Bonus Entries for Facebook & Twitter Sweepstakes via Shared Link

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Aanjulena

There’s a new option for Sweepstakes offers that doesn’t require Facebook permissions to award Bonus Entries!  Now, you can choose to “Award n bonus entries per user that clicks and enters from entrant’s share link.”  With this feature,  users share a unique tracking link to your sweepstakes and get Bonus Entries for anyone that enters after clicking their shared link.  The new Bonus Entries option is available for both Facebook and Twitter-based Sweepstakes offers; and it’s a great incentive to encourage people to share your promotion more often, in more places!

Bonus Entries via Unique Share Link

Awarding Bonus Entries for Facebook Friends Who Enter

This is the original method used with the Bonus Entries feature; and with this option, additional entries are awarded when a user’s Facebook friends enter the contest after them.  Because the Bonus Entries are based on an entrant’s Facebook friends, enabling this method requires a Facebook permissions dialog to authorize the Sweepstakes app.  This feature has worked very well to create a viral effect for offers, and the average share rate with this option is over 60 percent when used with the other viral features such as the automatic Share dialog popup window.   There are a number of benefits to this method, including a more game-like feel to Bonus entries.  Since everyone who is already entered automatically gets bonus entries from all Facebook friends that enter, it generates more Bonus Entries overall and creates more opportunities for entrants to get excited about inviting and sharing with friends repeatedly as they see their bonus entry counts grow fast.

Awarding Bonus Entries for Entrants via Unique Shared URL

The new option for Bonus Entries has its own benefits that we are very excited to announce.  First of all, using this option removes the need for entrants to grant any Facebook permissions to the app.  Because the bonus entries are based on a unique sharing URL, there is no need for the app to access a person’s friend list, as with the Facebook friends method.  This also means that bonus entries will be awarded for anyone who enters through the unique share link — they don’t even have to be Facebook friends with the person.  Additionally, this new method allows you to award bonus entries in your Twitter offers!

Bonus Entries via Shared URL on Twitter

How Does It Work?

Awarding bonus entries based on the shared link is done by creating a unique URL for each person who enters the contest.  This URL is automatically generated and simply adds a five character tracking code to the Woobox Shareable Offer URL.  For example, an offer with the short URL http://woobox.com/123abc would turn into http://woobox.com/123abc/456de — with the unique share code (456de) added to the regular short URL.  Bonus entries are shown in the Entry Export File the same way regardless of what option you choose to use for your offer (the from_email column shows the email address given by the person whose entry generated the bonus entry for the original entrant).

This new feature provides another great opportunity for maximizing the viral effect of your contests if you don’t want to require Facebook permissions, plus it works with Twitter sweepstakes!

Check out this and more with your own Woobox account; and keep yourself up to date in the future by following @WooboxApp on Twitter and becoming a fan of our Facebook page.

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Coupons Help Guide

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Aanjulena

Here’s the latest addition to the Woobox series of informational presentations; created to help users understand how Woobox promotions work, and to aid in maximizing the success of your offers.

You can use the following link to view or share the presentation: http://portal.sliderocket.com/AZCEO/CouponAnatomy

Get started with your own Coupons promotions now by logging in to your Woobox account (or signing up for an account) and then adding an offer! You can create as many offers as you want, and even issue up to 50 vouchers per month for free! If you haven’t already subscribed to a Woobox Pro plan, make sure to upgrade your account and check out our other offer types, including Sweepstakes, Rewards, and Group Deals!

Still have questions? Check out the Woobox Community Support forum; and be the first to know about new features, updates, and helpful information when you “Like” Woobox on Facebook and follow @WooboxApp on Twitter!

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Set Your Sweepstakes to Allow “One Entry per Email per Day”

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Aanjulena

We’ve expanded your options for Sweepstakes entry settings!  Now you can restrict entries for a Sweepstakes offer to just one entry per email address each day.  This setting is similar to the “One entry per Facebook user per day” option that many Woobox users take advantage of regularly within their contests.  You can change the One entry per User setting under the Entry Page section of the offer’s Edit Sweepstakes page.

