How to Do a Giveaway on Facebook (Step-by-Step)

Posting on your Facebook Business page isn’t what it used to be. Even when your content is great, it’s hard to get it seen. But don’t give up on Facebook yet.

Want to know how to have a contest on Facebook that actually works? Facebook giveaways are the key to connecting with new customers and boosting your page.

Think about it – you’ve probably checked out a Facebook giveaway yourself, right? They catch your eye and introduce you to new businesses. In this guide, I’ll show you how to do a giveaway on Facebook, step by step, and create a Facebook contest that gets results.

How to Do a Giveaway on Facebook: Step-by-Step

Step 1: Set Your Facebook Giveaway Goals

The first step when you create a Facebook contest is to decide on your goals. These help you define the right strategy for your giveaway and measure the results. There are many goals to choose from, so think carefully about what you want to achieve.

Some potential giveaway goals could be:

• Highlight a brand-new product.
• Get more subscribers to your newsletter.
• Increase traffic to your website.
• Increase likes on your page.
• Get feedback from your customers.
• Get more Facebook Engagement.

Once you’ve decided on your giveaway goal, the next step is to determine what prize you’ll give to your winner.

Step 2: Choose a Giveaway Prize

Your prize should align with the goal of your contest. For example, if you’re highlighting a new product, you could give one away to your audience, as Soak & Sleep did with the example below.

Alternatively, you could offer the lucky contest winner a bundle of goodies based on the time of year or your giveaway theme (more on that coming up).

You should also tailor your prize to your target audience to make your giveaway exciting. Otherwise, users won’t find it enticing enough to enter.

Here’s how to tailor a prize to really excite your target audience:

• Understand Your Audience: Consider their demographics, interests, and the problems your prize can fulfill. A busy parent might love a housekeeping service, while a jet setter would crave a luxurious weekend getaway.
• Make it Relevant: Offer a prize directly related to their hobbies. A photography competition could award a new camera, while a baking contest might give away a top-of-the-line stand mixer.
• Add “Wow” Factor: Is there a limited-edition item, an experience money can’t buy, or a meet-and-greet with a celebrity? Rarity adds excitement.

For even more prize ideas, check out this article.

Step 3: Set Your Giveaway Theme

Choosing a theme for your giveaway is a wonderful way to get people invested, especially when it’s a seasonal one. Christmas giveaways, for example, are popular contest ideas because people can grab a festive prize that might be perfect for gifting to a loved one.

Paper Christmas offers a stationery bundle for the best festive line drawing entry in this Facebook giveaway example. Isn’t that creative?

Here are some other giveaway themes you can try:

• The best Easter bonnet giveaway.
• A sizzling summer photo contest.
• An Autumn interior design mood board giveaway.
• A bundle of Black Friday goodies contest.

Have fun coming up with your theme. The more fun you have, the more fun your audience will have entering.

Learn how to run a Facebook photo contest here. You can also check out these inspiring Facebook giveaway ideas.

Step 4: Choose Your Entry Criteria

The next step is to decide how you’d like people to enter. The entry method primarily depends on the contest’s goal.

Let’s face it: there’s no point asking people to visit your Facebook Page if your goal is to increase newsletter subscribers.

So, choose methods that match what you want to accomplish, such as:

• Like this post: Simple and effective for reach.
• Follow this page: Great for growing your audience.
• Tag a friend (or two): Expands your giveaway’s reach organically.
• Share this post: Increases visibility; specify public or private sharing.
• Comment with [Action]: Ask a question, use a specific hashtag, or have them tag friends for more engagement. For example, “Comment with your favorite summer memory for a chance to win!”

It’s just as important to keep the entry process easy. If it’s too hard to enter, you could deter people from taking part.

Step 5: Establish Your Giveaway Rules

A successful Facebook giveaway needs a clear set of rules. This keeps things fair, protects you legally, and ensures you’re playing by Facebook’s guidelines.

In this giveaway post, participants can see exactly what’s expected of them:

Here’s how to make your rules easy to understand and follow:

• Define Eligibility: Who can enter? Specify age, location restrictions, and if friends/family are eligible.
• No Purchase Necessary: Emphasize that a purchase won’t increase their chances of winning.
• Giveaway Period: Clearly state the start and end date and time, including your timezone.
• How to Enter: Detail the exact steps to enter (like, comment, share, etc.). Be specific and mention any entry limits.
• Prize Details: Provide a clear description of the prize(s) and approximate value. Specify if substitutions or a cash equivalent are possible.
• Winner Selection & Notification: Explain how you’ll choose the giveaway winner (random draw, contest, etc.) and how you’ll notify them. State the timeframe for claiming the prize.
• Legal Details:
  • Sponsor: Disclose any brand or partner involved.
  • Disclaimer: Clarify that Facebook is not involved in the giveaway.
  • Contact Information: Provide an email or way for users to contact you with questions.

