Holding contests and giveaways is one of the best ways to generate some buzz and lure potential customers to your Facebook page, according to the article “A Quick Guide to Successful Facebook Contests,” from Small Business Computing. Use these tips to get the most out of your promotion:

1. Follow the rules.Facebook’s terms include stipulations about what businesses can and cannot do regarding promotions. Follow these rules, from Small Business Computing, to keep your contest within Facebook guidelines:
   • Always run promotions through a third-party app
   • Disclosures must acknowledge the contest is in no way associated with Facebook
   • Entries cannot be contingent upon fans liking or commenting on a wall post or uploading a photo, although you can require entrants to like your page, check-in or connect to an app
   • You cannot use “likes” as a means of voting for a winner
   • You cannot notify winners through a wall post or other Facebook feature
2. Find the right third-party app. Popular apps for contests include, Wildfire, Woobox, Votigo, Strutta, and North Social. Utilizing one of these will keep you within the rules, and many of them will offer important features like analytics and voting options to improve your contest.
3. Pick an appropriate prize. In the case of a tanning salon, this one is easy. A free package or product is a valuable prize that won’t cost you much, and it gives a current or new customer the chance to try something new, opening the door for future sales.
4. Offer an incentive for participation. A prize may not be enough to get people to enter a contest and share it with their friends. Offering an incentive like a coupon or discount can help you maximize the reach of your contest.
5. Promote, promote, promote. The primary goal for a contest should be to bring new fans to your page. While some of this will happen naturally, spreading the word through your other online channels will also help. Tweet it, pin it, and blog about it! Also, if you’ve thought about using Facebook paid advertising, a contest is the perfect time to do it because it provides more incentive to click the ad.
6. Follow-up and deliver on what you promise. Quickly deliver the prizes and incentives you’ve offered. Then establish some extra goodwill by offering all entrants an additional special incentive or discount.

Click here to read the entire article from Small Business Computing.