The first step to creating your social media contest is to decide your parameters. You should first decide your target audience for the contest. Once you have a target, determine how long the contest will run and which platform it will run on to maximize the contest’s reach. Most contests run for a week or so, and typically use Facebook to spread their message. You should also decide how the contest will work, keeping in mind that the less your audience has to do to enter, the more likely they will be to do it. Try to create a contest that requires the least amount of effort for your audience while still acquiring the participation and information you’re looking for.
When organizing your social media contest, be sure to include a method to contact the people who enter your contest afterwards. One method of contact is via email, asking contest entrants to opt into a subscription or simply provide their email. A less intrusive method might be to simple like and follow your social media page. Whichever method makes sense for your contest, it’s important to have a method for future communication, as the purpose of the contest is to gain a larger audience and more potential customers.
Choosing the prize is an important part of holding a social media contest. The prize does not necessarily have to have high monetary value. However, it should be something that your target audience would find valuable. Often times, prizes consist of gift cards, free items, or unique experiences. You should tailor your prize to the potential customers you hope to gain. For example, if you own an event venue and are hoping to attract couples to book weddings, you might offer a free engagement photo shoot to the winner. The prize of your contest does not have to be expensive, but it should be something that your target audience wants and will value.
In addition to the prize, other aspects of your contest should be created with your prospective customers in mind. Tailor your content, visuals, and tone to your target customers. The goal of your contest is to acquire prospective customers, so it’s important to use your content to attract them. Although your contest will likely be open to anyone, you’ll want it to appear most attractive to your target demographic.
In order to spread the word about your contest, you’ll need people to share the post. Offer people incentives for liking, sharing, and tagging their friends in your post. Your contest might require all of these actions in order to enter. You could also consider each of these actions a separate chance at winning the contest. Regardless of the tactic you choose, it’s important to encourage people to share your contest in order to maximize its visibility in order to attract as many new potential customers as possible.
A great way to increase the visibility of your contest is to promote it with paid social ads. You can target your ads to the specific audience you’re trying to target, meaning the visibility of your contest will greatly increase and will be targeted exactly to the potential customers you are trying to reach. Typically, you would advertise the prize in a social ad, providing a link to the actual contest in the post.
If you manage to acquire the emails of the entrants of your contest, you should follow up their entry with an email. Consider sending prize-related discounts, promo codes, links to other contests, or other opportunities to win free things. When you follow up your contest with an email, you can maintain a connection with your new contacts while sending them information you know they’ll want. Follow up email campaigns are very useful to create more interest in your brand after someone enters a contest.
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We understand that social media can be overwhelming, and it's not always easy to change with each update or refresh. If you are looking to boost your social media marketing then you may want to take a step back and reevaluate the online presence you already have.