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6 Tips for Hosting Successful Contests on Social Media

October 12, 2009 3

Congratulations to the lovely Jennifer Mitchell of JMPR. She is the winner of Marketing Melodie’s Social Media Swag Bag!

JMPR

If you’re wondering where I got my enthusiasm for hosting contests and giveaway here’s a little background. I began my career working in radio promotions. You will hear me say this over and over again but I’m so grateful I had an opportunity to work in the Radio industry. Successful contesting is one of the things I learned in Radio which is an industry known for hosting contests that receive the most hype and having the hottest giveaways in town! Working in radio gives you the keys to the city and access to all major events, concerts and funky swag meaning there’s a lot of fun stuff to give away!

Winner

I always enjoy seeing people  happy because they received free tickets to our next event, an awesome prize pack for summer, music to their ears concert tickets, etc. Giving people what they want makes you a valuable resource and sought after commodity. When I entered into the professional online industry I decided to take contesting to the next level and incorporate elements of social media. Here are six great things to keep in mind to host a successful contest.

1.  Supply a Demand– Give something away that’s not easily accessible by everyone. If you give something away people can’t get anywhere, your giveaway is more likely to be highly perceived as a valuable promotion. When deciding what to give away do some research, which in this day and age means listen to the Social Media space to see if there is a high demand for something you plan to give away.

2. Increase the Value of Your Business – It’s important not to confuse giveaways and contests with giving away your product  for free. Giving away your product for free may devalue it into the eyes of your consumers.   Why would I want to pay for something that I once was able to get for free? My friend Chris Brogan shares great insight on the Audacity of FREE. With contesting you aren’t giving away your product for free. You’re creating a promotion that provides value, showcases all the benefits and perks of your product and giving one lucky person a chance to win. Make sure to highlight important features in your giveaway. If giving away tickets to an event emphasize the benefits of winning the tickets. Perhaps you’re giving away VIP access or the chance to meet and greet a celebrity. What are you providing that’s not readily available?

3. Make it Viral– Utilize social media to incorporate viral elements into entering your contests. This increases the awareness and reach of your promotion. There are several ways I generally allow people to enter my contests. They include retweeting my contest on Twitter. This promotes my contests to networks far beyond my own. Joining my Facebook page which grows my fan base so more people receive the content I put out and subscribing to my YouTube channel so my videos are viewed by influencers in my industry and so on. Take this even a step further by encouraging contestants to enter by submitting user generated content. Ask people to create blog and vlog entries. Social media is a powerful tool in contesting and can create a lot of buzz in a short period of time. Take advantage of it’s power.

4. Keep it Simple– While it’s fine to have multiple ways to enter your contest make sure the rules and conditions of your contest are very easy and clear. Having too many restrictions may cause confusion with people who don’t read your rules carefully because it’s too long. In our fast paced society almost everyone, myself included skims long instructions. Be succinct when you define the rules and what the winner receives so there’s no confusion.

5. Collect Information– Make sure you have a way to collect contact information so you can reach out to contestants in the future and contact the winner. I do recommend you make it mandatory to enter contact information but please disclose to the contestants if they will be entered into an email list or receive future information for entering your contest. Respect privacy for any contact information given. You want everyone to feel safe when entering your contests.

6.  Have Fun!- Get creative and add fun elements to your contest! This increases the chances hype you’ll receive. The best way to do this is to ask contestants to create user generated content as mentioned above. This really engages your audience and gives them an active way to participate in your community.

Check out successful contests I’ve hosted in the past. I’m a marketing professional and educator so you will notice I give away prizes that relate to marketing education and tie in marketing insight to all of my contests. I have yet to participate in a Blog Carnival which I’ve heard is another great promotion. Please leave your comments about contests you’ve won, cool contests that are currently happening, information about blog carnivals, ideas for future contests and anything else you’d like to share.

If you’re a business that would like to provide a prize for me to give away, please contact me and if you’re a fit lets discuss ways to create a mutually beneficial contest.

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3 comments Leave a comment

  1. I second the use of social media. And involving other people to promote — I do blog giveaways and always make sure to list it on “blog giveaway directories.” This brings traffic to my blog from a different audience than just me. I also promote on facebook, twitter, etc.

    I’m on a small scale, but I like experimenting there, and it helps me know what works for my company and clients too!

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