How to Promote your Contest or Giveaway

Any activity that increases user engagement is good for business. Giveaways and contests serve as effective marketing channels that businesses can use to grow the customer base and therefore increase sales. When businesses first commence contests and giveaways, they think that people would automatically scramble to enter. However, this notion is misleading since this not usually the case.

Companies wrongly believe that offering their products for free will automatically attract a flood of visitors, social media subscribers and eventually sales. Without having a solid marketing plan, contests and giveaways do not generate the desired results. If your business wishes to maximize the success of the promotion, then it is important to take the necessary steps.

Having a clear strategy from the beginning will lead to a business attractive the largest number of entrants possible. A single contest or giveaway is enough to boost sales and increase subscription in social media platforms of business. A business that has never done this kind of promotion is vulnerable to making mistakes that frustrate their marketing efforts. Consequently, being informed about contests and giveaway services is essential in planning accordingly to avoid possible failure. This article is an eye-opener on how businesses should go about promoting their contests and giveaways.

Sales funnel strategy

A sales funnel strategy means a series of procedures that cause clients to move from awareness to making a purchasing decision. A business cannot invest in a dead marketing strategy and expect to win. For instance, an online shop cannot advertise in print newspapers. While other businesses may with the approach, an online business needs to employ a relevant marketing strategy.

The behaviors of consumers have shifted over the years. As a result, a business must align its marketing efforts to the expectations of the clients. At the same time, companies need to anticipate the ever-growing needs of their customers. The conversion process goes through the following stages:

• This involves attracting clients unfamiliar with the business. People cannot purchase products if they do not know your business exists. Further, they will not come to your business if they do not trust you. There is a need to get your business name to potential clients and establish yourself as a business leader.
• Once someone has become familiar with the business, engage them. Encourage them to make small commitments to the business as they prepare to purchase.
• Once you have got the attention of the client, educate them on the product or service you offer. Make the prospects feel that the product or service fits them.
• This is the stage where you make an actual sale. Offer clients opportunities to purchase as many times as possible.
• It is easier to sell to an existing client than a new one. Since you have invested a lot in gaining particular clients, you cannot afford to lose them.

The following are free strategies you can utilize to promote your contest and giveaway.

Mail Newsletter

Have you been collecting email addresses from your clients? If not, then you should start immediately. The use of email addresses provided by your subscribers facilitates one-on-one engagement with clients. The effectiveness of mails depends on the application of the following tips:

• Value the list. Store carefully all the addresses you obtain from clients. Keep on growing the list.
• Ensure the emails are personalized to the needs of the individual customer. Every client should feel that the emails are relevant to their specific needs.
• The use of attention grabbers to ensure that subscribers read your mail. You can hire the services of EduJungles to create content that is appropriate for the client.
• Send a mail about 24-36 hours before launching your contest or giveaway
• Get someone to review the mail before sending it. This will assist in detecting mistakes and correcting them before reaching the client.
• Make the key videos and images “clickable” to enhance interaction with the clients.

Use emails to inform clients of the upcoming contest or giveaway. Use the opportunity to invite them to try some of the products or services offered.

Capitalize on referrals

Personal recommendations are powerful in marketing. People believe the opinions of those closest to them when making purchasing decisions. They hold their closest networks to be more trustworthy than “third parties.” One of the most effective strategies to promoting a contest or giveaway is leveraging on the power of referrals like partners, clients, and influencers. The first step to using referrals involves analyzing the potential referral sources your business has. A referral source implies any individual who has a relationship with potential clients.

Next, create in-house systems for tracking the progress. For instance, you can have track referrals in spreadsheets or any other automation software. The advantage with referrals is that they can make your contest or giveaway viral. However, this largely depends on how you manage the referral system. One way of achieving better results is communicating what is available for the individuals who make the referrals. For example, you can create a system that rewards those who refer to others. This will motivate them to inform their close networks about your contest or giveaway.

Use Twitter hashtags

As a business in this age and time, you cannot ignore the use of hashtags. A hashtag is designated by the sign (#) and it is accompanied by word or phrase. The importance of a hashtag lies in its ability to reach people outside your existing audience pool. The following tips will assist your hashtags to promote your contest or contest girl sweepstakes:

• Make the hashtags memorable. You want people to talk about your business and therefore to create hashtags they can easily remember. Ensure the hashtag has your company tagline and defines your business well.
• Participate in valuable conversations. You can join conversations around related topics to your product or service. As you participate, you will also be increasing visibility of the business and drive new clients to the company.
• Add hashtags to content posts. Whenever you share any content on Twitter, include the hashtag so that users can be in a position to search them.

Create landing pages

Once you have an idea about your contest chest and giveaway, it is now time to create a landing page. The landing page is needed to funnel all the traffic to enter the contest. Since the landing page is key, it can break the campaign if not well done. Consequently, it is necessary to spend time to ensure that it converts at the highest rate possible. Follow the following when designing a landing page:

• Offer value. Ensure the prize is good to entice clients to provide you with their information for a chance to emerge as winners.
• Create a sense of urgency. Emphasize on the contest or giveaway end date. This will allow the visitors to know that the time of the deal is limited.
• The landing page should be easy to use. Ensure that it is friendly to different screen sizes like mobile and tablet.
• Provide clear instructions. Inform people clearly how to enter the contest by providing step by step instructions on how to do it.

Utilize the business website

The business website is official consequently clients will trust any information posted on it. The website serves as a contact point where clients interact with a business. Therefore, when doing free giveaways, consider the site a priority. Display on your company website the upcoming promotion and invite people to participate. You can do this by publishing a blog to inform the client about the upcoming event. Alternatively, you can use widgets to pass information. However, when publishing a blog, you should be careful the information is not lost as the business publishes more articles.

