December 3rd, 2009
by Emilia Doerr
Photo contest on Facebook allowed Glen and Gabe to connect with their customers on a whole new level.
Specialty Color Services’ second annual Photograph Your Love Contest is currently running on Facebook. The idea is simple – participants photograph the things they love and then share them with friends and family on the popular social networking site. All you have to do to enter is become a fan on their Facebook Business Page.
Building a community around their business on Facebook was not something that Gabe Cano and Glen Hodges of Specialty Color Services in Santa Barbara, California, intentionally set out to do. The dynamic duo (sometimes known as “Glabe”) was recently featured as positive role models for successfully employing Social Media Marketing to Boost their Business and “Cool Factor”.
The inaugural Photograph Your Love Contest in 2008 resulted in more than 600 new fans and 1,900 contest entries for SCS. In addition to great prizes (this year Jones Soda has agreed to print the winning image on their soda label to be distributed nationally) – all
contest participants were given the opportunity to have their photo entry printed up on a special metallic print paper and shipped for FREE.
While they didn’t make a dime directly from this contest, Glen and Gabe measured their ROI in different terms – and it was clear that the overwhelming response generated by his contest was something that traditional advertising could never buy. Beyond creating awareness for their company’s services, they were able to connect with their customers through Facebook and offer fans the opportunity to feel ownership of the online community they helped create.
For Glen and Gabe, the key to getting to know their audience was to stop selling to them. Instead, they found ways to creatively activate their fan base, which led to their social media marketing success:
- Relationship ROI: People were getting to Know, Like and Trust the company – and were more likely to do business with someone they actually knew (versus merely engaging in a transaction).
- Building a tribe: Loyal customers and evangelists kept coming back to Facebook for fresh user-generated content created by a community of like-minded people.
- Try-vertising: By giving away photo prints for FREE, customers were given the opportunity to become familiar with their online ordering system – as well as their specialized services (Sales tripled on metallic prints after the contest!)
For more inspiration for social media success, check out our free podcast on Facebook marketing tips!
You can also follow me on twitter @my_dog_ate_it
Web Marketing Therapy Related Links:
- Social Media Marketing Boosts Business and “Cool Factor” for These WMT Positive Role Models
- Social Media School – With Love
- Social Media Marketing Class: Learn Facebook, Twitter, and New Social Network Gink
- Dog Blogger and Inquisitive Canine Explores Ways for Businesses to Benefit from Web 2.0 Tools and Social Media Marketing
Twitter Trackbacks for Web Marketing Therapy » Blog Archive » Actively Engaging Fans on Facebook: How Fresh, Creative Content Made [webmarketingtherapy.com] on Topsy.com
(December 3rd, 2009 at 11:51 am)
[...] Web Marketing Therapy » Blog Archive » Actively Engaging Fans on Facebook: How Fresh, Creative Con… http://www.webmarketingtherapy.com/blog/small-business/actively-engaging-fans-on-facebook-how-fresh-creative-content-made-the-photograph-your-love-contest-a-social-media-success – view page – cached Actively Engaging Fans on Facebook: How Fresh, Creative Content Made the Photograph Your Love Contest a Social Media Success [...]
uberVU - social comments
(December 3rd, 2009 at 12:20 pm)
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by my_dog_ate_it: Actively Engaging Fans on Facebook: How Fresh, Creative Content Made the Photograph Your Love Contest a Social Medi… http://bit.ly/8sdCtZ...
Web Design Wonkette
(December 3rd, 2009 at 1:15 pm)
Emilia, this is a *great* article highlighting a *great* idea!
Gabe Cano
(December 3rd, 2009 at 2:54 pm)
Emilia…!!! thank you so much for writing such a cool article about what we’ve been up to on FB! SCS has much love for you guys!!
gabe
Photograph your love!
Lorrie Thomas
(December 3rd, 2009 at 3:30 pm)
Glabe,
If I didn’t love Web Marketing Therapy so much, I would be begging to come work for you! Thanks you for marketing with love…you are an inspiration!
-The Marketing Therapist
Emilia Doerr
(December 3rd, 2009 at 3:49 pm)
Thanks for your kind words Gabe. You guys are truly facebook marketing rock stars and we’re happy to spread your story to help others harness the power of social media to actively engage customers !
Web Marketing Therapy » Blog Archive » Social Media School – With Love
(May 27th, 2010 at 2:17 am)
[...] written about Specialty Color Services and how Social Media Boost Business and Cool Factor and how actively engaging fans on Facebook with fresh, creative content made the photograph your love contes…. Another guest lecture later, I have more web wisdom to share (thanks Gabe and [...]