By Lydia Calderón

Simple yet effective, Facebook contests are progressing into the new way tanning salons are growing their social media audience. They’re a fun approach to engage users and create a sense of community. Here are some contests to try:

1. Photo Contest

People love taking selfies and posting them on social media, so why not include them in a contest for your salon? Not only are photo contests fun, but they are an easy and interesting way to drive traffic to your Facebook page and website. Visuals, along with seeing a personal side to your customers, equates to high engagement among your audience. Popular photo contests for salons include posting a photo with a holiday related theme, or a photo of a customer at your salon with a product. Along with the photo, entrants can include a caption that directly endorses your services.

One salon ran a “selfie” contest and asked the simple question: “Why do you love sunshine? Like our page and comment below for your chance to win a FREE month of tanning!” The contest ran for a little over a week and was boosted for $100 to help drive engagement. The results prove just how beneficial a boosted photo contest can be: 30 likes were gained on the page, 121 likes on the post, 35 shares, 50 comments, and over 10k people were reached.

2. Comment, Share, and Like

This contest is similar to a photo contest in the aspect that entrants will comment and Llike the post. Instead of an image however, they are including a fill-in-the-blank answer. For example, “Tell us your favorite thing about our salon for your chance to win a lotion package! Share this post for additional entries!” is a smart tactic to learn what people value the most in your business and share that with others.

3. Like to Win

For the easiest and most fail proof way to enter a contest, entrants should enter by liking both the post and page. Then, randomly pick a winner from the people who have liked the post. Although it’s slightly less engaging in terms of commenting, you’re still receiving page likes.

If you’re looking to gain more page likes and recognition online, contests are a successful way to achieve your Facebook marketing goals.