Residents vote by the thousands in facebook charitable giving contests sponsored by bank of ann arbor.

ack in 2011, the Bank of Ann Arbor, Michigan, decided to try out the idea of using social media contests in connection with charitable-giving campaigns. No other bank in the region had used such an approach before, and the bank felt that the contest would not only generate a lot of excitement but would also make the bank stand out.

The first effort was entitled the Sweet 15 Charity Drive. The bank offered to divide up a $75,000 donation among 15 local nonprofits. Residents had to vote on which of 600 local nonprofits would receive the money. To vote, residents went to the bank's Facebook page and used an app located there.

The voting was cut off after two weeks, and the 15 winners were placed on the site and residents were invited to participate in a second round of two-week voting. Voting was interactive because, in order to vote, the resident had to respond to a contest question involving the number "15."

For example, the voter might be asked to describe in one word what it felt like to be 15 years old. Responses were retained by the app and could be viewed by others. Nonprofits receiving the largest number of votes were awarded a larger share of the money. The top vote getter received $10,000.

To promote the campaign, the bank sent letters in advance to all of the 600 nonprofits and asked them to encourage their supporters to participate in the voting. The bank also put up promotional materials in branches and asked all bank...