CarMD® Earns 2013 PR News' Social Media Icon Award for Facebook Fans & Friends Contest

IRVINE, Calif., April 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- CarMD.com Corporation, a leading provider of consumer automotive information and products, has earned top honors from PR News' Social Media Icon Awards in the Best Facebook Marketing Campaign (budget under $10k) category.   The award was given to the company that best leveraged Facebook to build customer base and mindshare.  CarMD also earned an honorable mention for its YouTube Marketing Campaign featuring CarMD® Motion Commotion videos. The inaugural Social Media Icon Awards were presented during a luncheon held Wednesday, April 17 at the Grand Hyatt in New York City, honoring social media campaigns in more than two dozen categories.  

Hosted on CarMD's Facebook page (www.facebook.com/CarMD), the "CarMD® Facebook Fans & Friends Contest" was designed to increase CarMD's fan base and expose the brand to more consumers within a short three-week period. CarMD utilized prizes, such as the popular Apple® iPad and award winning CarMD® Vehicle Health System™, to entice followers to share CarMD with friends. The company set a goal to grow from 4,000 to 8,000 fans, and helped push shares by giving a bonus entry for each referred friend.  The campaign quickly became viral, reaching its goal in only 8 days. By the time the contest wrapped up, CarMD had 12,835 fans – a 206% increase in fan base.  More importantly, CarMD saw increased engagement with its brand. Ivy Kao, CarMD's marketing coordinator and contest idea originator commented, "It was exciting to see increased engagement with our brand."  She added that it was also inspiring to see all the wall posts from current users stating how much they liked their CarMD product, resulting in increased online sales as well.

"CarMD has recognized and embraced the importance of incorporating social marketing into our public relations and marketing campaigns, which is why it's such an honor to receive this recognition from PR News," said Kristin Brocoff, CarMD's director of corporate communications. "We have found social media outlets such as Facebook to be an ideal medium to educate and engage consumers, and to promote our brand. We continue to search for new and creative ways to use social media in future campaigns."  

The Social Media Icon Awards recognizes companies and campaigns that took changes, made incredible strides and understand the power of social media in public relations. For more information about the Social Media Icon Awards, including a complete list of winners, visit http://www.prnewsonline.com/socialmediaiconawards2013.

The mission of Irvine, Calif.-based CarMD.com Corporation is to empower consumers and the vehicle market by providing the tools and information needed to make better-educated decisions about their vehicles' health and maintenance. An ISO 9001:2008-certified company, CarMD's premiere product is the CarMD® Vehicle Health System™, which provides drivers with a way to identify and diagnose check engine repairs, safety issues and problems that may negatively impact a car's fuel economy. The company has built the largest, most up-to-date database of diagnostic trouble codes, expert fixes and repair costs, which it uses to compile its CarMD® Vehicle Health Index™, a leading automotive repair resource.  For more information, visit www.CarMD.com, or follow CarMD at www.facebook.com/carmd, www.twitter.com/carmd or www.youtube.com/carmd.

SOURCE CarMD.com Corporation