Are you looking for new ways to boost your brand, products, and services on a budget? Running a social media contest may be the perfect opportunity for you to reach these goals without increasing your promotional budget! Even if you can’t afford to go all-out with a full-blown campaign, a small contest or giveaway can still be an effective tool in your social media marketing strategy. Below we will talk about five steps you can take to run an effective social media contest!
Step 1: Identify Goals and Set a Budget
Before jumping into the fun part of deciding on prizes and how to announce your contest, you want to identify SMART goals. This means goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. Make sure that you are prioritizing which goals are the most important to your business. For example, some of your goals may be:
- Promoting your brand
- Initiating product engagement
- Growing your social following
- Expanding your email list
- Cultivating community engagement
- Creating user-generated content
- Understanding your audience better
Once you set your goals, you will want to determine your budget. Don’t forget to include the cost or labor of the prize, promotional cost, or any other paid service you may use in the process.
Step 2: Pick Prizes and Create Graphics
Choosing the right prize may be one of the most important details to iron out when it comes to running a contest. You want your prize to be one that will not just lure entrants, but one that will ultimately convert entrants to customers! Ideas for prizes include:
- A product or service of your own
- A product related to your company
- A collection of prizes (if you choose to collaborate with other brands)
- An experience, such as a vacation or tickets
- Money or gift cards
After you’ve determined your prize, you can begin to create engaging and timely graphics to announce your contest. Make sure that your graphics are clear, concise, and your rules align with the rules that your platform has for contests!
Step 3: Decide On a Contest Entry Structure
When it comes to choosing an entry structure, it’s up to you whether you want to keep it simple or allow your entrants to get creative. Overall, the type of entry should be determined by the goals you have set for your contest. Some contests entry types you may want to consider include:
- Like, Share and/or Reply
- Caption Contests
- Vote to Win
- Photo Contests
- Video Contests
- Sweepstakes
When deciding on a contest entry structure, you will want to take into consideration age appropriateness, and the amount of effort you will need to put into picking a winner. Next, you can decide how long you want to run your contest for, meaning how much time a customer has to enter the contest!
Step 4: Promote Your Contest
You will want to promote your contest on the platforms where your presence is the most known. And, as mentioned above, make sure your contest and its rules are clear and concise. You may want to take advantage of paying to advertise your contest to get it in front of a larger audience. Make sure that you build a good amount of hype surrounding your contest to make your customers excited! Post about your contest frequently, and remind your followers of its deadline!
Step 5: Reflect and Run Analytics
Following your contest, it’s imperative that you reflect on what went well, and what you can improve for next time. Did your contest generate buzz about your brand? Did you reach your goals? Once the dust settles, you can also take a step back and look at your analytics, where you can crunch numbers and determine whether or not you saw ROI from your contest.
Need help running an effective social media contest for your brand? Contact Yovia Social for a consultation. We’ll discuss your goals and how to make your social media contest successful!