{"id":12680,"date":"2017-09-25T15:34:13","date_gmt":"2017-09-25T13:34:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mention.com\/blog\/?p=12680\/"},"modified":"2017-09-25T15:34:13","modified_gmt":"2017-09-25T13:34:13","slug":"how-to-get-more-from-your-next-social-media-contest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mention.com\/en\/blog\/how-to-get-more-from-your-next-social-media-contest\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Get More From Your Next Social Media Contest"},"content":{"rendered":"

Running a social media contest can increase brand awareness and enhance consumer identification with your brand. In fact, 52 percent of consumers<\/a>\u00a0say that participating in a contest helps them feel more connected to a brand.
\nBut not all social media platforms are the same. To get the most out of your contest, you need to study the ins and outs of each platform and craft a competition\u00a0that uses the strengths of each one.\u00a0That way you’re more likely to\u00a0bring people in touch with your business and its core message.
\nNot only that, but different types of competitions help you achieve different goals<\/strong>. For example, if you want to increase your customer base, a giveaway is a great option. Whereas\u00a0contests that ask for user-generated content work wonders to increase brand awareness.
\nRieva Lesonsky<\/a>, CEO of GrowBiz Media & SmalBizDaily says that, \u201cIf you\u2019re a social media hound (and as an entrepreneur, you should be), you\u2019ll notice one way businesses get fans to come back for more again and again is by offering customer contests.\u201d
\nThis post will teach you how to get the most out of each platform, which types of competitions to use to enhance consumer connection, and how to come up with a strategy that will put your brand through the social media stratosphere.<\/p>\n

Make the contest itself engaging<\/strong><\/h2>\n

People will participate in contests in the hopes of winning something, but if you make the competition all about the prize, you\u2019re missing an important part. If you designed the contest so that people want to take part, regardless of the prize, you can be sure you\u2019ve connected with all the targeted audience, not just the winner.
\nThe goal is for people to remember the contest<\/strong>, whether they win or not. Dove\u2019s Real Beauty Facebook competition<\/a>\u00a0asked women to \u201ctell us why your friend represents Real Beauty.\u201d This triggered feelings of affection for friends and loved ones and goes deeper than surface beauty, making the participation itself worthwhile.
\nThis creates a true connection with the brand<\/strong> because it makes the participants (and viewers) feel good.<\/p>\n

Create a branded message<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Your contest should absolutely reek of your brand, from the language you use to the images you choose to promote the competition. This is a chance to reaffirm your brand\u2019s core message, so don\u2019t miss out<\/em>.
\nThe Eggo Waffle Facebook contest description is on point and branded, from the colors, to the images, to the \u201cwaffle font:\u201d
\n\"social-media-contest\"<\/p>\n

Make the prize relevant<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Everyone (except for Apple anti-fans) will be happy with a new iPhone, and most people will participate in a contest to get one. But just because you got an extra 10,000 people to participate by giving away the latest, sexiest gadget, doesn\u2019t mean you just earned an extra 10,000 customers.
\nThe more relevant the prize is to your brand\u2019s core message, the more connected the participant is likely to be to your brand.\u00a0But what should the prize be?
\nIf you run a car wash, the prize could be a month of free car washes. If you design websites, you could offer free web design. Don\u2019t sell someone else\u2019s product<\/strong>.
\nParticipants are more likely to stick around after the contest if they signed up because they\u2019re interested in your message or your product in the first place.<\/p>\n

Publish across all media<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Even if you\u2019re running a Twitter contest, you should publish it on other social media like Facebook, Instagram, and any other pages your brand uses. It will help to grow your following on other platforms by giving incentives for consumers to start engaging with your brand on sites they hadn\u2019t previously used to connect with your brand.<\/p>\n

Use other platforms<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Consider incorporating other types of platforms into your contest as well. For example, texting contest details can also yield great results. By applying the same principles as you did through social media, designing a branded contest, you can gain new customers and reward loyal ones<\/strong>.
\nFor example, Peta2 used SMS<\/a>\u00a0to promote their campaign to stop cigarette testing on animals. By giving away free Peta pins, the campaign got them 25,000 new opt-ins and spread the word about their cause.
\nHere\u2019s a breakdown of the most popular social media platforms and how to use each to help grow your brand awareness:<\/p>\n

Twitter contests<\/a><\/h3>\n

Twitter lends itself to the contests where anyone who enters the competition immediately becomes a follower, allowing you to grow your following fast. Encouraging new followers to share the contest on their pages can substantially increase the amount of views in a short period of time.
\nDaily tweets can help maintain the engagement of followers and help bring in new ones but the duration of a contest on Twitter should be like tweets themselves: short. One month maximum to avoid people losing interest on this platform which is known for instant gratification.<\/p>\n

Instagram hashtags<\/h3>\n

Instagram is a fast-growing social media platform with 700 million monthly active users<\/a>, you\u2019re sure to win some new followers by running an Instagram hashtag contest. Participants will post a photo on Instagram and tag it with your chosen hashtag in order to enter.
\nThe best part about Instagram is that it\u2019s linked to another social media behemoth: Facebook. So the images will show up in both places. You can choose a winner either by the number of shares or votes they get, or the winner can be chosen by the company.
\nIn the case of Mindzai Creative<\/a>, a print designer, they asked participants to enter their best print design. Then they gave away two prizes: one based on Instagram votes and one based on Mindzai staff preferences.
\n\"social-media-contest-mindzai\"<\/p>\n

Facebook photos<\/h3>\n

Facebook is also a highly visual social media platform and a photo contest is a great way to get participants excited about taking part. Not only will they be engaged, but you\u2019ll collect a treasure trove of user-generated content that you can use to promote your brand even after the contest is over.
\nAs always with social media, asking participants to share the contest and their photos with others helps to generate more buzz and more attention for your brand. Provide an incentive by rewarding the participant with the most likes: This can increase sharing exponentially<\/strong>.
\nMake sure the contest experience is brand-specific, adding even more fuel to the brand-engagement fire.<\/p>\n

YouTube<\/h3>\n

Video is currently the most powerful marketing platform, with 43 percent of people<\/a>\u00a0saying they want more video content from brands. So if you want to make people sit up and pay attention to your business, a YouTube contest is a good choice.
\nVideo really works to engage consumers, with viewers being 10 times more likely to engage with videos<\/a>\u00a0by posting, commenting or sharing, than to text-only blogs or social media posts. Starting a video contest takes that engagement and puts it into the hands of the participant<\/strong>.
\nSince YouTube has 1 billion users and is growing fast, that\u2019s potentially a lot of participants. Also, its main users are the most desirable age demographic for most marketers (18-34 year-olds), so it\u2019s the right place to grow your brand among the young.
\nRunning a contest that asks customers to interact with your brand in a video gives you great user-produced content to work with.\u00a0Making a video is also more of a commitment than posting a photo or sharing a tweet or hashtag, so the brand engagement rates on video contests are through the roof.
\nIn the case of UGODOG, their brand advocate videos<\/a>\u00a0from their competition are still circulating throughout YouTube.
\n