who visits your Facebook Page should know about it; you need to make it as easy as possible for your fans and prospective customers to find what they’re looking for!

Before you publish those ads, send out that email blast and start spreading the word on your promotion, make sure that you understand the different spaces and elements that you have to work with and set up your Facebook Page for maximum exposure, response, and results.

The key is to make it incredibly easy for your fans to find and participate in your promotion on your Facebook Page.

Find best practices for the 4 main sections of your Facebook Page summarized in this cheat sheet and see them applied in examples below.

##1. Cover photo

Your cover photo is the first thing people see when they hit your Facebook Page so use this space wisely! Here are some great content ideas we’ve seen from some of our clients:

###Set expecations and call out your contest

######

######Vega used their cover photo to communicate the premise of their photo contest and to provide an example of what they were looking for. They also included an arrow which points to the where fans can access the contest app, a clever alternative to a call to action which is not allowed.

###Show progress and achieved goals

######Mari Smith shared details on engagement levels in the contest to show progress and to encourage her community to participate!

###Display content and winners

######Semperviva showcased their contest winner in a customized cover photo and thanked their community for participating.

And of course, don’t forget Facebook’s guidelines on Timeline cover photos:

All covers are public. This means that anyone who visits your Page will be able to see your cover. Covers can’t be deceptive, misleading, or infringe on anyone else’s copyright. You may not encourage people to upload your cover to their personal timelines. Covers may not include:

  1. price or purchase information, such as “40% off” or “Download it on socialmusic.com”;
  2. contact information such as a website address, email, mailing address, or information that should go in your Page’s “About” section;
  3. references to Facebook features or actions, such as “Like” or “Share” or an arrow pointing from the cover photo to any of these features; or
  4. calls to action, such as “Get it now” or “Tell your friends.”

##2. Views & Apps photo

The Views & Apps photo is how your fans access your promotion. It doesn’t matter if your promotion is hosted on Facebook, on your website or in-store. Always add a tab and move it to the top of your Views & Apps to direct people to your promotion (or to information about your promotion) from your Facebook Page.

Here are two must-dos for your promotion’s tab in the Views and Apps section:

###Include a call to action

######Top Floor included their call to action, “Enter to win!” in the image.

###Stay consistent and on brand

######OXO kept the design and title consistent with their other tabs.

###Move the tab to the top

######Stitcher moved its tab to the top of the Views and Apps list and included an arrow in its cover photo to direct fans to it.

Here’s how how to move your tab in the Views & Apps section of your Facebook Page.

##3. Highlighted post

Reserve highlight posts for key content, goals and timeline milestones like announcing finalists, reaching your fan count goal, and when your contest is open to public voting.

Here are three must-dos for hightlighted posts:

  • Place a call to action in the photo, video and/or message
  • Keep the message short
  • Include a link to your promotion in the message

######

######Camera pro highlighted a timeline milestone with a supporting image and link.

######Spotlight highlighted the sweet prize to be won with a supporting image and call to action.

Bonus tip: Add a secondary call to action to get people to Like your post. Your message will have a better chance of going viral on Facebook when people Like it - it will appear in more News Feeds!

Here are Facebook’s FAQ on starred posts.

##4. Shared post

Share details on your prizes, entries and content regularly to encourage participation and to find what really motivates your fans.

The must-dos for shared posts are the same as highlighted posts:

  • Place a call to action in the photo, video and/or message
  • Keep the message short
  • Include a link to your promotion in the message

######

######Eyefi encourages fans to enter with a simple link and call to action.

######Vega motivates its community to vote with an image and positive message.

Go ahead and play around with different incentives, visuals, and calls to action to learn what motivates your fans. Keep tweaking your communications and optimize your photos and posts to get more active participants, brand ambassadors and loyal customers out of your promotions!

How do you set up your Facebook Page when running a social promotion? What motivates your community?

More resources:

Ready to try building your own social media promotion? Visit strutta.com to get started for free.