This powerful new app enables Fan Page admins to quickly launch a Facebook video contest.  From uploading great content to viral voting, the video contest app gives fans the opportunity to participate with brands on Facebook in a very involved way.

Key Feature Overview

The integrated functions that make launching, managing, and promoting this app so unique warrant a quick dive into the details.

Flexibility

There are a ton of ways that brands can use this app since the core features and admin controls make it simple to configure the app to run a variety of different promotions. First, there is the traditional video contest. (Always a popular choice).  Switch off the user entry function and it can be a great market research app. (Fans vote for their favorite new product idea from a pool of options added by the admin)  Bolt on our mobile entry code and this can enable a mobile scavenger hunt. (Capture and upload an epic video of the hunt on the go).  Whether it’s user generated content, branded content, or some combination of the two, there are tons of great ways brands can utilize the powerful viral voting, user entry, and contest  features of this app.

Viral Social Sharing

One of our favorite features that makes this app unique are the dynamic sharing controls. This means that the brand can push sharing through action based triggers. As well as unique entry sharing for much more effective self promotion of user entries. (You can test this out by using this app on our fan page here and then sharing your entry once it is approved by the contest admin.)

Why does this matter? Well, when a user uploads a video to enter a video contest, you need to give them the tools to effectively promote their entry to their friends and fans. We’ve all seen the wall posts before: “Come vote for my favorite __________ (charity, taco, cat, photo, etc)  and help me win a mega prize!”. Dynamic (or fluid) sharing enables a seamless experience for contest participants, which will lead to more viral growth for your promotion.

Integrated Social Response Emails

This app is seamlessly integrated with the North Contact list building and email system. Allowing brands to set up instant social response emails that hit the entrants inbox within seconds of entering the contest. Configure the list to alert winners, or enroll users in an automated email campaign. The power of the integrated follow up email tools makes this app a great entry point to automated marketing campaigns. Want to see this feature in action? Enter our Epic Video contest on Facebook right now and then check your inbox.

A Powerful Admin Control Panel

Running and managing social promotions can often be a bit of a challenge. Getting the right content, creative, and legal terms all lined up can drain resources and time. This app makes contest management a snap with ultra powerful content management system and powerful entry review tools.  Drop us a note if you want to learn more about how you can set up this app for your Fan Page.

Admins can review “pending” entries prior to showing them in the user facing gallery and users have an option to “flag” inappropriate entries to quickly alert admins that something offensive that may have slipped by. This powerful back end admin control panel gives brands the tools they need to run a safe and effective user generated content promotion.

Don’t Forget The Fan Gate!

Page managers can turn on the optional “Fan Gate” on this app which requires visitors to “like” the page before they can access the contest or gallery.  When the fan gate feature is combined with the viral “Vote for Me” self-promoting actions users take to gain votes, this app delivers a great way to quickly gain new fans.

Don’t be shy, if you would like a demo of this app just click the big blue button.

Cheers,

The North Social Team

The Onion has built itself up by pushing the envelope. It’s what they do and we expect absolutely nothing less, or else we’d yawn and swipe our finger to the next equally controversial Flipboard article regarding child labor on Ecuadorian alpaca farms.

This is a very thin line to walk and, as we saw from the reaction to their tweet regarding Quvenzhané Wallis on the night of the Oscars, it isn’t always pretty to watch. My sense of humor is vastly different than most of my family members’, and oftentimes I offend them with an offhand, mildly crass, and usually inappropriate kind of joke, for which I will (occasionally) apologize after much sulking.

It’s one thing for me to pout in the corner because those cretans don’t understand my brilliant mind, but is that expectation for an apology really appropriate for a widely circulated satire source, The Onion, who does “not bow to ignorant and self-righteous notions of censorship”? Doesn’t our beloved first amendment grant everyone the right to open up and let our freak flag fly?

Attempting to find the sweet spot with a target audience is daunting when you have the entire internet watching your every move, but it’s essential for keeping the wolves at bay. There is a special place for all of us, but spillover into unwanted areas is unavoidable and backlash inevitable. If you embrace social media, you embrace it all: the good, the bad, and the uber ugly.

