10 Fiery Do’s and Don’ts For Launching Your Facebook Promotion

A Facebook promotion is now even more powerful than before, with the great new timeline feature. But the question still remains – how do you launch a successful promotion on the platform? In the months to come, you’ll definitely want to know how to get your customers ready to buy, with the persuasive allure of Facebook promos.
The Facebook Promo Do’s
#1: Do Use Your Facebook App Space
You can add a custom made app to your timeline, and drive traffic to it with Facebook ads and content marketing. These apps can be highly interactive, are great for collecting email sign-ups, running text marketing campaigns, or selling products directly from your page.
#2: Do Use Your Timeline Cover Image
Use your timeline cover image as additional promotion space, to plug your products, webinars, content or event. Its prime real estate, and you’ll get lots of responses.
#3: Do Use Your Timeline Pinning Function
Craft a great, engaging post and get lots of people to comment, share and like it. Then pin this promotional post to the top of your page, for 40% more interaction over time.
#4: Do Compliment Your Promo With Ads
Use Facebook’s new reach generator and ‘post as ads’ system to turn your posts into adverts, and to drive traffic straight to your optimized timeline profile.
#5: Do Create a Viral Group For a Competition
Create a group and add people to it. Get your friends and their friends to add more and more people to the group – and get them to enter the competition or giveaway.
The Facebook Promo Don’ts
#6: Don’t Request Long Comments Outside Apps
Get your fans to comment or reply to competitions by doing it through your Facebook app. Otherwise your brand timeline will be cluttered with random answers and banter.
#7: Don’t Use Check Ins or Likes as Entries
Facebook prohibits users from using the check-in or like function as a way to enter a competition, or take part in a sweepstake or giveaway.
#8: Don’t Post One Announcement
A promotion runs for a while, which means it needs to be hyped, planned and executed on the platform. One announcement, or random promo post won’t help your cause.
#9: Don’t Announce Winners on Facebook
Facebook still doesn’t allow winners to be announced on Facebook. Use Twitter to do this, and then publish a congratulatory post on Facebook to cover your tracks.
#10: Don’t Wait For Responses To Happen
Posting a promo on Facebook and waiting for responses can be like watching paint dry. Figure out how to get people involved. Comment on other groups, drive traffic to your promotion, tweet about it, offer incentives and get moving!
There you go, the do’s and don’ts of launching a promotion on Facebook. Oh, and whatever you do, don’t include ‘Facebook’ in your display, cover or ad art. Facebook doesn’t allow it. Other than that, get creative – use every avenue available to you, including your blog!
How do you promote products and services on Facebook? Share with your SMM community!