Why are all the contests on Facebook?

[trvlcrzy]

That folks are cutting themselves off from a certain aspect communication because they find it "Creepy"

 

I'm not being defensive here, but if the use of the word creepy is a reference to my earlier post, it is the online friendships with students that I find creepy... not the fact that people enjoy Facebook.

 

Also, I find that my addiction to Cruise Critic takes enough of my time. I must refrain from additional addiction.

[Candy]

Facebook is everywhere. HAL would be remiss (IMO) not to be a part of it. If you want to enter that particular contest - join Facebook. If you dont want to join Facebook, then you cant enter...snip

From post #40:

If you go to

http://www.hollandamerica.com

and scroll to the bottom of the page you will find a link for

Enter to Win a Cruise

.

 

I imagine these contest offers appear right on HAL's home page from time to time. Nothing to join.

[bepsf]

I'm not being defensive here, but if the use of the word creepy is a reference to my earlier post, it is the online friendships with students that I find creepy... not the fact that people enjoy Facebook.

 

Fair enough - But all you have to do is simply not accept a student's friend request, and they won't have access to your posts or info (depending on your privacy settings)

 

If they ask in person - simply explain why you feel it isn't appropriate.

I do the same with co-workers and my company: I don't want my personal online life to cross over to my work.

[Krazy Kruizers]

If you go to http://www.hollandamerica.com and scroll to the bottom of the page you will find a link for Enter to Win a Cruise.

 

I imagine these contest offers appear right on HAL's home page from time to time. Nothing to join.

 

 

The one on HAL's site is a chance to win a 7 -11 day Alaska or Europe cruise.

The one on Facebook indicated that it is for TWO verandah cabins in Alaska.

They don't sound the same to me.

[Candy]

The one on HAL's site is a chance to win a 7 -11 day Alaska or Europe cruise.The one on Facebook indicated that it is for TWO verandah cabins in Alaska.They don't sound the same to me.

Thanks for the correction... there IS an opportunity to enter a contest, even if the prizes are different. I wonder why :confused:

 

Candy

[Lizzie1213]

If I were to enter the contest and "like" HAl, then all my "friends" would see. If thousands of people were to that....well, think of all the advertising!

[NMLady]

We refuse to use that or the other networking sites so why should we be penalized? We are stockholders and 3 star Mariners.

 

I do not have a Facebook account and I was able to register on the Holland America site for a sweepstakes giving away a free cruise, so obviously not all the HAL contests are on Facebook.

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/allcruisecontest/AllCruise.action?adCampaign=halochpmed

[Lady Chew]

I have quite a few friends who are teachers, and some of them use their maiden names, or their mother's maiden names, or their MIL's maiden names as their FB contact. That way students can't even find them to ask if they can "friend" them.

[Bippie]

I do look forward to wide release of Google's answer to Facebook. The Google version will allow you to have separate profiles - teachers could have one profile for professional online communication with students and another profile for their personal friends. I also believe that Facebook will have to add such a feature to stay competative. That's just my opinion....

 

Also interesting is seeing whether businesses will do as much with the new Google service as they currently do with Facebook (HAL included).

[Jade13]

We refuse to use that or the other networking sites so why should we be penalized? We are stockholders and 3 star Mariners.

 

Same here.

[Jade13]

I also refuse to join Facebook, Twitter, or anything like those sites -- they just don't interest me.

 

HAL should place those contests on their own site - and if they want to -- on Facebook, etc.

 

That should make everyone happy.

 

Agree.

[Bippie]

But you are missing the point - HAL is running a promotion. If they run one on Facebook, that's their marketing decision to increase visits to their Facebook page. No one forces you to join Facebook and there is no charge if you choose not to join. This is no different than HAL running a promotion in Time magazine - you don't have to purchase a copy or read the magazine if you don't want to.

 

Krazy Kruizers is missing a point by stating HAL should place those contests on their own site. Just as Krazy Kruizers does not want to join Facebook, some people don't want to get on the Internet. (Seems quite odd to those of us on CC but those people do exist.) Putting the contest on HAL's web site could alienate those who don't want to use a computer or get on the Internet just as putting the contest on Facebook appears to alienate you.

 

Not joining Facebook or not using the Internet is a personal choice and your choice is not really the concern of HAL's marketing efforts. HAL obviously uses a number of outlets for their marketing efforts - the Internet, Facebook, direct mail, and even occasionally television. They have provided alternative means of entry so why should anyone care if they promote their cruises via Facebook? No one is forcing you to join Facebook and you are not prevented from entering the contest.

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

I noticed yesterday that a local TV station is also having a contest on Facebook and not on their web site. The station also chooses a Facebook Person of the Day on the 6AM news. Looks to be a growing trend not just in the cruise industry. And as Bippie and others say - a marketing tool.

[Typhoon1]

You hit that nail square on the head!:)

 

Yes John, those numbers can't be beat.

[gelo7]

People on Facebook

 

More than 750 million active users

50% of active users log on to Facebook in any given day

Average user has 130 friends

People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook

 

 

This is why Hal is utilizing this resource.