Regular humans blast unbelievable and unsightly content across the web in a fashion that is borderline obsessive, as if they are suffering from  a strong need to share their obnoxious thoughts. They exercise their free speech right up and down the interwebz, without ever uttering a retraction. This is America, I do what I want and there ain’t nothin’ you can say about it!

Just because Twitter allows you to blurb out the inner workings of your brain in 140 characters or less, does that mean you should? When Facebook asks, “How are you feeling”, is it in the best interest of those following me to tell all the juicy details of my current emotional state?

Should The Onion be held to higher and somewhat different standards when it comes to their social media presence and commentary, even though it’s job is to make us slightly uncomfortable? Where is the line and who is in charge of enforcing it? Does “the customer is always right” mean that any outrage from a segment of users merits a response or retraction from the source?

Now, what does it all mean?  The first thing that jumps out is the emphasis on the cross-device experience.  If there were any doubts that Zuckerberg is steering the ship hard towards mobile, they should be put to rest after today’s announcements.  Bigger images, bigger in-stream ad units, and more engaging stories, the result will be Facebook doing an even better job sucking our time away as we scroll through each News Feed.  Now you can select which category you would like to peruse. Interested in Music? hope over to the Music Stream. News? Head on over to the News Stream. Images, everywhere? Get after it with the Photo Stream.

The other major focus is images.  From our lens, Images = Ads.  Bigger  images will eventually roll to ad units, giving advertisers more real estate to promote their brands. Check out the promo video to take look at what they were thinking with this major upgrade.

The new Facebook has several News Feeds from which to choose . The  feeds vary from All Friends, Close Friends, Music, Most Recent, and most importantly, Following. The Following Feed displays posts from pages and public figures you follow as well as presenting it in chronological order to show all posts.

Facebook has said they will roll these new features out slowly over the next few weeks.  To get in line to be one of the first, head over to FB.

We’ve all heard the fairy-tale: Fan meets Brand. Fan falls hard for Brand and is loyal, committed, and all-around awesome. Suddenly, a dark cloud looms over this paradise and the honeymoon is over when Brand doesn’t return the favor. Brand stops returning calls, stops even pretending to listen in conversations, and, to add insult to injury, doesn’t pick up after itself. The fairytale is over, and it’s all due to some common relationship mistakes.

Having an online presence for your brand is a lot like being in a relationship. Think about it – you need to be there for the other half; you need to admit when you’re wrong, and you need to gain trust and respect. Just like when people give us slimeball vibes, brands can do the same. Don’t lose the respect and trust of your fans by committing these unforgivable social sins and sending your picture-perfect relationship down the drain.

No one likes a total Chatty Cathy – just like an interpersonal relationship is give and take, so is an online one. Don’t do all the talking with posts, tweets, and email blasts – allow your fans to let you know how they feel about you. Keep that two-way street of social interactions clear of all roadblocks.

Don’t have time? Make some. This is a huge killer in relationships! The ideal relationship is fun and easy, but you’ll need to commit with some time and thought in order to make it a smooth ride for everyone on board. Need a quick post? Throw down on Trivia Tuesday, enjoy a laugh with Mad Libs Monday – the list goes on. Get creative because it will be appreciated!

Don’t hide who you are! Honesty is the best policy. Putting your real brand’s identity out there will only get you ahead in the long run – and isn’t that what we all want? Be your personable, shiny, beautiful self and everyone’s going to want a piece. Make sure you keep brand consistency with your other social platforms so you keep the same voice across the board.

You know how frustrating it is when you really like someone and they’re never available, right? Pretty soon you just move on. Same goes for your online presence. If you’re not there to interact with followers, they’ll move on to a brand who is. Whether this be a simple tweet requesting an example or an extensive rant on how much you suck– reach back out or you’ll wither on the vine of love.

No one likes a messy roommate, and no one likes a messy online presence. Poor grammar, shoddy design, and disjointed Page elements seem disingenuous and dishonest. The “stranger danger” radar starts blaring. People leave. Dress to impress and spend some time and effort in your online appearance.

