We all like to win contests, don’t we? Contests are not just fun but a great way to grab the attention of people. Be it traditional or digital marketing, contests can create a buzz about your small business and improve brand visibility. From simple giveaways to massive media campaigns, there are multiple ways of creating social sweepstakes. 

Running a social media contest is one of the most effective ways to boost your business. If done rightly and thoughtfully, it is the best way to build brand recognition, increase reach, improve awareness, and more. It encourages a new audience to follow your brand which will eventually help you increase your conversion rate.

According to statistics, around 34% of new customers are acquired by running social media contests. To put it in other words, the real winner of any social media sweepstakes is the brand itself. Let’s go through the step-by-step process of running a social media contest. 

Set A Goal For The Contest 

Social media sweepstakes can lead to various benefits for a small business – increase fan followers, improve customer engagement, boost brand recognition, and more. Before you add contests to your social media calendar, it is important to have clarity on what you want to achieve. Though you can achieve multiple goals using a contest, you should prioritize the goals depending on the needs of your business. 

Determine Your Target Audience

Another key consideration for creating a winning sweepstake is to define the audience. Once you know your buyer persona, you can choose the platforms where to want to run the contest. Knowing your audience will help you determine the budget, entry requirements, type of contest, prize offer, and terms and conditions of the contest. 

Fix Your Budget

Before planning your contest, it is important to know how much funds you can set aside for it. Once you pinpoint the budget, it becomes easy to divide it between the expense for prize money and ads for promoting the contest.

Choose The Platforms

Though there are multiple social media platforms for placing contests, it’s not worth spending on all of it. You need to figure out which platform gives you the best results and give special attention to it. The thumb rule is to focus on platforms that work for your business and where your target group spends time.  

Choose The Length And Frequency of The Contest 

Now you need to decide how long you need to run the contest. Some businesses run contests once or twice or year while others have a year-long contest with a larger prize. If the prize is not exciting enough, the entrants may lose interest in the prize offer eventually. Also, if you are running a year-long contest, you should have the required budget. For contests that last a day or two, small prizes work. 

Choose The Prize

The contest can hardly reach its goal if the prize is not attractive. To get your target group on board, the prize should be catchy and exciting. You can give away products or services from your brand for free as a prize. Or you can choose another product that has some relevance to your brand as the price. It can be a gift card or cashback offer as well. 

Remember your goal is not to get more entrants, but get people who will become your customers in the future. The prize offer should be relevant to your target audience. 

Choose The Entry Requirements

There are different types of attracting entrants to the contest. The entry requirements may be as simple as resharing a post or submitting a photo. While you decide the entry requirements, you should consider the goals you want to achieve. For example, if you are aiming for increasing your brand reach, you can request the entrants to tag someone or share your profile to enter the contest. 

Understand The Rules 

Since you have finalized the platforms where you want to run the contest, the next important step is to understand the rules that you have to adhere to. The major social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have specific rules for running contests. Make sure you go through it before running the contest. 

Start The Contest 

It’s time to announce to contest on your chosen social media platform. Make sure you keep the image and texts eye-catchy. The message, the prize money, entry requirements, etc. should be well-specified. You can use different tactics to promote the contest including paid social media services. Also, make sure you engage with the entrants as they are the brand’s potential customers. 

Monitor The Results 

Once the contest is over and winners are announced, it is time to measure the results. You can analyze how far the contest has helped you achieve your goals. Keep a track of what worked and what didn’t. It will help you optimize the ROI in future contests. Also, don’t forget to thank all the entrants for participating in the contest. 

Let’s Discuss!

Are you planning for a social media contest for your brand? Here at Fresh Content Society, we have social media experts to help you create winning social media sweepstakes. We help you improve your ROI in social media contests and boost your brand image. 

Get in touch with our team for a free consultation!