News and event information for Williams Lake, BC - as it happens.

We are delighted to announce that the winner of our ‘Facebook Fan Appreciation Season’ Sweepstakes, a fun promotion we started on December 5 to thank our Facebook ‘friends’,  is Heather Berkelaar from Williams Lake. In our draw on December 31 she won a $500 travel voucher courtesy of All Ways Travel. 

(Photo: Sweepstakes winner Heather Berkelaar.)

Heather said that she really liked the fact that the contest featured a local news website and local businesses. “I thought it was awesome—a bonus was that I discovered a couple of businesses that I didn’t know about,” she said. “And the little giveaways in the contest were very fun: they really get your attention.” 

She said that she’s a regular visitor to welcometowilliamslake.ca. “I like that it’s just about Williams Lake and that news is fast,” she explained. “If something happens like fires, or accidents or a power outage, the site gives you the ‘why’ and the important information. 

“That’s what I like and it’s how we get our news.”  That’s what other contest participants said, too. Here are some things people liked: 

•  up to date news you don't get anywhere else

•  current news that's easy to access

•  friendly and fun and very local

•  a variety of in-depth stories

•  news as it's unfolding

•  the best way to keep in touch with my hometown when I'm gone

•  great debate on news topics

•  great local news that is relative to me

Facebook has an instant reaction time, and our fans’ comments often lead us in different directions and inspire us in our follow up to news stories in our community. We get a lot of news tips and story leads from Facebook fans.  

We have one of the largest Facebook fan bases in Williams Lake. We started the contest with 2,145 ‘friends’ and are now at 2,310. We also invited local businesses and organizations to take advantage of our 2,145 fan base to promote their own Facebook pages—giving our fans a chance to learn more about some other local businesses. Eight businesses responded. 

People who entered our sweepstakes could join the participating business’ Facebook page and were eligible to win an additional $1,256 in prizes and giveaways. 

If you're asking yourself what the big deal is about new Facebook 'friends' or 'fans' is for a business, you might be interested to know that Facebook has the second highest amount of traffic on the Internet, only to be outdone by Google itself.  If a business attracts people who need or desire their services or products to join their Facebook page, they can broadcast news products and sales and promotions to their target market.  Oh, and did we mention that it's free?

“I really appreciate being involved in the Facebook contest, especially because Facebook is such an asset to connecting with our clients,” said Janelle Lamont from Tickled Pink Beauty Bar. “It was great to be able to offer a variety of unique prizes to everyone from local businesses and to be able to associate with quality businesses in the community. 

“Not only did we gain many new Facebook fans, but it was a really fun way to advertise locally. The contest really took off, and it was nice to see how excited and involved people were,” she went on. “Tickled Pink looks forward to the next Facebook contest by the Welcome to Williams Lake team!” 

During the time of this promotion, participants gained between 10 and 271 new ‘friends’ on their Facebook business pages.  

Welcometowilliamslake.ca chose All Ways Travel because travel appeals to everyone and because they are a very community-oriented business. As an advertiser on our site, they loved the idea of the contest. 

(Photo:  Sylvia Rashbrook, owner of All-Ways Travel in WIlliams Lake.)

Another winner in our contest was Cariboo resident Patti Gerhardi.  Brian Stefan from Canadian Tire donated $50 gift cards, anyone who was already a ‘fan’ of our Facebook page could enter, and if they got someone else to ‘like’ us, that person won, too. Patti won the cards in our draw on December 20, she donated one card to the Williams Lake Salvation Army Food Bank and the second to a friend in need. 

Steve Harkies from Juniper Trails Bed and Breakfast said that it was a pleasure to take part in this promotion. Juniper Trails offered a one-night stay at their beautifully renovated and modernized facility. 

“Social media plays a big role in our marketing plans, as word-of-mouth is huge in this small-scaled business model,” he stated. “I've been quite active on Facebook, keeping my content up-to-date, fun and engaging, so being part of a widespread contest was a great opportunity to expand our presence on Facebook and getting more ‘likes.’ 

“I also extended our ‘1 Night’ giveaway to our current Facebook fans. We ended up with 103 entries as of December 31st. Annie Burrill won our ‘1 Night Stay’, and I've posted it on our Facebook site. 

(Photo: Owners Emily and Steve Harkies welcomed visitors today for the grand opening of Juniper Trails Bed and Breakfast.)

“We'll now do our best to keep all of our Fans entertained, hoping to retain all of them, while expanding our network even further.” 

We at Got New Network Inc. extend a big thank-you to our readers, our advertisers and our Facebook fans---we hope you enjoyed this contest as much as we did.

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