Facebook contests: 13 ideas to boost your visibility

Generating engagement on Facebook is challenging, especially since the latest algorithm update reduced organic reach for page posts. However, a solution exists: Facebook contests.

Facebook pages hosting contests tend to have a 64% higher engagement rate than those that don’t (source: Talwind study 2020). These social media promotions are an excellent way to grow your audience, drive traffic, and increase visibility at minimal cost.

Find Facebook contest ideas with our experts

Struggling for Facebook contest ideas?

In this article, our social media agency in Montreal share 13 original and effective Facebook contest types you can try today for you target audience! Learn in this guide all Facebook contest rules you need to apply if you want your Facebook contest to be a success! 

What is a Facebook contest?

A Facebook contest is a promotional event organized on the social media platform by a business or individual. It encourages a Facebook page’s community to participate in a game or competition in exchange for rewards.

Why should I organize a Facebook contest?

• To increase your interaction rate (likes, comments, and shares)
• To strengthen your brand’s visibility and recognition
• To accelerate your follower count growth
• To build engagement and connection with your community
• To do the promotion of a new product or service

Facebook contests can generate qualified leads and new followers for businesses! That’s why more than 150K contests are published on social media every year. They also allow for cost-effective marketing campaigns, which is why many brands launch them.

Learn more about social media pricing

What to offer in a Facebook contest in 2024?

For your contest to be successful and gain long-term subscribers, it’s crucial to offer a prize that reflects your brand.

A prize that represents you

The goal? To show participants unfamiliar with your brand who you are and what products or services you offer!

Offering a trip to the Seychelles for a Montreal restaurant: nice, but will it help retain customers? ❌

Offering a candlelit dinner with a special menu: a good idea ✅

Tip 💡: Remember, you can also offer gift vouchers to introduce your products, allowing you to organize a contest without shipping costs.

Participation mode tailored to the prize

Participants won’t want to make a video or the promotion of you brand on social media for a 10 CAD gift card. It’s important to consider what your subscribers and potential subscribers would be willing to do for a prize.

To avoid deterring players with overly demanding participation conditions, we recommend matching the participation mode and contest duration to the prize’s value.

Table of Facebook contest participation conditions based on prize value

Certainly! Here’s the information organized into a table format:

Prize Value	Participation conditions	Duration of contest
Low (under 50 CAD)	Like: Participants like or react to the contest postSubscription to a newsletter	One-week contest
Medium (50-150 CAD)	Comment: Participants comment on the contest post, answering a question or giving their opinion on a topicShare: Participants share the contest post on their Facebook page (optional)Sending a private message with an automatic response on Messenger	One to two-week contest
High (over 150 CAD)	Participants fill out an online registration form to enter the contest	Two weeks to one-month
High (over 150 CAD)	Content Creation: Participants create and share their own content, like a photo or video, to enter the contest	Three to six-week contest

What are Facebook contest’s rules in 2024?

Facebook contest participation criteria

Be aware of Facebook’s contest rules! While generating engagement and visibility with social media contests is great, ensure your page isn’t shut down or censored for violating Facebook’s guidelines. Giveaway rules are not always followed, yet they have an effect on your reach.

Key points to consider for your Facebook contest rules

Facebook doesn’t check every page’s posts, but if you prefer zero risk, our social media agency recommends paying attention to the following Facebook regulations:

• Requirement for participation: avoid explicitly asking in your official rules fans to tag their friends in comments
• Participation Criterion: don’t demand fans to share your Facebook advertising contest to participate
• Avoid requiring fans to like and share your page for an extra chance in the contest
• When asking for personal information (email, phone number), mention it’s optional
• Ensure clear and transparent prize allocation from the contest’s start

Conditions and best practices for a stress-free Facebook contest

For a call to action, instead of demanding participants “tag a friend” or “leave a comment,” invite them to share who they would enjoy the prize with if they win, without obligation 😉! 

If you want to gain likes on your page: encourage fans to follow your news by liking your page ✅ (it must not be an eligibility requirement to participate to the Facebook contest). 

A clear and precise Facebook contest rule

Then, to ensure your Facebook contest isn’t perceived as deceptive by Facebook moderators, make sure to define clear participation conditions and mention how and when you’ll choose the winner.

Finally, for complete peace of mind, we recommend stating that Facebook is neither responsible for nor sponsors your contest and bears no liability for it.

A random prize draw

This often worries Facebook contest participants: the fear that the game is rigged, and the brand or influencer will let their acquaintances win.

The best way to reassure participants is to be transparent about your brand’s draw methods:

• The timeline of the draw
• Winner announcement method (comment on the post, dedicated publication, private message)
• Contest prize allocation method (email voucher, package delivery, etc.)

Pre-announcement contest winner checks

List of best practices for announcing the winner:

• Contact the winner before the official announcement ✅
• Verify it’s not a fake account ✅
• Check if the winner’s Facebook account contains defamatory or problematic content for your brand image ✅

Everything checks out? Perfect, let’s move on to the 13 Facebook contest ideas. It will help to improve your marketing strategy on social media. 

1)“Help us find an idea” Facebook contest

This type of contest fosters user-generated content and stimulates creativity. You ask your audience to name a place, a new mascot, or a new product in your store. The winner is the author of the comment that generates the most “Likes,” or simply your favorite.