One entry per User >> Options Dropdown

Probably the most exciting benefit of running a Sweepstakes with the “One entry per Email Address per day” setting is that it can help you drive more traffic to your page from both new and returning visitors!  It can be tough to get return visits to your page if you don’t have big news or changes every day, but this entry restriction gives people the encouragement they need to come back day after day throughout any given offer.

If you enable the automatic Share popup dialogue as well, entrants will be prompted to share a Wall Post every single time they enter.  The opportunity to earn bonus entries is also a great motivator for sharing, so you can see that there is a lot of added visibility and viral potential for offers that utilize all of these features!

TIP: Make sure to let your visitors and entrants know that they can submit an additional entry every day, increasing their chances of winning.  A great place to do this would be in the Post-Entry Page content.

Post-Entry Page for One Entry per Email per Day Sweepstakes

If you haven’t done so already, sign up for a free Woobox account; then create a Sweepstakes offer in Preview Mode, and when it’s ready to go, just upgrade your plan level to launch the Sweepstakes!

Follow @WooboxApp on Twitter and check out our Facebook page for future update announcements, and make sure to let us know what you think!

Posted in New Feature, Tips | Tagged , , , , , , , |

Introducing Custom HTML Forms for Woobox Promotions

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Aanjulena

Customizing your Woobox entry pages is now only limited by your imagination.  By using our new HTML Form option, you can replace our standard forms with your own completly custom input forms.  You can use any input fields you like, require them, and set custom error messages.   All user input will be automatically stored in the Woobox export file for your promotion.  You can still use all of our great viral features with custom forms such as bonus entries when friends enter, multi-page required liking, bonus entries for liking, and more.  The first campaign run with this new feature was the “Postcard from South Africa” Sweepstakes by South African Airways (shown below).  If you’d like to see some live examples try this Smoothie King Campaign or this one.

Custom Form in Entry Page

This new feature works just like FormGate in the custom tabs. You can follow these step-by-step instructions for creating and using HTML forms.  For those of you who want to get a little more complex with the in-offer forms, or if you just need a little more guidance with writing the basic code, you can also check out the chapter on HTML Forms & Input from W3Schools.com.  If you want to get really advanced, you can also use Javascript with your forms.

To add a custom form, in the Edit section of your offer, simply select HTML as the option for the Entry/Offer Page setting and add your HTML.  When you do this, the form input code will be automatically detected, and the default Woobox entry form will be hidden.

Example of Custom Form & Code for Entry Page

As with the usual form fields that you add to an offer, your custom HTML form fields and their details (rules, error message) will be shown in the Form Fields tab of your offer.  Additionally, the submitted information will be available in the downloadable export file that you can view with your favorite spreadsheet program.

Form Fields Tab for Offer with Custom HTML Form

This new feature provides an infinite number of options in terms of design, as you can see in the South African Airways Sweepstakes and live examples above.  You can use custom forms with any account level, and it’s available for use within all offer types.  Get started now by adding a new offer!

Remember, now that Woobox offers Preview Mode, even users with a Free account can create and test any type of offer (only available for viewing by admins) before purchasing a paid plan starting at $29.  So feel free to test out the Custom HTML Form feature within Woobox’s different offer types; then when you decide to run a promotion, just upgrade your account and your offer will be ready to go!

Want to know more about Woobox and be up to date on all future changes?  Just make sure to “Like” us on Facebook and follow @wooboxapp on Twitter to see our latest and greatest news, plus other tips and information to help you create and maintain successful social promotions!

Posted in New Feature, Tips | Tagged , , , , , , |

Sweepstakes Help Guide

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Aanjulena

Check out the first in a new Woobox series of informational presentations; designed to guide your understanding of how Woobox offers work and to help you maximize the success of your offers.

