Social media contests are a great way to increase your reach and engagement—and ultimately increase your website traffic and bottom line!
Ingredients
- Social media profile
- Creative contest idea
- Enticing incentive
- Defined rules and requirements
- Motivated team
- Email list (can complement or substitute with a direct mail list)
- Signed release of participation (if necessary)
- Press release (optional)
- Online ads (optional)
Directions
- First select the social media network that will engage the most people within your target audience.
- Read the social media platform’s contest and sweepstakes policy to ensure your contest is permissible. Then cook according to instructions.
- Whip up a contest idea, then create an implementation plan and lay out the rules and requirements. Roll them out clearly to everyone involved.
- Stir in an enticing incentive to get the most people to participate and engage with your contest.
- If your contest will take a team effort to execute, you must motivate your team to get them excited and behind your contest. Make sure they understand everything they must do.
- Mix in email and/or direct mail to promote the contest outside of social media.
- Spice up the awareness of your contest by sending a press release to bloggers or other media sources and/or creating an online ad.
- If you are showing the participant’s name, photo or original work, have each participant sign a release form. Collect email addresses from contestants to let them know when the contest is live and/or to announce the winner. Serve with excitement!