Facebook Contest App: 12 Reasons Why Your Promotion Campaign Is Not Working

1. The grand prize is not attractive enough

2. The grand prize is very attractive so people think that they have small chances to win, as the promotion will be very popular

3. You give away an i-gadget. Giving away an iPad may be risky, a lot of fake competitions and promotions are trying to get data with the promise of an iPad, iPhone or something known and valuable

4. You use stock photos. The problem with stock photography is that they are over used, some by very shady online properties and of course, people know they cost around $1

5. You ask publicity from the winner, and maybe people don’t want to share their cellulite treatment or diet story with their friends. The price is too big to win

6. The promotion lasts too long, so people think they have plenty of time to enter and they forget after a while. There is no sense of urgency. In sweepstakes (when people may win something) 5-9 day is the ideal length. In contests (when voting is part of it), 14-20 days may be enough. The time left to enter should be visible!

7. People don’t know what to do to enter. The call to action message is missing, or the design is not clear on what to do

8. It takes time to enter because the entry form is too long, people will only give you a few minutes of their valuable time (and that’s only if they are interested)

9. People get error messages, so they give up trying. The app has technical issues

10. The entry is geographically restricted but you are promoting it all over without any segmentation

11. The terms are too complex or you are not providing sufficient information

12. Other unexpected things happen like a blackouts, the user got distracted by a shiny incoming email, etc.