A new study from Wildfire Interactive that analyzed a random sample of 10,000 Facebook campaigns found that coupons drive the highest response rates. In fact, Facebook campaigns with coupons saw 61% higher response rates than campaigns with giveaways, which ranked second in terms of response rates. On the other hand, the report found that pick your favorites Facebook campaigns are shared the most (21% more than the next most shared type of campaign — quizzes).
The complete breakdown of campaign response rates follows:
- Coupon = 3,037 average entries per campaign
- Giveaway = 1,888 average entries per campaign
- Sweepstakes = 1,630 average entries per campaign
- Favorites = 1,070 average entries per campaign
- Quiz = 1,024 average entries per campaign
- Trivia = 410 average entries per campaign
- Essay contest = 398 average entries per campaign
- Photo contest = 381 average entries per campaign
- Video contest = 313 average entries per campaign
Interestingly, the findings were quite different when analyzing the amount of earned media (i.e., shares) that Facebook campaigns generated. The complete breakdown of campaign types by rate of sharing follows:
- Pick your favorites = 39%
- Quizzes = 32%
- Trivia contests = 28%
- Sweepstakes = 26%
- Essay contest = 25%
- Photo contest = 25%
- Coupons = 19%
- Giveaway = 15%
- Video contest = 11%
For brands, these statistics are enlightening. Creating a successful Facebook campaign depends very much on the specific goals for each campaign. Raising brand awareness and broadening brand reach requires shareable campaigns, but the campaigns that get shared the most aren’t the same as the campaigns that actually drive response rates.
For example, a pick your favorites campaign encourages people to show off their great taste (or the version of it that they want the online audience to see). Therefore, these campaigns can become very viral. On the other hand, people don’t necessarily want others to perceive them as cheap, so coupon campaigns are shared less frequently. Similarly, people love to win prizes, but they’re less likely to share contest information and reduce their odds of winning. Coupons and contests drive response rates, but they require greater marketing efforts and expenditures by the brand to raise awareness of them.
These statistics are certainly helpful for brands that want to reach specific goals through their Facebook initiatives. One type of campaign isn’t right for every strategic goal. Consider the findings from this study next time you develop a Facebook campaign, and make sure you build the right campaign for your brand, your audience, and your objectives.
Image: Judit Klein
Lucy is Editor at Corporate Eye
