By Catherine Birch
Being an owner of a small business, one can’t entrust to super expensive promo companies. However, this does not remove the question of improving your brand. Luckily, no matter how large your project is, you can be successful with an online contest – the biggest opportunity to get a quality product at the lowest cost.
Contests with the possibility of winning bring your brand market presence and customer loyalty, as well as increased awareness and conversation. Conducting various competitions is much more than just attracting a new audience – by this you’ll stay in touch with your “old” customers and will show audience your interest in continuous improvement.
Despite a contest giving you innumerable benefits, before setting it up you should be carefully prepared. Never forget that it’s a solid component of your promotion strategy. So let’s check the main points you should consider before/when starting up a contest.
Set our goals
First you have to decide whom you admit to the competition. It could be the whole audience or your subscribers only. The best way to make a contest worthwhile is to set one particular goal and to follow it. You should also know the interests of your clients, so the preliminary research is a must.
3 crucial questions to ask
Don’t forget that your business would be nothing without an audience. Therefore, every step should be directed to meet clients’ needs. Avoid negative effect of your contest campaign by fair answering on 3 simple questions:
- Whether your focus is external (lead generation) or internal (current customers engagement)?
- Are you sure you’ve clearly defined your (potential) customers and their interests?
- Have you conducted a detailed analysis of your competitors to lay bare the main shortcomings?
Choose the best platform
You must have an excellent knowledge of the platform used, with all its pros and cons. A contest can be internally or externally oriented. Try to determine the platform which allows to reach the largest number of people (e.g. DesignContest.com). Maybe you will have to utilize an application to integrate the contest with social platforms.
Promote the contest well
Even the coolest contest will be unnoticed without a proper promo. What’s more, participants should have a possibility to interact, not just “to present” in the contest. Here are some advices on how to hit the promo jackpot:
- Use social media metrics to define the time when your website has the largest number of visitors and use it to post promo materials.
- Repeated posts. Don’t you think that posting an announcement once or twice is enough? This is the right time for being a little bit annoying. An audience will never get mad if the contest worth it.
- Let all your social levers work: make sure you’ve announced the contest on each and every social platform.
- Maintain regular activity. Don’t just wait for the contest to start – live your everyday life, post new material like before. Remember that the contest is just a sweet bonus, but not something that supersedes everything else.
Follow the rules
Sure, all contests are subordinated to national laws and regulations. But besides it, you’ll have to take into account the internal rules of the platform chosen. Do not neglect reading the rules, as ignorance is no excuse.
Stay easy! Make sure all selected fields are clear enough, otherwise, being confused, potential candidates may quit. Try to provide the most valuable information, so the contenders could know your concepts and preferences.
Deserved reward
A properly selected prize is half the battle. This is the first thing which falls into consideration of a potential participant. When choosing a prize, be guided by:
- The ratio of your costs and value for the winner. Try to choose an option that encourages audience, but isn’t too expensive for you.
- Relatedness to the brand. The prize should represent your business, not somebody else’s.
- Sponsorship. You can set a prize independently or sponsored. The best case is when sponsor shares your contest with its audience.
The results
Sure, the conducted contest will give you much more than just a winner with his solution. You will receive such valuable information as a number of posts, emails and social media shares. As well as you’ll get the data about fan base and conversion changes, brands’ reputation and customer loyalty. In general, you will receive a fertile soil for improving you business.
