Generating a buzz around your brand that appeals to your target audience isn’t for the faint of heart; it takes sound strategy, patience and determination. Of the various ways to rally excitement about your brand, a popular method that savvy marketers have adopted into their arsenal of tactics is hosting a social media giveaway.
You may have your fair share of experience with social media giveaways – whether being a hopeful participant, the host – or even, the winner. Giveaways can be a fun, creative way to build excitement around your brand and products using social media to connect with new potential customers. As with any type of investment, giveaways also involve a fair share of risk – but you know what they say: “no risk; no reward.”
Here are some pro tips to successfully guide you into a successful social media giveaway plan and execution:
Create Goals for Social Media Giveaways
Before you go any further, begin by defining the goals of your giveaway. Having clear key performance indicators (KPIs) is key to focus this effort specifically on achieving your particular goal(s). Without the right goal connected to your brand, your efforts could easily go awry.
Provide an Appealing Customer Prize
Winning a free prize is usually exciting, but a prize also needs to be worth the effort of entering your contest. Make sure the prize you are giving away is relevant and exciting to your target audience, otherwise, you’re wasting your time and energy – or even worse, deterring people from your brand. A truly grand prize should win you over new leads and followers.
Here are some prize examples to get you started:
- A limited-edition product
- Products from influencers in the market
- A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
- Gift cards
Time Your Giveaway Right
When do you want to launch your giveaway? When will you end the giveaway? You’ll want to make those decisions early on in your planning process to optimize your efforts and avoid potential conflicts.
- Look at the calendar. You might use popular events or seasons as an asset to your giveaway strategy. What time of year will it be during the giveaway? Are there any big events that may distract your audience from it?
- E.g.: Consumers are more receptive to making purchases around Thanksgiving than they are on January 31st.
- Ensure the type of prize you are giving and the timing of your giveaway align with the time of year, and will cut through the noise of your strongest competitors.
- E.g.: Giving special Valentine’s Day discounts or prize(s) for your restaurant could add value before the popular holiday, but conversely, giving away a set of lipsticks when a big beauty industry competitor is launching a new product line could render your brand irrelevant and get lost in the shadow of your competitor.
Partner with an Influencer or a Celeb
Industry partnerships can be a powerful way to appeal to your target audience for participation in your giveaway. Think about who your demographic is excited about – is it a celebrity or an influencer? You’ll draw attention and build rapport with your target audience if you can partner with an established pro in your industry.
Encourage Participation in Your Giveaway
Make sure the steps for entering your contest are as simple and straightforward as possible to avoid confusion or worse – abandonment. Believe it or not, many digital marketers over-complicate the sign-up process by adding too many steps to contest entries. Simply put: the easier it is to enter your contest, the more entries and engagements you’ll have.
Several related considerations:
Don’t require an email sign-up for entries. Giveaways are meant to be a fun, introductory way to connect with new users. Many people are turned off by the commitment of signing up with their email, especially if they don’t know your brand very well.
Promote your giveaway to your email list. You might even add an extra incentive to your pre-existing email recipients to enter the contest by sharing a link to your blog or website on their social feed(s) – like on Facebook or Twitter.
Make it easy to enter using the same platform it’s posted on. For example, if you post the contest on Facebook, allow contestants to enter on Facebook. If you post it on LinkedIn, allow them to enter on LinkedIn. Making it easy to enter is essential.
Make sure the steps for entering your contest are as simple and straightforward as possible to avoid confusion or worse – abandonment.
Images courtesy of steffysprosandcons.com
Use Giveaway Tools
One effective method of hosting a contest is by using a giveaway tool to create and manage your contest. Giveaway tools offer an out-of-the-box, cohesive, streamlined system for running your entire contest from start to finish. There are a variety of powerful, user-friendly giveaway tools available – here are some popular options you might explore:
While there are some great benefits to using giveaway tools, the caveat to that option is the range of actions restricted from use on social channels.
Announce your giveaway on all of your social channels
and include one or all of the following actions to organically promote it:
- Follow your profile(s) – and any collaborating partner’s profile
- Like the photo promoting your contest
- Leave a comment or caption under your photo
- Tag-a-friend (or 3) under your photo promoting the giveaway
- Repost your photo promoting the contest
Try to incorporate a viral loop built into your giveaway – another benefit of using a giveaway tool like the ones mentioned above. A giveaway loop is a powerful way to allow your contest entrants to share a custom link to your contest with family and friends. Many giveaway tools have the viral loop functionality, which will encourage participation and attract more unique visitors to your brand. Remember to read up on any restrictions associated with using giveaway tool instead of implementing an organic process.
When your giveaway is over, be sure to celebrate your winner(s)
– it will show your appreciation of their support and could further increase rapport with consumers. You could even post a photo of the winner with the prize – another way to boost awareness, reach new followers and drive authentic user engagement around your brand.
Follow the Giveaway Rules in Your State
There are certain legalities regarding contests and giveaways, so we recommend doing your homework or speaking to a professional to help you determine which rules and regulations pertain to your local and state laws.
We hope this giveaway guide helps you feel confident to use this creative digital marketing method of increasing your brand awareness and reach.
You don’t have to go at it alone.
Dekaf Digital specializes in social media marketing and would be happy to connect with you to determine what type of strategy is best suited to your brand.
