Tools for the Trade: Wildfire gives platform for Facebook promotions

Tickets to the Victoria Secret fashion show. Backstage tour passes with Kelly Clarkson. A free trip to Napa Valley. All of these things and more are possible with Facebook promotions and sweepstakes through Wildfire. The Wildfire app allows you to easily conduct fun, interactive promotions for brand marketing on the Facebook platform. Wildfire is based…

In Tools for the Trade, Silicon Prairie News contributor John T. Meyer writes about apps the he either finds useful in his company, 9 Clounds, Inc., or thinks would be useful to startups.

Tickets to the Victoria Secret fashion show. Backstage tour passes with Kelly Clarkson. A free trip to Napa Valley. All of these things and more are possible with Facebook promotions and sweepstakes through Wildfire. The Wildfire app allows you to easily conduct fun, interactive promotions for brand marketing on the Facebook platform.

Wildfire is based in Palo Alto, Calif. and has really caught fire (pun intended) in the last 12-18 months. The app provides a super slick platform to build your interactive promotion from the ground up. As a campaign manager, you can use easy Wildfire design templates or build a custom white label application. You can run a variety of campaigns, including sweepstakes, video contests, giveaways, essay contests and more. Wildfire also has built-in features for sharing a campaign to achieve viral success, and it possesses the analytic ability to measure results.

I recently completed a Wildfire-based campaign for a client on Facebook. We were offering four free trips to Napa Valley to visit the client’s winery and learn the ins and outs of Napa. Contestants were asked to answer a few short essay questions about themselves, and, thanks to Wildfire, the campaign was a success. Within weeks we had nearly 200 applicants apply to become our wine ambassadors.

Screenshot of setting up a Wildfire campaign. Notations by John T. Meyer.

I originally thought Wildfire was unnecessary and figured we could patch our own campaign together. I know how to use Facebook, our staff can handle design and development, and I assumed we could find our target audience and spread our message. However, that last part is easier said than done. Wildfire makes your message inherently viral (much like LaunchRock does for landing pages) and also covers your campaign from a logistical/privacy standpoint. Many people don’t know that giving away a free shirt or ticket on Facebook for simply liking or commenting on a post is technically illegal in Facebook’s terms and conditions. With an application like Wildfire, you’re covered technically and get all the other perks to boot. 

In a big campaign, Wildfire customizations can really allow for a unique feel and can cost a pretty penny. However, for a quick and dirty promotion to attract fans, sell tickets, gain likes or sell products, Wildfire is a great solution and can cost as little as $0.99 a day plus a $5 setup charge. I’m curious if anyone else on the Silicon Prairie has used Wildfire and, if so, what they thought. I give it the Tools for the Trade stamp of approval.

This story is part of the AIM Archive

This story is part of the AIM Institute Archive on Silicon Prairie News. AIM gifted SPN to the Nebraska Journalism Trust in January 2023. Learn more about SPN’s origin »

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