Step 6: Build Your Contest

Now, it’s time to put this information together and create your giveaway. I’ve found that the easiest way to do this is with a giveaway tool. They make it easier to set everything up, manage entries, and even draw winners when the contest is over.

Some popular options include Gleam, Rafflecopter, and Wishpond. But, personally, I like setting things up on my WordPress website. This allows me to send valuable giveaway traffic to it while also growing my Facebook page.

For that reason, I use RafflePress. I think connecting your giveaway to your WordPress site is the best way to do a giveaway on Facebook, and RafflePress simplifies the process.

To see how I do it, check out the video below:

Alternatively, you can follow my written steps for using RafflePress to run a giveaway on Facebook.

Install and Activate RafflePress

First, install and activate the RafflePress plugin on your WordPress website. It has several plans to choose from, including a free version. But, I always use RafflePress Pro for the advanced giveaway options.

If you need help, please see this guide on how to install the RafflePress plugin.

Create a New Giveaway

Next, go to RafflePress » Add New from your WordPress dashboard.

On the next page, give your giveaway a name. Then, choose a template that aligns with Facebook (like “Grow Your Facebook Page”).

Upon importing the template, you’ll see it automatically has actions that align with your giveaway goal. In my case, those actions are to visit my page on Facebook and to view a Facebook post or video.

Upload an Image

To upload an image to your RafflePress giveaway, click Insert Your Prize Image on your preview screen, as shown below.

Then click the orange Select Image button to browse your media library or upload an image from your computer.

Add a Description

Now, with the same window open, click the description box to write an interesting description for your prize and giveaway.

You can also select a giveaway start and end time and date in this panel.

Choose Giveaway Actions

Next, click the Actions tab in the left-hand sidebar. This is where you’ll set up the entry methods.

If you chose the Facebook giveaway template, you’ll already see several actions:

1. Visit Us On Facebook: paste your Facebook page URL for users to visit and follow your page.
2. View Facebook Post / Video: paste a post or video URL to embed it directly inside the giveaway widget for users to view and enter without leaving your website.

You can edit these with your own information and make them mandatory to ensure your page gets the engagement you want.

You can also add more actions based on your needs. For instance, you could add the Refer-A-Friend action, which is a great way to go viral, or get inventive by creating your own entry method.

Add Your Giveaway Rules

RafflePress makes adding rules to your contest pretty easy, too. To do this, go to Settings and click on Giveaway Rules.

This reveals a content box where you can enter the terms and rules for your giveaway. If you’re stuck on what to include, click the Rules Generator Template to open a lightbox of questions to answer, which you can use as a starting point.

When you’re happy, click Save.

It’s important to note that Facebook’s rules don’t let you require likes, sharing, tagging, etc., in exchange for giveaway entries, which is why RafflePress’s Facebook Visit Page action has Likes marked as optional.

Instead, you can use the Refer A Friend action to have people share your giveaway on Facebook.

With your contest built, it’s time to publish.

Step 7: Publish Your Giveaway on Facebook

There are a few ways you can publish your giveaway:

1. Through a widget displayed in a blog post or page.
2. On a dedicated website landing page.

We think the smart move is to publish your giveaway on a Landing Page. This way, you can easily link to it in your initial Facebook post, and all that traffic will go to your website and your Facebook page.

Here’s how to do it.

From your RafflePress giveaway editor, click Publish. You’ll then see a new page with 3 options. Click the Giveaway Landing Page option. Then click the click here link to set up the permalink for the landing page.

Now, enter your chosen URL parameters and click Save.

Pasting the URL you just created into your browser will show you the landing page of your giveaway. You can share this link with people so they can enter your contest.

Post the URL on Facebook

Now all you need to do is create an eye-catching Facebook post with the URL for your giveaway landing page.

Here’s a great example from SeedProd, who used the landing page option for their Black Friday contest on Facebook. You can see SeedProd’s giveaway results in this case study.

A good description, an excellent image, and a link to your landing page are all you need.

How to Make Your Giveaway Post Stand Out

Here’s how to grab attention with your giveaway post:

1. Use great pictures: Show off your prize with a high-quality photo or eye-catching graphic.
2. Write an attention-grabbing title: Start with something like “Big Giveaway!” or “Win [Your Prize] – Enter Now!”
3. Keep it short and sweet: Briefly explain what you’re giving away and why it’s cool.
4. Make entering easy: Clearly explain how people can join your giveaway.
5. Create some urgency: Tell people when the giveaway ends so they don’t miss out.
6. Use hashtags: Add 2-3 relevant hashtags to help more people find your post.
7. Tell people what to do: End your post with a clear action, like “Click here to enter!”

