Competitions
are great for engaging your audience, driving traffic to your site and growing
a new network of followers.
So you want to run a competition
and you’re not sure where to start?
Objectives
Start with the end in mind.
Why do you want to run a competition? What are your goals and targets? Do you
want to generate leads,
Facebook likes, Twitter followers, more traffic to your website, build your
database or just stay engaged with your current audience?
Budget
Your budget will definitely have an impact on the
platforms you can use, where the competition can be advertised and what type of
prize you can offer.
Follow the Rules
Before you start your competition,
make sure you’re allowed to legally run it. Facebook has relaxed their
promotional guidelines but are you aware that you still have to comply with the
CPA and legal terms and conditions of your own country?
Voting mechanism
Depending on where you run
your competition, how easy is it for entrants to enter. Can they send an sms
and they’re done? Or do they have to register on your website, like your
company Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram accounts, sign up to the
newsletter, purchase a product, keep the till slip, take a photo, upload it and
then take your dog for a walk while checking in on 4square (ok we made the dog
walking part up). If your entry mechanism requires a lot of interaction there’s
a good chance your click to entry completion conversion rate is going to drop.
Strong Call to Action
Whether
you’re advertising your competition on your website, on a social media page,
via a newsletter, on pack, in-store, on television, radio, print or on a giant
billboard on the highway, remember the call to action. Words like WIN and ENTER
work well.
Third Party Apps for Facebook
If you’re using Facebook make
use of a (free) third party app. This is the most common and effective way for gathering
information legally. If your budget allows, having one developed. If your goal
is to generate leads, include a form directly on your third party app. This
makes it easier, quicker and more fun for people to enter. Remember the
Ts&Cs somewhere in the app.
Terms & Conditions
Speaking of which. It’s all
fine and well to run a ‘free’ competition on your Facebook timeline but what
about those pesky Terms & Conditions? Where are you going to include these?
You need to have a clear direct link within Facebook or to your website for
clear Ts&Cs. A few pointers on:
1. Is this a
regional, national or international competition
2. Who
can/can’t enter?
3. One entry
per person or can one person enter 863 times in one week?
4. Start and
end date – VERY important
5. What is the
prize?
6. How will
the winner be notified
There’s a whole lot of other
Ts&Cs but these are the most important of the important.
Give Away Something Awesome
Yes. People love to get a
sample, product, service for free. They will love your brand even more if you
give away the latest gadget or cash or an expensive holiday. Just remember that
the prize should be aligned with your competition objectives. It’s even better
if the person can remember your brand and relate it to the prize. Giving away
an ipad2 when the ipad Air is in vogue and you have a pool cleaning company
isn’t very strategic. Giving away a years’ worth of free pool cleaning service
is far more relevant and a lot more memorable. You’re also likely to get
business referrals if your service is top notch. That said, there are those
prizes that are always popular and will always get a lot of attention.
Remember Your Goals and
Measure Your Results
Back to your objectives. How
are you measuring them? How many entries are you hoping to get for that R100K
prize to Mauritius. If 400 entries were all you received your goals weren’t
aligned. If you want lead generation your advertising and call to action needs
to be strong. If you're looking to build
engagement and brand awareness, make sure entrants are liking, commenting, sharing
and talking about your brand. Listen to what they have to say by using social
media tracking software. Do a social media analysis during and an audit after
the end of the competition.
The Fortune Cookie
The competition is done, dusted, you’ve grown your social
media status, your database numbers have swelled and the winner is lying on the
beach with their loved one watching their children play in the calm, blue
waters of Mauritius. What about the other 6000 entrants who didn’t win? What
are you going to do with them? Think on that for a while.
Picture Courtesy of about.com
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