PHOTO CONTEST

Our idea was to develop a Facebook app which businesses could use to create a photo contest for engaging users. Why exactly this kind of contest? Our in-depth research of the social network’s user base revealed that the uploading and sharing of photos is one of the most popular activities on Facebook, regardless of demographics. Thanks to the built-in cameras of smart devices, it is easy to take a photo and to upload it right away. This is another important factor for driving a large number of people to this type of contest. The fact that participants compete with one another is also incredibly stimulating and leads to even greater engagement.

Our competitor analysis covered mainly the global leaders in the Facebook app market. It enabled us to choose between alternative approaches and solutions and to identify weaknesses that had to be avoided. We were truly inspired and came up with various original ideas for the app’s features. After evaluating them, we picked the best ones.

Our preliminary research also included our Facebook app’s target market - companies. We focused on the needs and requirements of the brands fighting for customers in the modern dynamic and highly competitive market environment. This is how we decided on the best channel for selling the app - entirely online, with the purchase and installation being completely automated.

We had to create a detailed and precise project plan, given the great amount of work required for the building of the app and its website, which would include price plans matching the needs of small, medium-sized and large companies. During the planning phase, we determined the project’s timeline and budget. With task allocation based on the talents and capabilities of each team member, we provided for achieving high productivity.

Once the conceptual design of the Facebook app was absolutely perfect, we moved on to designing and developing the application. In our work, we adhered strictly to the requirements and policies of the social network. The building of the website, where the software product would be offered, was also going right on track. We put a lot of hard work, technical skill and creative inspiration into this project and the end result was even better than expected.

An Automated Solution for Maximum Efficiency
Each company can discover our software solution, Facebook Photo Contest, at the product’s website www.appsfountain.com, which offers detailed information on the features, the management system and everything else that marketers would be interested in learning. The demo gives prospects a clear idea of how the app works. Each customer can select the subscription plan which best matches their marketing objectives and budget. This is how we have made the software a highly versatile solution, accessible to companies of different sizes, industries and growth stages. The plans offer annual subscription for the software, with each one featuring a different number of photos per contest and per contestant.

The purchase of a license for using the software is made entirely online. The customer fills out a short form to provide the information necessary for issuing an invoice. There is no need for a personal visit to our office or for telephone or email ordering. To make things even more convenient for buyers, we integrated a diverse range of payment methods into the website. The list includes debit and credit card payments via a virtual POS, online payment via PayPal or its Bulgarian equivalent ePay.bg, bank account transfer, ATM payment via B-Pay and payment at any branch of EasyPay in Bulgaria. After the payment has been processed, the system that we built automatically issues a license for use of the software product on the brand’s Facebook page. The company can start using the app right away. Our team is always available to provide technical support and customer care. The Photo Contest app is set up directly on the brand’s Facebook page, like Samsonite, for example. It is accessible via a special tab in the horizontal menu at the top of the page. The tab comes with several icon options. It is also possible to order a custom icon which to reflect your brand’s unique identity. What does the app do to engage a larger audience more effectively on the social network?

Creative Features for Effective Marketing
Our main goal was to give users a unique, engaging experience with lots of options for personalizing the content. The marketing and ad elements do their job without getting in the way of the fun. We wanted people to enjoy great entertainment, while the game and social network interactions integrated into the contest work for generating ever greater brand and product awareness. We created excellently working features for reaching this marketing objective:

• Signing up - To be able to upload and/or vote for photos, users simply have to push a few buttons, after they have logged into their Facebook account. There is no need for filling out a form. To take part in the contest, users need to like the brand’s page. This is how the social interactions start working in favor of the brand right away.  
• Uploading photos and adding descriptions - The uploading of a photo from a computer or an external drive takes only a few seconds. All you have to do is to click on a button. Users also have the option of selecting a photo from their Facebook albums. This is super convenient and helps to increase the participation rate. They can also add a description to the photo or share an interesting story related to it. Fun, right?
• Organizing personal photos - Users can arrange their photos participating in the contest based on the date of uploading and the number of likes. We gave them a quick view feature too.
• Viewing, liking and commenting on photos - It is possible to view the photos of all contestants and the ones uploaded by your friends separately. We made liking a photo the equivalent of voting for it. Participants can vote with the touch of a button. Leaving a comment is equally convenient. This is how we engage the brand’s target audience in more ways than one.
• Sharing photos - This feature allows users to share photos participating in the contest directly on their Facebook wall. Each one of their friends on the social network can see, like and share those photos. This is fundamental for making the contest go viral - a growing number of people learn about it and are motivated to take part in it. As the number of participants increases, so does brand awareness. The brand’s Facebook page gains more loyal fans. To maximize the effect, we gave users the option to get links to their photos and share them via email, Skype and chat.
• Inviting friends - Participants in the photo contest can invite their Facebook friends to join the fun. This is yet another social network interaction working in favor of the brand.
• Checking the current rankings and the prizes - Everyone can see how they are performing compared to others. The system shows real-time rankings. It is possible to sort the rankings based on different criteria for the purpose of doing better “tactical analysis”. Viewing the prizes is extremely motivating, no matter whether you have just entered the contest or hold the top position.
• Access to the competition’s terms and conditions - Users can gain clear and concise information about the rules of the contest, the closing date and other important details directly.
• Reporting problems and violations of the rules - We set up a one-click reporting system enabling our technical department to find out about bugs immediately and eliminate them in the fastest possible way. Users can also report photos which violate the rules to the administrator, who can take the required action via the admin panel, which we built especially for the game.

