The best social media contests will engage users and boost
brand recognition while generating leads. However, a great contest needs to be
planned well in advance and executed carefully. Here are some tips to help you
run a successful social media contest:
Before you launch a contest, you need to decide what you
want to offer as the prize. It should be appealing, unique, high perceived
value, difficult to acquire outside of the competition and relevant to your
business. You can also use social media ad targeting to optimise your giveaway
to people who are most likely to enter your contest.
The length of a social media contest will affect its
success, and should be planned accordingly. It should be long enough to
generate momentum, create buzz and provide opportunities for engagement. But it
should not be too long, as people can easily become bored and stop engaging.
Make sure that there is a clear timeframe in place for the
completion of the contest and that the winner will be chosen in a timely
manner. This will give participants a sense of urgency and ensure that they
take action promptly.
Whether it's a caption challenge, creative answer contest or
photo contest, make sure to clearly state the rules before anyone can
participate in your social media contest. This will help you avoid any legal
issues that may arise later, as well as making it easier to select a winner.
The prize for your social media contest should be something
that will encourage participants to share their experiences with your brand on
their personal social media accounts. This is often referred to as
"user-generated content" and is a great way to promote your brand
while also building relationships with your followers.
Choosing a theme for your contest can help you attract more
entrants and increase its longevity. Whether you're running a scavenger hunt or
a quiz, people will want to participate if the contest is tied to an ongoing
campaign or event.
One way to boost participation is by creating a branded
hashtag for your contest. Hashtag challenges have a proven record of being an
effective way to reach a wide audience and promote your brand at the same time.
Scavenger hunts are a fun way to engage your target audience
on social media. You can use hashtags to hide clues in posts across your
channels, or you can ask entrants to guess the answer to a specific question or
find specific items.
You can even create an Instagram-based scavenger hunt that
will send entrants to your website for more information on the product or
service you're offering. You can even encourage your scavenger hunters to
submit their photos or videos for the chance to win the prize!