You can use the following link to view or share the presentation: http://portal.sliderocket.com/AZCEO/SweepstakesAnatomy

Can’t wait to get going with your own Sweepstakes? Log in to Woobox (or sign up here with your Facebook account) and create a new offer! If you haven’t already subscribed to a Woobox Pro plan, make sure to upgrade your account so you can start your new offer immediately!

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Facebook is Removing App Profile Pages (effective February 1, 2012)

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Aanjulena

Facebook recently announced that they will be removing all App Profile Pages as of February 1, 2012.

App Profile Page Removal Notice

Why should you care?  From this point on, when you create an app to use a custom tab icon, the process has changed, and you’ll need to use a new method for adding your custom icon tab to your Facebook Page.  It used to be that after creating an app, you would simply go to your App Profile Page from the App Settings and click the “Add to Page” link.  This is no longer the case because there will be no App Profile Page.

Luckily, we’ve made the transition a little bit easier for you…  The instructions for setting up custom apps have already been updated with the new method for adding custom icon tabs to your page (see Step 3).

How to Create a Custom App with a Custom Tab Icon (Step 3)

This change will mainly affect users who set up custom apps with custom tab icons.  If you want to try this for yourself, check out the Static IFRAME Tab App for your Facebook Page and then follow these instructions to create a new app with a custom tab icon!

You may notice that apps made before the December 2011 announcement have retained their profile page for the time being.  However, it is important to take note that: As of February 1, 2012 your App Profile Page will be gone forever (according to Facebook).  On that note, eligible pages will have the opportunity to transfer the Likes from the App Profile Page to a traditional Facebook Page.

We’re constantly making changes and adding new features, so keep track of all the great new stuff by following @WooboxApp on Twitter and becoming a fan of Woobox on Facebook!  If you haven’t checked out our apps, sign up with a free Woobox account and try everything for yourself!

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Woobox Short URLs Now Auto-Redirect to Tab and Mobile

Posted on December 16, 2011 by George

We’ve made a major enhancement that will drive users to your Facebook page tab.  Your Woobox short URL will now automatically detect and send desktop users to your Facebook page tab (if it’s installed).  Mobile users (who can’t see Facebook page tabs) will be directed to the mobile-enabled version of your Woobox offer.

This means it’s easier than ever to share your Woobox promotion on your Facebook Wall.   In the past, if you wanted to share a link to the offer tab, you had to use a special URL; although most people typically used the full http://facebook.com/… tab URL.  This had a big downside; when you share a Facebook page tab URL, Facebook automatically uses the page’s info text for the shared message.  Anyone that has tried sharing that way can testify to what a pain it is.  Now you just have to post the Woobox short URL for your offer (i.e., http://woobox.com/q92j8d).

When you post the short URL, the share message will be exactly what you’re expecting straight from the text that was setup in your Woobox offer.  Even better, when desktop users click on your link in a News Feed story, they will be sent straight to the Facebook page tab for your offer.  When mobile users click on the link in a News Feed story, they will be sent to the mobile-enabled version of your offer.  The link will work this way regardless of who is sharing it.

This new method simplifies and improves the old ways to share your coupons, sweepstakes, and other promotions, and keeps more of your offer process inside your Facebook tab.

Add an offer today and check out this new sharing function!  For future updates and general tips, follow @wooboxapp on Twitter and check out our Facebook page!  Not a customer yet? Sign up and you can try everything in preview mode for free.

Posted in New Feature | Tagged , , , , , |

New Feature: Schedule Facebook Page Tab Installs

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Aanjulena

You can now automatically install your Woobox Sweepstakes and other offers to your Facebook page tabs at the offer start date.   All you need to do is go to the Facebook Page Tab section of your offer and click the Install when Offer Starts button.

