Many brands are just starting to build a facebook fan page and are looking for the best way to engage their  Facebook fans.  Most find that simply updating a status from time to time may not be enough to motivate fans to interact. Because of this, many companies have opted to use these pages as a place to run contests and have seen some awesome results. Businesses find that contests are perfect for Facebook because they are fun, they get fans involved and interacting with the page, and they have the potential to go viral.

*Update: Facebook has issued new guidelines for running a contest on your Facebook Fan Page. For more info on these changes, read here: New Rules for Facebook Contests – Does Your Brand Qualify?

All in all, a big win for brands.

That’s why, when our client Buzztime had a prize worth more than $12,000 dollars, we recommended starting a contest of its own on its Facebook fan page. The Buzztime Facebook contest will give the Buzztime team new and different content on the fan page and help them further develop the page for future fans. And by running it on its own page rather than somewhere else, it is not only giving back to the 1,300+ fans who already love them, but also reaching out to new fans and exposing them to its page.

So, you are wondering, what is this fabulous Facebook contest and can you enter? Yes, friends, you can. The details are below:

Buzztime is asking fans to create a video, less than 60 seconds, that shows either:

1. Your best victory dance or

2. Why You are the ultimate sports fan.

You can be submit your video until  11:59 PM on August 23 by uploading it directly to the Facebook Fan Page (www.facebook.com/buzztimegames). After August 23, the voting begins.

Starting August 24, Buzztime fans will vote for their favorite video by “liking” it, and the video with the most “likes” wins!

And what, exactly is this $12,000 prize you ask? Well, the winner and a friend will be flown to the Bahamas (yes, seriously) and will get to meet 25 top sports legends including Troy Aikman, Jerry West, Mike Ditka, Tony Hawk, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and Richard Petty. Not only will the winner get to spend 3 days at the glorious Atlantis resort, they will also receive a complimentary seat into the Sports Legends Challenge poker tournament where they will have a chance to win a million dollars. And all this, for simply uploading a video to Facebook.

So feel free to break out your flip cams and start rolling. This doesn’t need to be a high-tech production. Buzztime just wants to see people having fun, getting creative and engaging with its Facebook fan page.

And what about all of you business owners and marketing managers? Have any of your companies’ hosted Facebook contests before? Was it successful in reaching your goals and increasing fan interaction?