Recently I had the opportunity to do some in-depth research on how to launch a promotion on Facebook to help one of our clients meet its business and communications objectives. As I was discovering the various intricacies, guidelines and best practices, I thought it would be useful to develop and share a check list that can be used by any organization who is considering launching a promotion on Facebook. At a minimum, here is what you should know:

1. Know the Rules. Facebook has strict guidelines about implementing contests on its platform. For more details, visit http://www.facebook.com/promotions_guidelines.php.  
2. Determine your Goals and the Definition of Success. Are you looking to drive more engagement with your brand? Do you want to stimulate sales? Or do you want to gather information about your customers? Once you know what you’re trying to achieve and how you’ll measure ROI, you’ll be able to develop the right type of promotion.
3. Consider Wildfire Interactive. You can only administer a promotion on Facebook through an application. Wildfire Interactive has an online software application that enables businesses and organizations of all sizes to easily create their own attractive, branded interactive campaigns (e.g. sweepstakes, contests, give-aways, incentive-based surveys, etc.) and to simultaneously publish them in multiple social networks and their websites. You can learn more about these applications by visiting the Wildfire website or call them directly to chat with a customer service representative.
4. Find a Developer Versed in Facebook Markup Language (FBML). If you are using Wildfire Interactive’s lower-end service, you may want to make modifications to your landing page or maybe link a couple of promotions together to create a single promotional campaign. If this is the case, you’re likely to need a developer familiar with FBML and Cascading Style Sheets. Alternatively if you have the budget of $15,000 to $25,000, Wildfire Interactive’s team will happily create a white label promotion taking care of all the custom application development for you.
5. Keep it Simple. To drive participation, we recommend making the promotional campaign easy for people to enter. Those that are complicated simply don’t attract as many participants.  For instance, asking people to submit a photo is much easier than asking them to create a five minute, original video.
6. Determine Criteria for Judging. Think about how you’re going to evaluate and determine winners. With Facebook promotions, you can convene a panel of prominent or celebrity judges to determine winners, have the public vote to determine winners or take a combination approach with judges selecting finalists and the public selecting the winner. You will want to think about what will work best for you.
7. Come up with Compelling Prizes. You need to make it worthwhile for people to participate in your contest. The right prizes are essential; however, you must make sure they are relevant to your audience and your brand.
8. Publicize Your Promotion. Develop a publicity plan to drive awareness of your contest, sweepstakes or special offer. Make sure to include information on your website, and consider the development and distribution of a press release to generate interest. Here is a release distributed by Cathay Pacific Airways announcing a “unique competition through its official Facebook page.”
9. Build in Time for Winner Notification. When your promotion ends, you are likely to need a few days to get in touch with the winners, since according to Facebook’s policy you cannot notify winners through Facebook, such as through Facebook messages, chat or posts on profiles or pages.
10. Seek Legal Counsel. Get an attorney to review your official rules, entry form and terms and conditions for participation to ensure you are in compliance with state and federal laws. You should also understand the taxes required when prizes are awarded.

For more information about social media promotions, please check out our previous blog posts on the topic:

• Wildfire Interactive Provides Easy, Customizable Facebook Campaigns (Jun. 23, 2010)
• Social Media Contests Have the Power to Drive Massive Awareness and Engagement (Apr. 30, 2010)
• Twitter Contest Helps Drive Awareness and Sales (Feb. 19, 2010)

 You can also check out current promotions on Facebook here.