There is no doubt that social media contests boost engagement rates significantly. It is one of the best ways by which small businesses can improve visibility and recognition. It allows brands to improve their social media followers and reach a wider target group.
To reap the benefits of social media contests, it needs to be done thoughtfully. Similar to any other social media marketing activity, make sure you set the goal right for the contest in the first place. Then you can work on determining the ideal audience, budget, the best platforms, length and frequency of the contest, terms and conditions, etc. While you do a social media contest, it is important to monitor the results as well.
When it comes to conducting social media contests, there is no dearth of choices. From simple giveaways that last 24 hours to year-long contests, there are multiple tried and tested social media contest ideas. If you are planning for your first social media contest and thinking of simple ways to get it right, we have got you covered. Here are a few social media contest ideas for boosting your engagement rate.
Social Media Giveaways
If you are planning for your first social media contest, giveaways are a good start. It can work well during major shopping holidays. You can pre-announce the contest and create momentum so that your target group will keep an eye on your account. While you can pick up a few winners to give away the gifts, the major goal should be creating awareness around your brand. You can either do a one-off event or plan for a multi-day with multiple giveaway opportunities.
Photo Contests
Running a photo contest is yet another simple way of conducting contests. It helps to create a buzz around your brand with minimal effort. Though it has been used widely by brands, it is still relevant in boosting engagement and creating brand awareness. You can ask your followers to post a photo while engaging in an activity that is relevant to your brand campaign. Or you can ask them to simply upload a photo while using your product.
Collaborate with Another Brand
For increasing brand awareness and increase your reach, you can collaborate with another brand with a significant number of followers. You can partner with an influencer as well for running a giveaway contest on a weekly or monthly basis.
Tag-A-Friend Contest
If you are just starting your business, your initial social media goals will most likely reach a wider audience and gain more followers. To achieve these goals, you can ask your followers to mention a friend or invite a group of people in the comments. This can be an entry point for the contest. The benefit of these types of contests is that the tagged person will probably come to your page, know about your business, and might start following the brand. There is a good chance that they will tag someone else as well.
Sign-Up For A Gift
If your target is to achieve more qualified leads, you can plan to conduct a sign-up contest. You can ask the users to sign-up to receive a gift or offer. This will help you increase your brand reach and get leads who have some interest in your brand. You can create some eye-catchy social media campaigns to grab the attention of users and direct them to a landing page where they can sign up.
Hashtag Contests
Hashtag contests have been here for a while. They are still growing in popularity, and you can aim for a significant boost in your engagement rate using hashtag contests. If you find regular hashtag challenges boring, you can think of a positive cause that your brand wants to endorse and start building hashtag contests around it.
Get Experts For Running Social Media Contests!
Are you planning for social media contests for your brand promotion? Allow our social media experts to do it for you and maximize the results. At FCS, we have a brilliant team to develop, execute, and monitor social media contests. We provide end-to-end social media management services that help you reach your marketing goals. Call us today for a free consultation!
