8 Ways To Build Your Brand Locally with a Social Media Contest

Social Media Contest, anyone? Why, yes!

We’ve all been there, trying to organize a social media contest and ending up in total disaster with only a dozen subscribers and a prize that was written off as an expense rather than investment in traffic and conversions.

What happened in these cases?

It’s quite clear actually – Their contest was probably designed to fail from the start.  The truth is, contests on social media can be a great way to boost the subscriber numbers, drum up the excitement and trigger the loyalty in your best and most potential customers.

But how to do them right?

Today, we are sharing our best-kept secrets.

1. Set Goals Right from The Start

Is there a goal you want to achieve with your contest? Write it down. However, make sure that your contest goals are S.M.A.R.T. What does this mean?

Essentially, a SMART goal is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely. Not to mention that this rule absolutely applies to contests on social media. So, make sure to define your contest’s goals before even planning it.

Want to promote your product or service?  Or maybe grow your email list?  Social media contests can generate traffic for any of these goals.

2. Choose the Type of The Contest

Many contests fall short because it’s the wrong type of contest for their fans & followers.  But that’s mainly due to lack of planning and preparation.   Choosing the right type of contest is the first step.  And there’s plenty that like gangbusters.  For example, there are caption-based contests, photo-vote contests, video-vote contests as well as sweepstakes, which are always a great choice for Facebook.

Offering some kind of prize for the winner will typically get the best engagement – and is referred to as a giveaway.

3. Choose the Right Software

You’re not planning on running the contest, manually are you?  Unless you have a lot of extra time on your hands, using contest software like from UpViral for your social media contest is probably the best way to manage it.

The truth is, software programs come with built-in voter verification features and other tools that will let you collect Facebook user numbers and name from everyone engaged with your post. And the best part?

Whatever type of contest you choose, you can always use the information you collect for any of your future marketing campaigns.  Insights you can use to market to your audience better.

4. Set Your Time Frame

Do you have an idea of how long will your contest actually last?

One of the first things your audience should know is the start and end date of your contest.

The best-case scenarios for contests are typically one-day contests for products and goods – and weekly or monthly contests for more valuable prizes (ex. higher value services, hotel stays, yearly prizes etc.)

5. Create Your List of Rules

How will you choose the winner? By random – or the community votes?

Your rules should be clearly displayed for everyone who enters the contest.

Make sure it’s clear that voting is only part of the process, and that a judge or panel of judges will determine the final winner. Also, in the case of suspected fraud scenarios (yes, it happens, unfortunately) – you have the right to choose the winner.

6. Determine Who Can Enter

If your local business wants to increase the foot traffic to your physical location, you should know that specifying an age requirement goes a long way when you are establishing your contest rules.

7. Make Sure Your Prize Is Relevant and Attractive

This pretty much goes without saying.  But just in case we didn’t emphasize this point enough just about every successful social media contest offers up an appealing prize for the winner. Without it, you won’t attract any contest entrants.

Make sure to stay relevant to your business and your audience and choose relevant prizes. If you own a hotel, offer a night for two. An art dealer could offer a limited-edition reprint. If you run a spa, you might offer a free 1-hour massage.  The key is to offer something that attracts the most amount of people.  Make sure to include a photo of your prize to give people even more reason to enter.

8. Create Your Custom Hashtag

If you have ever wondered why brands choose personal and custom hashtags when running social media contests,

there is a science behind it. Coming up with a unique hashtag that reflects your brand and your contest can be used to extend the reach of your contest across all social networks.

For example, there are tools like Hashtagify.me that can help you find trends related to your industry and potential gold mines in terms of hashtags.

So, there you have it – you now know our best-kept secrets to running a perfect social media contest. However, you should know that not every social media is the same.  The demographics, type of content and a ton of other variables can play a role in how successful your contest ends up being.  But following these rules will definitely give you an edge, especially if you’ve never run a contest before.

Learn more about online marketing by visiting JVI Mobile Marketing or by contacting us!

12 Ways to get People to Your Website

Not sure how to get people to visit your website? This infographic demonstrates 12 surefire ways to begin getting all the traffic you need in 2017!

get people to your website

  1. Start a Facebook Group – This could be a community group, support group, or a special customer group designed to get customers and potential customers to know, like and trust you!
  2. Invest in Facebook Advertising – Set your budget and target your audience through demographics and user behavior with Facebook’s ad tools.
  3. Post share-worthy content – People are more likely to share posts that are unique, useful, entertaining or even controversial!
  4. Encourage people to share – Use a ‘call to action’ statement in some of your posts. Something as simple as ‘Share this post’ or ‘Click Share if you agree’!
  5. Funnel fans and followers back to your site – Accomplish this by offering free (or discounted) products and/or services in exchange for an email address or number. Include a link to your site for them to complete the sign-up process!
  6. Start a contest on social media – Everyone loves prizes! Boost sales and increase followers by offering discount coupons. This is a surefire way to get people to your website!
  7. Redesign with SEO in mind – Decide on a few main keywords and include them throughout the pages of your website.
  8. Consider your link names – Include a keyword or two in your links, if possible.
  9. Make sure your website is mobile responsive – Your pictures should be vibrant and your links should be easy-to-tap. Don’t forget that Google now includes mobile-friendliness as part of their ranking signals, so make sure they’re nothing but positive!
  10. Be sure your site loads fast! No one likes a slow site. Make sure graphics aren’t too big and turn off auto-play on any video or audio files.
  11. Place like and share badges on your blog. This will definitely drive more traffic back to your site.
  12.  Analyze your statistics and improve your site regularly. This is one of the most overlooked ways to get people to your website.

If you need help or assistance with these strategies or other digital marketing resources, please join our Digital Marketing Assistant Program on Facebook today!

If you would like to speak about how we can help transform your business by employing online marketing strategies on your behalf, contact us today!