When we spend a lot of time on social networking sites—be it TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, or any other platform—we’re bound to encounter social media contests. Social media contests are a fun way to engage with your audience and build brand awareness. It’s also a great opportunity to grow your email list, increase sales, and raise brand awareness. But what exactly is a social media contest?
A social media contest is a marketing strategy where brands encourage their audience to engage in their posts. This is done by offering an incentive or prize as part of the contest rules. The most common type of social media contest is Instagram, which rewards users with money, products, or services. Other popular social media contests are video contests, photo contests, and essay contests.
Social media contests are essential in engaging your audience with your brand. This helps build a community around your brand and encourages consumers to take part in your company’s journey. It also helps you get valuable data about your audience that can help you understand what type of content they like or what products they want from you. Now is the time to incorporate online social media contests into your marketing—and this is why:
1. Social media contests drive leads.
Social media contests are a great way to drive online traffic and acquire new customers. Social contests can be one of the most effective digital marketing tools to attract leads and grow your brand. To have a successful social media contest, you need to have a purpose and goals in mind. Is your goal to increase brand awareness or generate more leads? Once you know what you want to get out of the contest, you can then strategize what type of contest is best for achieving them. If you’re selling a product, you can use your Instagram account to run an image-based contest where participants submit photos featuring your product.
2. Social media contests boost engagement.
What's the best way to get more people to like, comment, and share your social media posts? Give stuff away. Contests are a great way to increase engagement on social media. If you run an Instagram contest, for example, you'll not only get more people to follow your page, but you'll also get them to like and comment on your posts. And if you're giving away something that's relevant to your business — like a new product or service — then you're sure to generate some sales as well. The prize should be interesting enough to attract entrants but specific enough that it helps grow your brand. Of course, gift cards are always popular too!
3. Social media contests spread brand awareness.
A social media contest is an excellent way to increase brand awareness and attract new customers. A successful contest can also act as a grassroots marketing campaign, encouraging your existing customers to spread the word about your brand. Anyone can enter a contest by posting on social media or filling out an entry form. When someone enters a contest, they are likely to share it with their friends. This gets your brand in front of an audience that would not have otherwise seen it. The more likes, shares, comments, retweets, and pins you get for your contest post, the wider its reach will be on social media. This tactic can also help you identify brand ambassadors who are particularly engaged with your business.
4. Social media contests can help promote original content.
We all know that contests are great for building your audience and generating leads. After all, everyone loves to win a prize. But rarely do we see companies using contests to promote their content. It's really a missed opportunity: The best way to generate interest in your content is to give your audience a reason to consume it! And because people take time to read and share your content, you'll extend your reach even further. Content is a must-have for any marketing strategy, so why not make it work for you in more than one way? A social media contest can help you promote the original content on your site, whether it's a blog post, a landing page for a special offer, or an article on your resource center. In addition, when someone shares your original content on their social profiles, they're endorsing your brand to their friends and followers.
Some of the most popular social media contests come from big-name brands or popular brands, and this is because they are effective. People love them and want to be a part of them. The key to running a successful social media contest is providing unique value in exchange for engaging with your brand.
In essence, feel free to step back and think of contests as a marketing technique to drive traffic to your social media platforms. Since you'll get plenty of visitors to these sites, it becomes easier for you to bring in new clients. Using social media contests is a way for companies to reach out to an audience and gain loyal followers, while existing followers are thrilled by unexpected gifts. In the end, everyone wins. So why not give it a try?