According to the Expert...

My colleague has given me some pearls of wisdom when handling contests in the social media realm that I wish to share with my followers. Some I have already known/done, but let's go over them here.

Lesson #1: Use hash tags when you tweet about your contest on Twitter

• Popular ones are: #win, #contest, #sweepstake, #cheaptweet, #coupon, #free, #promotion, or #giveaway
• What are hash tags? The search on Twitter is frustrating. For instance, it is nearly impossible to find a person unless you know their exact Twitter name, hash tags enable tweeters to find you based on a one-word search. And luckily, there are many people out there searching for contests.

Lesson #2: With a fee, you can use the Promotions page on Facebook

• For our second contest, we are using this application; therefore I did not invest in it for our Twitter one. This could be worth the price tag if you need to spread the word. Also, I noticed when I go to the Promotions page on Facebook, individuals post on the wall their contests. This is completely free. It is debatable on how much traffic you will get, but every little bit helps.

Lesson #3: Use Twitter Promotions: http://www.coupontweet.com/

• Here you tweet about your contest on their feed. The only issue is that everyone and their mom is tweeting on this platform about their contest. An enticing prize would come in handy here. Also, be aware that this tool works more for those that have a large number of fans-- it tweets it on their page (that is always changing), and on your Twitter page.

Lesson #4: Everything with Twitter is fleeting.

• In order to promote your contest, you have to do it everyday, and every couple of hours. Will it annoy your fan base? It may, but it may drive others to apply if you are consistent in your approach.

Lesson #5: Use other social media sites

• The best way to promote your contest on other sites is to write a Press Release that has all the necessary links. Then submit this article to digg.com, reddit.com, etc.
• Don't be surprised if nothing happens with it, especially if you do not have a fan base. For me, three bloggers linked their blogs to my contest, which definitely helped with SEO. Hopefully, this happens with your contest.

So basically, what I learned from this first contest is that you cannot always depend on contests to gain followers, but rather spend the time interacting with tweeters. Let's see if that works for Facebook as well. First Facebook contest starts in less than 24 hours. Ek!