Just like in face-to-face-relationships, The Golden Rule applies: treat others the way you want to be treated. It’s hard to get over that breakup, just like it’s harder to lose a customer than to keep one. Now that you’ve established yourself as a solid partner in crime, you can start searching for your perfect other half.

Time to air out your jerseys and get your Gatorade, because it’s time for March Madness (for all the Cal grads at NS – GO BEARS!). This year’s NCAA March Madness tournament marks the 75th year that college basketball fans have been entering betting pools, biting their nails for the buzzer-beater, and heckling rival teams. There’s a strong sense of competition during the month, and the NCAA is capitalizing on that team loyalty by asking their devoted fans to help them determine the most memorable players, plays, and dunks of the history of March Madness via an online poll. If viewers need to jog their memories for those favorite plays, they can turn to the NCAA’s YouTube channel NCAA OnDemand.

While the NCAA is publicizing the poll on their Facebook page, they’re also pushing the promotion on other social outlets: their Twitter feed (@marchmadness) and website to name a few. This is brilliant because the NCAA is accessing all social channels and moving outside of Facebook. It may sound nutty but it’s true – Facebook isn’t the only Big Man on Campus anymore. You can leverage other social outlets to strengthen your online presence. Giving your fans more opportunities to take part is a win for everyone. By casting their social net far and wide, the NCAA is sure to have a great range of participation to commemorate this historical anniversary.

How can you make this model work for you? Take a play out of the NCAA’s book and think about having your fans play on your team to celebrate a big event! Have your fans cast their votes for fouls, wins, and MVPs with a custom email capture form with a custom URL to enter to win some sweet, sweet swag.

Getting fans involved in the voting process while the whole tournament happens? Swish. Nothin’ but net.

Facebook is the ideal forum for launching a lighthearted and fun experience. Just imagine how you could bring to life a memorable quiz on your brand’s page. For instance, “Which Britney Spears Song are You?” Let’s see, there’s “Womanizer” Britney (don’t call it a comeback!). There’s “Toxic” Britney. And who could forget the “…Baby One More Time” Britney with the pigtails? Yes, I spent sixth grade emulating that ‘do. Ah, memories. I’m sure we can all identify with any Britney that’s thrown at us, but wouldn’t it be fun to take a little quiz to see who’s your best match?

But customized Trivia apps aren’t just for fun.  They also give marketers the ability to gather information about their audience – all the better to stay social with, my dear.  North Social’s Trivia App allows brands to customize a quiz for their followers. Not only can quizzes put a smile on the face, but they can be educational – for both Page admins and fans. Fans get to learn more about the brand, and Page admins get to collect some invaluable knowledge about their followers.

Key Feature Overview

Our Trivia Contest App is the most versatile on the market as the playing experience and results can be anything you want them to be. Whether your goal is to educate your page visitors on fun facts or “did you know” type history about your brand or to use the trivia app more like a survey to extract key insights about your most active fans, the North Social Trivia Contest App for Facebook allows fan page managers to choose from one of three types of trivia challenges:

1) True / False - This old classic is still one of the best formats for enabling an audience to test their knowledge but also learn some facts about your brand, products, or cause along the way. The app allows you to return valuable insight when a question is answered incorrectly. For instance, if the correct answer is “False”, but a fan answers “True”, you can input the correct answer with a brief explanation. This is a great way to inject some personality and some education into your branded quiz at the same time.

2) Multiple Choice - Turn your Facebook page into an online classroom by asking your fans a series of challenging questions.  Remember, this is social media and the goal is to get your current and prospective consumers to engage with your brand. Make it informative. Make it a memorable experience.

3) Personality Quiz - Ask your page visitors a series of multiple choice questions where there are no right or wrong answers. Each response is weighted and then tallied up to reveal a certain personality trait or quality of the user. While personality quizzes are meant to be fun, they can also be very beneficial to your brand. The best way to give your fans what they want? Ask them.

Why Do You Need It?

