Research demonstrates that optimistic feelings induced by mild everyday, positive events, like congratulating a sweepstakes winner, can have a significant influence on social interactions and our overall thought processes.

Often people won't enter a sweepstakes on Facebook because they don't actually think they will win. That's why it's so critical to make sure your spa announces who wins each time you hold a sweepstakes on Facebook.

When your spa announces the sweepstakes winner on Facebook it generates instant engagement and a positive impression of your spa brand. Because winning is a true possibility, the announcement creates a tangible and affirming experience with your spa.

Fans who enter your spa sweepstakes get to see who wins, the winner loves to share their excitement using Facebook’s handy social interface and lastly, it is the perfect medium for friends to congratulate the winner giving your spa incredible social media reach.

We've had tremendous success with the Joy of Spa sweepstakes on Facebook because once the winner is randomly chosen, a Facebook post is generated linking to the winner and congratulating them on their win. The congratulating comments and likes begin to flow in from fans, friends and family creating a wealth of additional exposure for the brand.

Cloud 9 Spa Salon had a very successful Sweepstakes before Mother's Day. When it was all over, they posted the name of the winner and kept the Mother's Day excitement going with another promotion. In the end, Cloud 9 Spa and Salon had 1,346 people register for the sweepstakes. Those registered then invited 4,857 of their friends to become fans of the Cloud 9 Facebook page.

The morning after your sweepstakes ends, the winner will be randomly chosen. If the winner is a friend that was initially invited by someone else, then the person who invited them wins, too. Make sure you are ready to give away up two GCs, as you indicated in your initial Sweepstakes Event setup.

The winner(s) receive an email that contains a referral code that was generated by the Sweepstakes. Here is an example of the Sweepstakes winner email:

The winner simply clicks on the email link to claim their gift. They can use it themselves, or gift it to someone they adore – it's totally up to them. They'll be happy, and you'll have new clients to wow with everything that you offer.

You can monitor the sweepstakes event to see the number of entrants, friends invited and, once it's over, the winners in Events in the left sidebar. Included are links to the winning client(s) and the referral codes sent to them; the referral code detail will show you the value of the referral code and whether or not it's been used.

Setting up and running a sweepstakes on Facebook is super straightforward. We know that growing your Facebook fan base is key to your spa, salon or massage therapy practice's social media management and SpaBoom gives you a super easy way to do that!

Facebook is such a valuable medium because it's built around social communities, a foundation that businesses can use to extend the reach of their brand and engage with fans. The very fact that clients become fans of your Facebook page validates your business to their friends just by interacting with you.

2 Responses...

1. Wendy says:

   July 21, 2011 at 1:37 pm

   Posting the winner wont violate HIPPA laws?
2. Seth Gardenswartz says:

   July 21, 2011 at 2:50 pm

   Wendy:
   Great question! The law applies to "health plans, health care clearinghouses, and to any health care provider who transmits health information in electronic form in connection with transactions for which the Secretary of HHS has adopted standards under HIPAA (the “covered entities”). Most day spas and salons are unlikely to be "covered entities." For medspas that do medical procedures its important to know that HIPAA protects all "individually identifiable health information." That definition is in two parts. If you post a person's name it is individually identifiable. So the question remains, is winning a sweepstakes "health information" under the HIPAA? According to the statute Health Information "relates to the past, present, or future physical or mental health or condition of an individual, the provision of health care to an individual, or the past, present, or future payment for the provision of health care to an individual." Our sweepstakes function generally entitles a winner to a dollar value of treatment and does not reveal anything about their individual heath condition. If your business is a covered entity, and your services are narrow in scope I would check with your counsel.