Hosting the contest

The ultimate aim is to generate sales. Therefore, careful planning is needed to ensure the success of the contest. If you want to get more following, you can turn to paid advertising. Research demonstrates that paid advertising increases entrants to a contest 10 times. The good thing with getting more people to participate is that you can continue marketing to then after the event.

If you are doing the contest on social media, begin with a relevant post. For example, the post can read, “CONTEST ALERT.” Leaving the text in capital letters will capture the attention of users while also increasing engagement. Additionally, decide on the prize for the winner and the runner’s up. The contest winner should get the grand prize. This can be something like a gift card that can be used in your store.

The other winners should also get something small as an appreciation for participating. When giving away prizes, let it be something related to your business. For instance, giving a basket with some of the products you offer will be more effective than a single price. Ensure there is a variety of prices so that all the participants feel that they have a chance of participating. Furthermore, check the local regulations before setting up the contest. Exclude states or countries where the law prohibits such contests.

Instagram Giveaways

Instagram is growing fast and now has a billion active users. Businesses can take advantage of such several people to get new clients. If you want to create awareness regarding your brand, then creating infinite sweeps on Instagram should be on the list. Contest on Instagram is more engaging than regular posts. The downside of Instagram contests is that you do not have access to the email addresses of clients so that you can invite them. However, you can maximize brand awareness by using a combination of one or more of the following approaches:

• It entails asking people to follow your handle for a prize
• Ask the followers to like a post and win
• Promise those who comment on a particular post a price
• Let those who tag a particular post be candidates to a prize.

As followers engage with the post, inform them more about your band. Work towards converting them from followers to loyal clients. Take advantage of the people who have followed your Instagram account. Be sure to inform them about what you offer and how they can make purchases.

The announcement is essential

Announcing the contest or giveaway is the most important part of the process. How the announcement is done determines whether or not people will identify with the business. All the contests begin with a post where a business informs people regarding the upcoming event. Next, you need to inform them where the contest will be held, i.e. Instagram, Facebook, business website, etc. Explain what people need to participate including eligibility criteria. Further, individuals need to know the prize on offer. Include also the terms and conditions of the contest and giveaway. Additionally, inform people the hashtags used as a way of ensuring that the contest goes viral. The failure to make the announcement well means all the efforts go into waste. Where you have challenges making an appropriate post or write a resume, engage the services of Resume That Works. The essay writing company has a reputation for producing high-quality posts for contests and giveaways. The online service has experienced writers who develop content from scratch, therefore, ensuring your posts are original and unique.

Keep users involved

Keep the users involved every day to generate loyalty. You need to concisely undertake the promotion so that you can get more followers. Doing the promotion once will not generate the number of clients the business needs to make substantial sales. While the business wants to engage clients daily, you should appreciate that there are hundreds of promotions. People tend to visit the sweepstakes directory to determine the most appropriate promotions. Enroll your business in a popular directory to assist in getting more people.

Use Reddit

Reddit remains a popular platform for sharing social news and discussions. The site requires users to create an account to post content. Users with an account can post links, pictures, and text where users are allowed to vote. The most voted content rises to the top while the least voted becomes less visible. The huge community of members makes Reddit generate massive traffic. A business can harness the power of Reddit communities to promote itself. Generating Reddit sweepstakes requires a business to create a free account. You can submit links for sweepstakes and generate traffic.

Simplify the giveaway

Users are discouraged if the giveaway process is complex. They usually lack the time to learn complex processes. If the process is too complex, people will proceed to promotions offered by other companies. Since the aim is to get as many clients as possible, the process should be simplified to accommodate the needs of diverse clients. Breakdown the process of getting into the contest or giveaway so that users can enter without major problems. Remember, if users find the process easy, they are likely to sign up.

Facebook GiveAways

Facebook remains the largest social networking site worldwide with more than 2.4 billion active users monthly. Furthermore, the site has a diverse and rich user demographics. When using Facebook, it is possible to reach diverse individuals. Make use of Facebook to undertake the promotion of your contests and giveaways. When posting them, you need to observe the following:

• The post should be comprehensive. Include all the necessary information,
• Grab the attention of the reader
• Reply to all comments, whether positive or negative

If you want to reach a wide audience, boost your posts. While this will cost you money, the post will reach w wide client base and increase engagement.

Concisely, promoting contests and giveaways is critical in promoting a business’s brand. In the modern world, business space has become competitive with more alternative products and services available. Businesses have to find ways of capturing the attention of potential clients. Moreover, they have to establish an appropriate sell funnel strategies to turn people into actual clients.

Running a contest and giveaway is one of the most effective strategies of getting clients to notice your business. Thereby, promoting a contest and giveaway will enable more people to know that your business is undertaking such an activity. As a result, more people will join the activity in an attempt to win a prize. When people participate in such an event, a business should work towards making them purchase products or services offered.

If people can agree to participate in a contest, then they can be made to make purchasing decisions. If the contest is taking place in say, Instagram, then the business should take the opportunity to market its brand to the participants. The business needs to demonstrate the products or services it can offer. This will enable the followers to make purchasing decisions and ultimately increasing sales.

About the author

Allen Cranston is an analyst and resume writer. Allen committed to helping talented professionals show the world what he is truly capable of. Since launching in 2012, Allen has helped over 4,000 job applicants land their dream jobs for resumethatworks.com. He is constantly looking for new ways to help people achieve their career goals. You can find him on Facebook or Twitter.