Competition encourages sharing.  People want to see how they measure up to their friends (and enemies) so they’re more likely to spread the word. Like all of North Social’s apps, Trivia allows for a lot of customization. Keep brand consistency with strong visuals that reflect your brand and make your messaging memorable. Another benefit? Trivia integrates with our CMS to send instant confirmation emails to your fans to let them know you love ‘em.

Want more deets? Check out our Trivia Contest app here

If you wanted to publish your promotion OFF of Facebook, you had to link from Twitter, banner ads, your blog, or website baaaaack to Facebook so they could engage with your awesome North Social promotion. (A little odd to run a promotion on Twitter that requires a Facebook user account).

Adding to all this complexity is the fact that Facebook apps are not available on the native Facebook mobile interface (and networks like Twitter are two-thirds mobile) and now you’ve got a giant pain in the you know what. This is not cool.

You can now create a promotion with North Social and then publish that promotion EVERYWHERE.

Want to learn how? Keep reading…

There are two really cool new features that enable this to work, and I’m unaware of any other software company on earth that can deliver the same functionality.

Personal side bet: If you know of any company that can do what we’re doing: native mobile, Facebook Fan Page app, smart link to sniff device type, blog and website embeddable, desktop user re-direct, instant email response to entrants, floating url, customized entry forms, easily customized designs, and white-label all starting for under $100 to run a week long sweepstakes or coupon blitz. Please let me know by sending an email to alex [at] northsocial dot com and I’ll buy you a beer if you can prove it. (must be 21)  Note: rendering a desktop design in a tiny little phone screen is not “native” mobile, it’s a flippin joke and nearly impossible to use, so don’t waste your breath trying to explain to me that other FB app providers have a mobile “solution” when what they actually have is a mobile disaster. Cheers!

First, there is the smart link technology.

Under the publish tab you’ll see a cool blue “smart link” which is what you are supposed to grab and use as “the” ideal click path for your fans.  (Note: We are aware that this link is a bit long and will be adding a link shortener soon, but for now just use whatever link shortener you prefer and make it a little more presentable). The smart link will sniff what browser the user is on and will deliver an optimized experience for desktop, tablet, or mobile.

This instantly takes the “what platform are they on” question and puts it to bed. Goodnight. Doesn’t matter if you are on a phone or a laptop, it will auto serve the right experience.

This is pretty cool stuff, but we’re not done.

This is what the publish section looks like in your admin panel.

This is where you grab the smart link. (See the giant image below)

You can use this smart link (shorten it if you want to) and publish it across Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Email, banner ads, and any other place where your prospective customers might click.

Second, There is the Desktop User Re-Direct.

The second part of this magical “publish anywhere” equation is the ability to send desktop users to three different places where they can engage with your promotion. (Note: desktop is not mobile or tablet)

Yep, this new feature allows you to direct desktop clicks to where you want them to go.

1) Facebook Fan Page

2) Your website or blog where the promotion is embedded  OR

3) A “Stand Alone App ” page where the promotion lives all by itself (so you don’t need a fan page or website)

This is what it looks like when you send desktop users to your Fan Page on Facebook. This is how North Social apps have traditionally shown promotions (inside the Facebook chrome).

Based on what your promotional goals are, and where you plan on engaging the most users, you can select the optimal destination for your desktop clicks.

It is flexible and totally up to you, just select one of the three options and go. (note: if you select url, you’ll need to type or paste the url where you are embedding your promotion. Or you can send them to some other website if you want your promotion to be on “mobile only”.

Want to take that promotion and run it on your website or blog? NO PROBLEM.

Just grab the iFrame embed code (which is also in the same “publish” section of your admin panel) and past it right into your website, blog, tumblr, whatever.  (Note: You might need to install a plug-in to support iFrames depending on what CMS you are using for your blog or site)

This is what the embed on your blog link will look like when you send desktop users to your site. (This is a WordPress powered blog example only)

If you don’t want to send users to Facebook, and you don’t have a website or blog where you can easily publish an embedded promotion.

You are NOT out of luck.

The third option for the re-direct is the magical floating app. (Note: this is not actual magic.)

When you select this as the destination for desktop users, they will be taken to a floating url which hosts your promotion inside a sleek little box.

