Recipe for a successful social media contest


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

  1. First select the social media network that will engage the most people within your target audience.
  2. Read the social media platform’s contest and sweepstakes policy to ensure your contest is permissible. Then cook according to instructions.
  3. Whip up a contest idea, then create an implementation plan and lay out the rules and requirements. Roll them out clearly to everyone involved.
  4. Stir in an enticing incentive to get the most people to participate and engage with your contest.
  5. 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.
  6. Mix in email and/or direct mail to promote the contest outside of social media.
  7. Spice up the awareness of your contest by sending a press release to bloggers or other media sources and/or creating an online ad.
  8. 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!