This is especially great news for anyone who wants to set up multiple offers with different starting dates (e.g., daily or weekly giveaways).  Now you can create all those offers, and schedule the tab to be installed for them at the same time!  No need to return to the Woobox site every day, or week, just to install a new tab — it’s already set to go as soon as the Sweepstakes or other offer begins!  If you have a tab already on your page that has an ended offer, Woobox will automatically reuse that tab for the new offer.

You’ll also notice you can now change your tab name and default landing tab settings on the Facebook Page Tab section of your Woobox offer.   You can go back and edit those settings at any time, and enabling the default landing tab setting will automatically fix the Facebook fangate bug that is still an issue on Facebook pages.

Check out this great new feature today in your Woobox Offer Manager!  Plus, follow @wooboxapp on Twitter and check out our Facebook page for more updates!  Not a customer yet? Sign up and you can try everything in preview mode for free.

Posted in New Feature | Tagged , , , , , , |

Preview Mode Lets You Test & Try Woobox Free

Posted on November 14, 2011 by Aanjulena

A lot of requests have been coming in recently for the ability to preview offers before making them available to the public.  So, naturally, we added a Preview Mode – to everything!  This means you now have the option to set up an offer and do a test-run on your Facebook Page tabs before you actually make it go live!

No more worrying about fans visiting a page tab that is still a work in progress, or Sweepstakes entries to a contest that isn’t supposed to start yet – just keep it all hidden from the public eye (visible by admins only) until you’re ready to unveil your next masterpiece!  Check it out in your Woobox Promotions Manager.

Preview Mode from Woobox Account

Change Preview Mode options when you Edit offers in your Woobox account .

Now, even users with free accounts have the capability to set up any type of promotion, to see how it could look as a campaign.  This is great news for anyone who has been on the fence about signing up for a Plus or Pro-level plan, because Preview Mode allows you to try all of our offer types before you pay or implement them.  Go ahead, log in and create a new offer to experiment with!

We’ve also enabled Preview Mode in our free Custom HTML Page Tab app.  You can now make your like-gated Facebook page tab visible to admins only so users to your page tab won’t see your tab content until you’re ready.

Preview Mode from Facebook Page

Keep your Custom Tab under wraps until you're ready to share it with the world; just click the Preview Mode icon at the top of your Tab Settings page.

Posted in New Feature | Tagged , , , , , |

Running Contests & Promotions on Google+

Posted on November 10, 2011 by George

Have you read the Google+ page promotion policies yet?  Here they are: http://www.google.com/intl/en/+/policy/pagescontestpolicy.html

The first line of the policy reads: You may not run contests, sweepstakes, offers, coupons or other such promotions (“Promotion”) directly on your Google+ Page. What does that really mean?  What is directly on the page?

Google helps clarify in the next sentence:  You may display a link on your Google+ Page to a separate site where your Promotion is hosted … Great. That’s exactly what Woobox does, host your promotions.   Since there is no Google+ equivalent (yet) to a Facebook tab, and no way to actually build a page app for Google pages, the policy language is probably temporary.   It’s hard to imagine Google won’t change these restrictions once they launch apps.  Promotion apps are one of the most popular ways pages engage with users on Facebook and Google will want to provide a means to do that in some way on their platform.

So what are these policies trying to accomplish then?  In reality they aren’t much different than what Facebook restricts.  On Facebook, you can’t use any Facebook mechanism as the means of entering a promotion.    You can restrict and gate promotions behind liking, but you can’t say “click the Like button and you’re automatically entered.”  Google’s policy is really accomplishing the same thing.  Given there are no apps for pages, if you were to run a promotion directly on a Google+ page it would be something similar to add us to your circle for a chance to win.   Facebook requires you to use a third party app for your promotions, Google doesn’t have apps yet, so no promotions directly on the page… yet.

Of course that doesn’t stop you from posting your Woobox promotions on your Google+ wall.  We’re already working on adding Google+ page functionality to our apps so expect an announcement soon on that.  If you want to add Woobox to your circles, you can find our Google+ page here.

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