The Facebook app Photo Contest has all the features necessary for attracting and engaging the users of the social network. People enjoy the experience, while the brand gets greater popularity and a stronger positive image. To maximize the results, we gave businesses the opportunity to manage their photo contests individually for reaching their objectives.

Multifunctional CMS
Upon the issuing of their software license, each business customer gets an account at www.appsfountain.com. The account gives the company access to the tailor-made CMS for managing photo contests on Facebook. The admin panel, which is easy and intuitive to use, features a large number of tools.

The customer data receives the highest level of protection. Logging into the system is completely secure. The password is effectively protected. All admin panel features are organized in a functional menu. In the “Contests” section, there is a chart with the status of each contest - active, pending or completed. Creating a new contest requires a minimal amount of time and effort. The administrator can customize the contest fully by giving it a title (topic) and setting start and end dates. It is also possible to create terms and conditions based on the company’s policy and marketing objectives. The app’s written content, which users see, can be modified at any time via a specially designed word processor. Brands can choose from more than 200 main screen themes. This is how the welcome banner can match perfectly both the brand’s style and the contest’s topic.

It is easy to enter and edit prizes. The administrator can add a description to the photo of each prize with a few clicks. Adding the logo of the brand providing the prize is also an option. This is an incredibly useful feature for retailers whose goal is to promote a specific product or product collection. Each prize can be changed or deleted.

Once all settings have been adjusted, the administrator can activate the contest by clicking on a button. Deactivating it is equally easy. The button “To photo contest” enables the administrator to view the contest directly on Facebook. The company can add the contest’s logo linking to it on their website to attract more existing customers to join in.

The admin panel comes with a full set of features for managing the content uploaded by users. The administrator can delete photos which are inappropriate, no matter whether they have been reported by users on not. The same applies to inappropriate comments also. We created a special search engine for the app to enable quicker access to specific content.

To make the Photo Contest Facebook app highly effective for marketing, we included detailed user analytics in the admin panel. The system generates aggregated user demographic data including gender, age and location. The data is presented in color diagrams for easier and more effective analysis. The statistics about the number of users, the number of participants and the number of uploaded, liked and shared photos are always up to date. This is also true for the number of visits to the contest’s page, the unique number of visits (by individual users) and the number of impressions. Each statistical category has its own stylized icon so that it can be found quickly. The system also provides links to the Facebook profiles of participants in the contest. These links can be used for other marketing purposes such as direct advertising on the social network.

The company's account management features are also accessible via the admin panel. It is easy to change the profile information and the password. The license issued to the company is accessible at all times.

Reliable Maintenance and Upgrading
Our team takes good care of the Facebook application Photo Contest to ensure that it works impeccably at all times. At the time of building the app, we chose to use the Amazon AWS platform to give it the most dependable hosting environment. We provide complete technical maintenance. The well-functioning monitoring system guarantees that even the smallest glitch is eliminated straight away.

Business customers can report a technical problem through their account by filling out and sending a short form. This service is part of the account’s help center, which offers useful resources and FAQ also. The ticketing system which we use guarantees that we receive each report instantly and reply quickly. This is also the case when the customer uses email to contact us. Each problem reported by a customer or a user of the app is eliminated in the shortest possible time.

We optimize the application in line with the latest Facebook and technology trends. The PhotoContest app is always up to date, super fun and highly engaging. Making the software’s management ever more effective is also among our main priorities. To enable businesses to follow what’s going on with their Facebook application and with each photo contest using smartphones and tablets, we built a custom mobile app for Android and iOS. Entering a username and password is required for accessing the content. The mobile app’s users can view the uploaded photos, the information about them and the analytics generated by the system which are presented with graphs.

The Facebook Photo Contest app has proven to be an effective marketing tool. It has already been used by hundreds of small and large companies of different industries, with most customers having created more than one photo contest. The app has been the main component of the marketing campaigns of many of our clients. Take a closer look at the software product and all of its features plus the subscription plans on offer at www.appsfountain.com.