A Better Virtual – USA Virtual Offices

Are mobile workers interested in the Apple iPad? Virtual office companies must think they are. Two of the leading companies in the virtual office space are offering iPad sweepstakes.

First up, RingCentral. RingCentral is using the iPad giveaway as a way to draw people to its Facebook fan page. RingCentral is calling it the “Keep it Touch Giveaway.” The virtual PBX company is actually giving away five iPads—one every week. This contest started on June 29, so there’s still plenty of time to get in.

All you have to do is become a fan of RingCentral on Facebook by clicking the “Like” button. Then go to the sweepstakes tab and enter to win between now and August 2, 2010. RingCentral is giving away the 16GB WiFi versions of the iPad. Those typically run about $499. RingCentral also mentioned an Apple Store gift card of equivalent value as a substitute, likely because there is a shortage of iPads!

Davinci Virtual is also running an iPad sweepstakes. In fact, the virtual office company already gave one away on June 1. Davinci Virtual is giving away a second iPad on September 1. Instead of working to drive Facebook fan page members, though, Davinci is using it purely as a lead generation tool. When you click on the sweepstakes entry page, you fill out a form and agree to allow Davinci to call you.

Now, I am quite sure RingCentral is also using its iPad sweepstakes as a lead generation tool. RingCentral is using the Wildfire promotions app on Facebook to run its contest. It’s quite possible that Wildfire is collecting e-mail addresses—they ask for your e-mail address when you sign up for the sweepstakes. If so, RingCentral is getting the best of both worlds: fans and leads. If not, RingCentral can still use the Facebook fan update page to send out special messages to its fans, just like e-mail.

Related posts:

1. Buffalo Virtual Office Users Wins iPad Sweepstakes
2. Opus Virtual Offices Gives Away iPad
3. The Virtual Office Meets the iPad via Citrix
4. Orlando Office Centers Launches Virtual Office Sweepstakes
5. RingCentral Launches “No Hardware” Video Contest