How did Sony Ericsson gain 3 million Facebook fans so fast?

Over the past six months there has been a dramatic increase of fan numbers on the Sony Ericsson Facebook page, now showing at 3,078,716 fans. Statistics show that fan numbers have in fact doubled since mid-October.

Q. What is driving fan loyalty and what social media activities does the company use to build such a following?

A. Give-away contests, a strategy which has been popular amongst consumers long-term, both online and off. Sony has been giving away prizes ranging from phones to World Cup tickets in exchange for fan loyalty and participation.

Competitions have ranged from giving fans the chance to win one of the latest Sony Ericsson handsets via a weekly trivia question, or the opportunity to win tickets to last summer’s FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

The latest giveaway contest from Sony launched on Facebook, celebrates its Xperia X10 mini phone launch, challenging fans to compete for a free handset.

The Mini Magic contest asks fans to upload images of their favorite “mini” things, using a Facebook app . At the end of the contest on January 17, the top five with the most votes will win an Xperia X10 mini pro, and the 10 runners-up will win an Xperia X10 mini.