Here’s a simple Facebook giveaway post template:

🎉 Big Giveaway! Win a new iPad! 🎉

We’re giving away a brand new iPad to say thanks to our amazing customers.

How to enter:

→ Click the link below
→ Follow the easy steps
→ Keep your fingers crossed!

Hurry! Giveaway ends June 1st.

#iPadGiveaway #FreebieFriday
Don’t wait – enter now! [LINK]”

Step 8: Promote Your Facebook Giveaway or Contest

You can’t just sit around and wait for people to enter your contest. Instead, start promoting your contest aggressively to help spread the word.

A good contest marketing strategy will help your giveaway to go viral so you can grow your audience and generate as many leads as possible.

Here are several effective ways to promote your giveaway:

• Promote across social channels: Share your giveaway on all your social media accounts – Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. Link back to your Facebook contest for easy entry.
• Send an email to your list: If you have an email list, inform your subscribers about the exciting giveaway and how they can participate.
• Reach out to influencers: Consider partnering with relevant influencers in your niche to help spread the word to their engaged audience.
• Promote organically on Facebook: Aside from your initial announcement post, regularly share reminders about the giveaway on your Facebook page.
• Utilize Facebook Ads: Facebook advertising provides a precise way to target your ideal audience and amplify your giveaway’s reach.
• Promote During Live Streams: Go live on Facebook to talk about your giveaway. This creates a sense of urgency and allows for real-time interaction with your viewers, encouraging them to participate.
• Use a Facebook Group: Find a relevant Facebook group where your target audience hangs out. Share your giveaway in these groups (make sure the group allows promotions) to tap into focused communities interested in your prize offering.

You can also promote your Facebook contest by:

• Creating an email newsletter
• Creating a popup with OptinMonster
• Adding a link to your website home page
• Submitting your giveaway post to contest and sweepstakes directories
• Reaching out to relevant bloggers to mention your giveaway

Start promoting your contest weeks before it goes live to get tons of traffic and entries on day 1.

Step 9: Announce the Winner

After all the work that went into creating, publishing, and promoting your contest, the time will eventually come to announce the winner.

RafflePress has a super-easy way to do this with the automatic random winner generator. You can learn all about drawing winners in RafflePress here.

Using this option takes the pain out of selecting a winner yourself manually. Even better, there’s a link you can click to email the winner right away.

After announcing your winner, make sure you follow up to keep participants engaged and nurture them into loyal customers.

For example, you can create a celebratory announcement thanking everyone for participating. Share photos or videos of the winner receiving the prize (with permission, of course).

Here’s an example from MCTV who shared winner photos on X. We love how they included their branded hashtags to improve their reach.

Similarly, you could reward everyone who entered with a special discount code, a free trial, or early access to a new product. This incentivizes them to explore your offerings further and potentially turn them into paying customers.

Analyzing Your Giveaway Results

Running a successful Facebook giveaway is just the first step. To maximize the impact and get valuable insights for future campaigns, you’ll need to analyze your results.

Here are some powerful tools to help you dissect your giveaway’s performance:

1. Dig Deeper with Google Analytics:

If you’ve integrated your Facebook page with Google Analytics, you can delve into website traffic generated by your giveaway.

Look for metrics like:

• Traffic Source: See how many people visited your website after clicking the giveaway link on Facebook.
• Landing Page Performance: Analyze which giveaway landing pages or product pages visitors engaged with the most.
• Conversions: Track how many giveaway entries translated into actual sales or email signups, depending on your goals.

To make this even easier in WordPress, you can use a Google Analytics plugin like MonsterInsights. It pulls your analytics data and displays it inside your WordPress dashboard in easy-to-understand reports.

2. Use RafflePress’s Entries Report:

RafflePress offers an Entries Report that provides insights into participant behavior. You can see which entry actions resonated most with your users so you know what to use in future giveaways.

3. Social Media Analytics for Reach and Engagement:

Both Facebook and other social media platforms offer built-in analytics tools.

Use them to track key metrics like:

• Reach: How many people saw your giveaway post?
• Engagement: Track the number of likes, comments, and shares your giveaway generated. This helps gauge overall interest and brand awareness.
• Click-Through Rate (CTR): See how many people clicked the giveaway link compared to those who just saw the post.

How to Do a Giveaway on Facebook FAQs

And there you have it!

You’ve successfully learned how to run a Facebook contest to increase likes and engagement with hardly any effort. Now, you can enjoy engaging with all the new people who are now part of your audience.

You may also find the following giveaway guides helpful:

• How to run an Instagram giveaway
• How to do a giveaway on Facebook to get more followers
• How to do a like and share contest on Facebook

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