Get with the times or get left behind.

[Amber14]

One cool thing about HAL's Facebook page is that someone from Holland America is constantly reading it because they reply to people all the time. They answer questions, thank people for their complements & apologize for bad experiences. They also refer people to their FB Roll Call and give them email addresses to contact if they have problems. I think that's great PR. :)

[vbmom87]

If you refuse to use FB, how do you know there are contests there?:confused:

 

I received an email from HAL telling me I could enter a contest on Facebook. I, too, was unhappy about that. They should have more than one option of entering the contest.

[tcook052]

I received an email from HAL telling me I could enter a contest on Facebook. I, too, was unhappy about that. They should have more than one option of entering the contest.

 

More than one way of entering a FB specific contest? As has beem mentioned several times this contest is solely for FB users and there are several other non-FB contests open to those who don't want to join FB.

 

I'm in the camp that says this contest is in addition to the other marketing avenues HAL uses and isn't meant to replace or supplant the other marketing vehicles.

[RetiredMustang]

Get with the times or get left behind.

 

Ah, but left behind from what? The Great Lemming Stampede? The one-way ferry-boat Styx trans-river cruise? :D

 

I know in broad strokes how at least Facebook and Twitter work, but what I really don't get is why. CC puts out only as much personal info as I feel like releasing, while Facebook seems quite a bit more intrusive. I communicate with family and close friends through email, or (can you imagine!) real-life face-to-face interaction, phone calls or cards and letters in the mail (what's that?).

 

And, 140 characters on Twitter seems to me like just enough for a brain dripping but not enough to develop a coherent thought; so, what's the point? I don't really know what the other sites do, because I've never cared enough to find out. (Clearly, I am neither an early nor a late adopter.)

 

What I do get, however, is marketing. Facebook et al have been out there long enough that most people pretty much have chosen whether to participate or not, and I admit that probably 70% do. So, following the Willie Sutton axiom, it is not a shock that HAL and other companies are on Facebook. Companies would be anywhere they think their message may be seen and possibly influence consumer behavior.

 

Why they are particularly giving better contests on Facebook can only be to drive their numbers up and get more traffic specifically to that site. Why they would do that over other media I don't know, but perhaps their competitors have a bigger presence on Facebook, but I still have to ask, so what?, if it does not drive the bottom line. I would think they would flood all the media with the contests.

 

Further to the idea that we have all pretty much decided to participate in social media or not, I thought that, since I had never heard of the Facebook contest, that if HAL were trying to get non-adopters to Facebook, why would they not at least invite people via the other media to visit the Facebook site? After all, if they wanted people not on Facebook to go there, why would they only advertise on Facebook -- how would we "others" even know it was there? Then yesterday I got a Mariners' news email (how quaint, email, like a buggy whip or something :rolleyes:), with a link to the Facebook contest.

 

I don't do the website or email contests, or even the hard-copy, snail mail Mariners magazine ones, so am not tempted to go to Facebook just to enter a HAL contest.

 

But, I suppose I understand why they are there, even though they are not targeting me. What I don't understand is why they are preferentially there.

 

Dave

[PEMCO007]

VBMOM: Sorry for hijacking this thread, just saw your review of your recent HAL cruise and noticed you stayed in a HH cabin, would you mind telling me which cabin it was as I believe the view was not too obstructed, my mil is looking at this cabin for christmas. Please forgive me if I have broken any rules, that was not my intention.

Rachael

[Bippie]

RetiredMustang: I don't know what you meant by "preferentially there". The OP found out about the contest via an email from HAL. HAL is obviously trying to increase their Facebook activity.

 

Like others have posted, I'm not a fan of giving up so much information to the world on Facebook. However, a large number of people in this world have already made that decision. That is one of the reasons I am interested in Google+ since they are allowing users much more control about who sees what. If Google+ becomes popular enough, Facebook will have to address this issue.

 

By the way, Google+ just became available to everyone yesterday. I'm going to give it a try to determine if this might be my venue for increased participation in social networking. CC forums so far have been my major online social outlet.

[RetiredMustang]

RetiredMustang: I don't know what you meant by "preferentially there". ... HAL is obviously trying to increase their Facebook activity.

...

 

What I meant by "preferentially there" was not that they were only on Facebook, but rather that they apparently are running the contest on Facebook with perceived better prizes over the one on, for example, their web site; that is, they are preferring Facebook over other means/media of advertising. I too concluded that they were trying to increase their Facebook activity, but am not sure just why to do so instead of hitting all the media the same.

 

Dave

[Honeybearhollow]

In my 60's, enjoy facebook, hadn't heard about the contest, so thanks for sharing. Now I'll register. It is true that some of us older people are resistant to change and new things, but once we try it we sometimes are the biggest advocates. I enjoy facebook because it allows me to keep in pretty much constant contact with friends, relatives, and especially the grandkids. But I would definitely not have done it when I taught school for all of the reasons listed above.