Social media is excellent for finding new clients and engaging with your community. Brands and companies often use these channels to make announcements or inform users of relevant changes. Furthermore, social media has contests and other opportunities for interested users. Contests are beneficial not only to consumers but also to companies themselves. They are a stepping stone for the growth of any brand! So, let’s discuss the benefits of social media contests and how to run successful ones.
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The Gist of Social Media Contests
Social media contests are the promotional posts companies run on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok. Essentially, the brands promise a prize for the participating users. It could be free money (like gift cards), merch, movie tickets, discounts, or free products. How do users participate? Well, a contest can request different things for users to qualify:
- Sharing a post.
- Sharing and commenting on a post.
- Following the brand page.
- Tagging friends.
- Answering questions.
- Submitting content.
- Providing email address.
So, commenting and sharing a post might be enough to become a potential winner. However, it can also be more brand-focused. For instance, users might need to post pictures of their travels, favorite outfits, or even coffee orders. It all depends on the brand, its needs and goals!
Preparing a Successful Social Media Contest
The first step is to define the purpose of your social media content. Do you want to drive more traffic to your website? Or do you want to increase your follower count? A contest can be helpful in each scenario.
Also, pick a prize that is suitable and enticing to your audience. For instance, a clothing brand can promise a surprise box of gorgeous items for the new season. However, sometimes, your audience is much broader. Then, you can go for more general prizes, like gift cards or discounts.
Additionally, don’t forget to promote your contest and engage with the participants. Before announcing a winner, guarantee a fair selection process. It could be a random contest, or maybe the winner will be determined by the number of ‘likes’ on their posts.
Benefits of Social Media Contests
Running social media contests can benefit any online entity, including a company or a brand. However, various influencers who might want to reward their audiences and expand their reach can also benefit.
More Engagement and Reach
Of course, online contests drastically boost engagement with your post or posts. Additionally, the more people share your post, the more people you can reach. Then, these people become potential users or followers.
Learning More About Your Audience
A social media contest could be a part of your market research. Then, you can ask your clients to provide some information. That could include answering a short survey. Of course, avoid asking for any personal information. Keep it simple, aiming to discover some essential information on how to shape your content and products.
More Followers
You’ll likely get a significant follower count boost. However, remember that some people might be solely interested in participating in the contest. After it’s over, they might unfollow your page. Thus, you must convince them to stay through valuable content.
Newsletter Program
A social media contest could require people to join a company’s newsletter program. Then, you get to reach more potential clients with your emails. Of course, they can unsubscribe if they no longer wish to see your content.
Public/Brand Image
Without a doubt, social media contests can make your brand appear more generous and friendly. It’s a clear benefit; many people might view your company differently. So it will increase your brand’s visibility and credibility.
Going Viral
A successful social media contest could go viral. For instance, if you ask TikTok users to make unique stitches with your original video. Then, it might generate some buzz from the media from the content submitted.
Little Costs
The prizes for social media contests are not very expensive (usually). So, by offering products, gift cards, or discounts, you get to spend very little but enjoy increased engagement and follower count. Also, if winners have not tried your products before, they might turn into loyal customers!
Conclusion
All in all, social media contests are clever strategies for increasing your following and getting more engagement. Always consider what you can offer your clients and go for it. Also, remember to keep it simple to participate. It’s also best not to make social media contests too frequent. However, there are cases where more frequent online contests can also work, especially if you have just launched your company or brand.
