When properly executed, social media contests can be an absolute boost for your business. However, you should never launch a contest without careful planning or you run the risk of missing out on benefits such as growing your followers, boosting engagement, and nurturing relationships with clients. Here’s what to know about running a social media contest.
Create an Enticing Contest
For social media contests to be worthwhile, they will need to grab attention. So the contest needs to be enticing to current and future followers. That means it should be fun.
Keep in mind, though, that the prizes don’t necessarily have to have a huge monetary value. The prize can also be a free service. For example, a personal fitness trainer may decide to create a 90-day body transformation challenge. The competition can use amazing before-and-after results photos as enticements for entrants. The prize may be free training sessions.
Or, if you’re a clothing retailer and want to grab attention and encourage participation, launch a competition where contestants caption a funny image of the owner. The best response wins an item you have an abundance of in stock or an afternoon with a personal shopper.
Bring in Partners To Boost Social Media Contests
To reach a broader audience, pair up with others. For example, the same personal fitness trainer who is offering free lessons could talk to local businesses about chipping in for the prize. In this case, maybe a nutritional supplement or protein shake company will be willing to offer free items to add to the grand prize or for runner-up prizes. Perhaps a local athletic clothing company wants to get in on the action and is offering a gift card. Not only do you grow the value of your prizes, but you’ll get great exposure by having partners promote the competition on their social pages.
Remove Barriers By Creating a Simple Contest
Your efforts will be a waste if you over-complicate social media contests. Don’t ask too much of your audience, or you won’t get as many entrants, and you won’t get as many shares. Keep the contest entry period short and the rules for entry simple to attract the greatest number of participants. If you need to include fine print, direct your followers to a webpage rather than detailing everything on your social pages.
Create Eye-Catching Contest Content
One of the primary reasons you need to carefully plan your social media contests is so that you have time to create compelling content to announce and promote it. Your social media content should include short videos, branded content, content featuring any co-marketing partners, and perhaps even previous winners if you’ve run a similar contest in the past. If you’re not sure that your content creation skills are up to snuff, consider working with a company that specializes in social media content creation.
Get Help With Creating a Worthwhile Social Media Contest
If you want to get in the social media contest game but don’t know where to start, Jus B Media can help. We specialize in helping business owners across myriad industries to increase followers, rev up engagement, and generate buzz about your business. Contact us to learn about our social media services.