This approach is especially effective in building customer loyalty and encouraging active participation in your business. It portrays your company as generous and accessible. Facebook contest example:

Source: Bookkeep

2)“Find the name” Facebook contest

Similar to the previous idea, this simple-to-organize contest asks your audience to title or caption an image or a product related to your field, preferably funny or original. The winner is the author of the most-liked comment.

This type of contest is popular as it naturally encourages participation and generates comments, a key source of visibility for your content.

Source: Healthstuff

3) Facebook live video contest

Facebook Lives are among the best ways to increase engagement. Combining a live broadcast with a Facebook contest can significantly boost your content’s reach.

Here’s how to structure your Facebook Live contest:

• Announce the prize in your live description.
• Keep viewers engaged during the live.
• Give instructions orally at the end of your video.
• Announce the winner live and orally.

Example of a Facebook live contest to win a book:

Source: Brad Taylor

4) “Complete the following sentence…” Facebook contest

This contest encourages your audience to think and be creative. You can ask participants to complete a sentence or paragraph, guaranteeing original content (and engagement from friends who’ll love to react).

Tip 💡: To also drive traffic to your website, offer multiple rewards on a page of your site and let the winner choose. Linking to this page in your contest encourages participants to visit your website to see the available gifts.

Source: Disney India

5) Photo contests

Want to see what your subscribers look like and maximize engagement? A selfie contest is what you need! 

Simple rules: ask your audience to share a selfie with a theme related to your business. Choose the most “liked” photo. For maximum visibility, have fans participate through personal posts tracked by a specific hashtag.

You can mix it with a voting contest where you community will have to choose the best picture.

This type of contest naturally encourages participants to get friends to like their post to increase their chances of winning.

Example of a photo Facebook contest:

Source: Aster Pharmacy

Remember to offer a substantial prize for these types of contests 😉 More engagement and selfies to follow.

6) “Send your photo and vote” Facebook contest

A variation of the selfie contest, this one is simpler as it takes place solely on your page.

Ask fans to send a photo in a private message with a specific theme that highlights your brand. Compile the photos in a post or Facebook album, and let your followers vote. Participants will likely ask friends to like their photo, boosting your visibility!

Example:

Source: Trans-Siberian orchestra

7) Quiz-based contests

Challenge your subscribers and stimulate their competitive spirit with a personalized quiz for a prize! Although it requires more preparation, it’s a great way to interact with your audience and potential clients.

Tools like EasyLMS or SurveyMonkey can help you create free and easy quizzes. You can even collect useful email list via the participation form!

Tip 💡: To maximize shares, don’t make the quiz too difficult! According to BuzzSumo, 45% of quiz shares are from those who scored the highest. 

Example:

Source: BenQ

8) Question-answer Facebook contests

Similar to quizzes, organize a simple question-answer contest through a post. Ask one to three questions and randomly select a winner from the correct answers in the comments!

Example:

Source: CellularOne

Don’t forget to be clear about participation terms! 😉

9) “Choose your favorite product” Facebook contests

This contest highlights several products and lets you compare their popularity. Create a visual with multiple products or services and ask fans to name their favorite in the comments.

This type of contest generates engagement and direct sales opportunities.

Tip: Include a link to your product or service purchase page! Potential customers might decide to buy even if they don’t win 😃

Example:

Source: Buds & Berries

10) Riddle, puzzle, or enigma Facebook contests

A smart contest 🧠. Ideal for stimulating your audience’s curiosity and analytical thinking, encouraging interaction with your brand.

Use riddles, puzzles, enigmas, or any thought-provoking game. To keep the contest open beyond the first correct answer, opt for a draw among correct responses.

Example:

Source: KP Namboodiri’s

11) “One Day, one gift” draw contests

Celebrating your company’s anniversary? The holiday season? Or any other significant event? Consider a longer-duration contest.

For greater participation, try something different with a more tempting reward. 

For example, give away a surprise product each day for a week, randomly drawn from contest participants.

Example:

Source: Statemint Knoxville

12) Collaborative contests with influencers

If you’re collaborating with an influencer, your prize could be a session with them. The chance to spend time with an influencer can drive significant participation.

Bloggers and home decor specialists Elsie and Emma of Un Beau Gâchis successfully executed this, offering a major prize where they helped a lucky winner redecorate a room in their home. 

It’s common for influencers to run such contests.

13) Newsletter subscription Facebook contests

A simple yet effective idea, the ease of participation encourages users to sign up when they see the post in their news feed. You can get new email subscriptions 

Source: Familly health diary

Ready to launch your Facebook contest?

The possibilities for contests on this social network are vast! Now, you have 13 giveaway ideas to try on your page.

Consider launching cross-platform contests (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok) to increase participant numbers and winning chances for players active on multiple platforms.

💡 Tip: Avoid organizing Facebook contests too frequently to prevent your community from becoming desensitized. Choose a special occasion to launch a Facebook contest.

Create an amazing contest with Digitad

Contests are just one of many elements crucial for effective social media management. If you seek daily support to enhance your business’s visibility on your customers’ favorite platforms and boost your engagement rate, we are eager to assist you.

And if you liked these Facebook contest ideas, feel free to implement them on your page or share them with your friends and professional contacts! (But remember Facebook’s usage rules 😉).

Bonus: If you’re considering sponsoring your contest, learn how to advertise on Facebook.