This is GREAT if you don’t want to set up a website, or bother desktop users with Facebook. This is a super flexible way to quickly run promotions that don’t touch ANY social network at all. (think landing page, squeeze page, or other fun marketing use for sending users to an easy to set up and modify interactive experience).

The floating url will look like this below.

If you are still reading this all the way to the bottom, I want to say thanks.

Our team here at North Social works really hard to try and build the best possible solution for brands, agencies, and social media managers.

We invest our heart and soul into what we do, and we listen to our customers as much as possible and are always working hard to improve. We’re pretty happy about where we’re going with this entire platform of tools and we hope that you’re having fun as the social/mobile market continues to evolve.

Cheers! -Alex

No, we’re not talking about the Timeline update, Graph Search, or the new Poke app. We’re talking about how the usage of Facebook has shifted to mobile devices at an incredible rate.  Pssst… This is INSANELY important for your average Fan Page manager for three reasons.

1) Facebook last reported that the mobile usage had grown to over 600,000,000 monthly users that access the site from a mobile device.

Pro Tip: If you are marketing your business on Facebook you better think about how your promotions will look, function, and flow for mobile users.

2) The mobile app and mobile version of  Facebook do NOT allow users to access fan page apps. Yes, these are the apps that so many brands rely on for creating offers, deals, contests, coupons, sweepstakes, and more.

Pro Tip: If you are running a promotion on Facebook you MUST have a native mobile interface or you’re going to miss out on a ton of mobile users.

3) Not all mobile “solutions” are created equal. Some Fan Page app providers provide what they call a mobile “solution”. All this really means is that they’ve taken their desktop experience and shrunk it down to fit on a phone. Shrinking an experience designed for a large screen typically delivers an AWFUL user experience on the mobile device.

Pro Tip: Make sure the mobile interface for your promotion is NATIVE which means you should NOT have to pinch the screen 12 times to see the text, images, or entry forms. 

We think that you’ll enjoy walking through our step by step guide for mobile promotions on Facebook so you can see what to look for and what you should avoid. Feel free to share this graphic with your clients and friends, if you want a copy just let us know….

One of the most common requests we’ve heard (over and over) is how brands wanted NEEDED us to create a really good photo contest app.

Well… the wait is finally over!

Today we’re happy to release of our new Photo Contest App for Facebook which is available right now for brands and agencies to launch viral photo contests just in time for the holidays.

This powerful new app enables Fan Page managers to quickly launch a Facebook photo contest.  From uploading great content to viral voting, the photo contest app gives fans the opportunity to participate with brands on Facebook in a much more involved way than ever before. (This app is what social media marketing is all about!)

As fans upload their photo entries and then campaign for votes, brands benefit as the entrants draw more visitors to the Fan Page generating significant organic traffic.

Properly executed this type of promotion can create a powerful ‘viral loop’ which drives up page traffic, fan count, fan engagement, and brand awareness across social media.

Social media managers and agencies will be glad to know that we’ve built the new Facebook Photo Contest App to run on the New North Social version 3.0 content management system framework which gives page managers more control over the user experience than ever before.

You can find out more about launching a photo contest for your brand by clicking the giant blue button below, or you can give this app a test drive (as a user not an admin) by entering our pumpkin photo contest on Facebook.  Maybe you’ll win $1,000 in Fan Page apps.

Key Feature Overview

The integrated functions that make launching, managing, and promoting this app so unique warrant a quick dive into the details.

Flexibility

There are a ton of ways that brands can use this app since the core features and admin controls make it simple to configure the app to run a variety of different promotions. First, there is the traditional photo contest. (Always a popular choice).  Switch off the user entry function and it can be a great market research app. (Fans vote for their favorite new product idea from a pool of options added by the admin)  Bolt on our mobile entry code and this can enable a mobile scavenger hunt. (Can you find our CEO at CES and snap a pic of him?).  Whether it’s user generated content, branded content, or some combination of the two, there are tons of great ways brands can utilize the powerful viral voting, user entry, and contest  features of this app.

