Today most business engage in some sort of digital activity. Given the sheer amount of traffic and “noise” online, it can seem difficult separate your business from the pack. Because of this, businesses aim to gain traction via a variety of means. Social media contests (primarily Facebook), for instance, are highly effective for trying to tap into an audience. But there’s a fair amount that goes into running social media contests. Allow us to detail some of the key factors below.
Know The Terms and Services for Each Social Network
Before setting out, it’s crucial to familiarize yourself with each network’s terms and services. Facebook, for instance, periodically changes their rules and terms for digital contests. We know it sounds boring, but having a concrete knowledge of the rules is imperative before launching your social media contests. You can review Facebook’s pages terms here.
Define Goals, Rules, Type of Contest
The next step is to define all the necessary elements of your social media contest. This includes goals, rules and the type of contest you want to run: What do you hope to accomplish with your contest? More followers, higher engagement, user generated content? Also you need to consider what type of contest you want to run, which in part is related to the goals you want to accomplish. If you want to encourage followers generate their own content, consider a photo upload and sharing contest. In addition, having clearly defined rules is very important. If you skip out on this step, your contest could fall apart and maybe even lead to an embarrassing social media blunder. Nobody wants that!
In addition it’s also important to define parameters and fixed date for contest winners. Having a clear date conveys a sense of urgency, and helps to spur customer entry. Be sure to both privately contact your contest winners and to announce formally on social networks so as to avoid any confusion.
Have Good Prizes
We’ve worked with a number of clients who all too often don’t want to fairly reward their fans. This however doesn’t mean you have to go all out either. Before your contest, simply ask yourself, would i enjoy these prizes? If you’re unsure, that’s a strong sign that your prizes are lacking. If it’s in the means of your business, consider giving away certain products for free. Everyone loves free, right? As a matter of fact, over the holiday season one of our clients ran a highly successful “12 Days of Christmas Holiday Giveaway” with one of the prizes equaling a 250 dollar value. This, of course, is on the high when it comes to contest, the client reaching thousands and engaging hundreds on a daily basis with the help of Facebook advertising. Their Facebook engagement has been at a consistently higher average since running the contest, too.
Incorporate Branding
Social media contests provide an excellent opportunity to incorporate your company branding without seeming overt or pushy. As we mentioned above, one of our clients ran a contest this past holiday season, and the opportunity to show off their branding alongside content promotions. Ordinarily it can seem like a tall order to have consumers engage with your branded content online, especially if your business is new to social media. However, it makes it the easier to produce engagement if there is a contest or giveaway component to your postings.
In Conclusion…
So there you have it. Now that you’ve familiarized yourself with some of the basic aspects of social media contests it’s time for you to set out and get creative! There are endless options available to you: Incorporate hashtags, sharing, photo uploads; the important thing is that your contest is unique and engaging. If it is, you’ll have no problem attracting consumers to your brand online. If you require comprehensive social media management don’t hesitate to contact us.
