Whether it is to increase engagement, likes/followers, or convert them into customers, you can find many software or platforms on the web available at your disposal to help you achieve your social media goals. Most of them also offer different pricing options so you can easily choose a plan that fits your budget.

Before we go, note that generally there are two types of social media software: for management/monitoring and for creating app-powered content. A few offer both as an integrated solution, on a higher priced plan. What I want to talk about is the later, platform that offers you tools to create specialized content on your social media page, in this case specifically for Facebook brand page.

When you research for these tools or are reached by their sales rep, the most-popular and biggest selling point is usually the contest module. With this you will be able to extend your audience as you can encourage the entrants to share it with their friends and hope for them to be more familiar with your brand or products. Your loyal customers will be excited to participate and post about it on their own social media timeline(s). From there, you are reaching to an almost unlimited number of new potential followers like the number you see from “Friends of Fans” info on Facebook’s insights.

If you are building a solid brand social media profile, the first item will very likely come to realization. If you plan your campaign well, in no time you will start receiving a few dozens or even hundreds of entries. But to expect the massive ‘viral effect’ by making the number into thousands is the next big challenge, especially if you do not have tens of thousands of followers to start with. Only relying on your current number of followers most of the time may not be able to boost the campaign to your expectations.

So what to do in this situation? You will need to actively promote the campaign, not only as posts within your profile(s), but use your existing (and new) digital marketing channels too. For example, most of these services will encourage you to create Facebook ads for campaigns that you are running as the catalyst to reach wider audience. Considering the acquisition cost of Facebook ads can be as high as $0.88 (source), this can add a significant cost to your budget if you are expecting hundreds of new entries from that channel alone. You can also submit your contest to giveaway directories, some offer to post it on their premium listings for a reasonable fee, but from here you can expect a higher ‘drop-out’ rate once the campaign is over. If you have significant traffic on your website or blog, it can be an excellent medium to pass on the information about the contest too.

So, before you propose that budget to sign up to the best social media marketing software you found, do consider the possibility to add promotion costs on top of it. I am not saying it is the only way to reach social media success, there are case studies of very successful campaigns where the only factors are the company itself, its loyal customers and partners, but having up a supporting plan is always a good idea. As social media has become a mainstream channel to any business, you are not the only kid on the block who can offer this kind of promotion therefore the new standard is born.