Viral Social Sharing

One of our favorite features that makes this app unique are the dynamic sharing controls (this means that the brand can push sharing through action based triggers as well as unique entry sharing for much more effective self promotion of user entries. (You can test this out by using this app on our fan page here and then sharing your entry once it is approved by the contest admin.)

Why does this matter? Well, when a user uploads a photo to enter a photo contest, you need to give them the tools to effectively promote their entry to their friends and fans. (We’ve all seen the wall posts before: “Come vote for my favorite __________ (charity, taco, cat, photo, etc)  and help me win a mega prize!”)  Dynamic (or fluid) sharing enables this in a really seamless way for contest participants.  (this will lead to more viral growth for your promotion).

Integrated Social Response Emails

This app is seamlessly integrated with the North Contact list building and email system. This enables brands to set up instant social response emails that hit the entrants inbox within seconds of entering the contest. Configure the list to alert winners, or enroll users in an automated email campaign. The power of the integrated follow up email tools makes this app a great entry point to automated marketing campaigns. Want to see this feature in action? Enter our pumpkin photo contest on Facebook right now and then check your inbox.

A Powerful Admin Control Panel

Running and managing social promotions can often be a bit of a challenge. Getting the right content, creative, and legal terms all lined up can drain resources and time.  The North Social Photo Contest app makes contest management a snap with ultra powerful content management system and powerful entry review tools.  Drop us a note if you want to learn more about how you can set up this app for your Fan Page.

Admins can review “pending” entries prior to showing them in the user facing gallery and users have an option to “flag” inappropriate entries to quickly alert admins that something offensive that may have slipped by. This powerful back end admin control panel gives brands the tools they need to run a safe and effective user generated content promotion. (without the fear of getting buried in spam or porn)

Don’t Forget The Fan Gate!

Page managers can turn on the optional “Fan Gate” on this app which requires visitors to “like” the page before they can access the contest or gallery.  When the fan gate feature is combined with the viral “Vote for Me” self-promoting actions users take to gain votes, this app delivers a great way to quickly gain new fans.

Don’t be shy, if you would like a demo of this app just click the big blue button.

Cheers,

The North Social Team

Here are five non-cavity inducing tips to make sure your Facebook page’s promotional efforts aren’t scary for the all the wrong reasons…

1) Give Your House A Little More Haunt – Brush up on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to immerse yourself in  the seasonal verbiage and take some fashion advice from Freddy Krueger to give your promotion and messaging a more authentic look, tone, and feel. Psst…it takes more work than some spider clip art in your cover photo and pushing out a generic “Happy Halloween” promo to send your brand viral.

2) Hand Out Quality Candy – Whatever promotion you decide to activate, remember to reward your fans from a “value” perspective. Seriously, liking a brand’s page only to be underwhelmed by what you receive in return (offer, gift, or experience) is kind of like trick-or-treating at the not so generous house on the block. No one ever tells their friends to go knock on the door of the house giving out the mini-box of raisins.

3) Ding-Dong > “Trick-o-Treat” > Moving Along – Your fans are busy and bombarded with orange and black invitations left and right, so make your promo simple for them to enter and participate with (yes, treat them, don’t trick them). A complex entry process has a tendency to scare users away just like The Jigsaw Killer.

4) Last-minute Costume Ideas Come Off As, Well, Last Minute – Don’t be the guy (brand) that lazily slaps together an uninspired costume at 8pm and then runs off to the party empty handed (not even a six-pack..). Start planning out your promotion now and you’ll actually have something to measure come November.

5) Reach and Connect With The Pumpkin Carvers – Halloween is unlike any other holiday. It has ridiculously fanatical following – online and off. From targeting the candy and decoration buying parents to the trick-o-treating kids to the costume party freaks, you should be using smart PR and paid media strategies to get the word out about your Facebook promotion. Hint: The most successful Haunted Houses (i.e. custom Facebook promos) market to visitors that live outside their own neighborhood.

Need more inspiration? Launch a costume photo contest to ramp up more engagement. How about inviting fans to participate in a scary caption contest or handing out budget costume ideas? For more ideas on how to spread your message, be sure to peep North Social’s custom apps to see how we can help launch a unique experience for your brand.

Boo!