Business contests are a strategic tool for engaging an audience and elevating a brand’s presence. They offer a direct line to consumers, creating excitement and interaction that can translate into measurable growth. When executed correctly, a contest can captivate an audience in a way that traditional advertising cannot. This guide provides a step-by-step approach to developing and running a contest that aligns with your business objectives.
Define Your Contest Goals
Before launching a contest, it is important to establish a clear purpose. Your primary objective will shape every subsequent decision, from the prize you offer to the way people enter. Without a defined goal, it becomes difficult to measure the campaign’s success. These goals align with broader marketing strategies and address specific business needs.
Common objectives include increasing brand awareness, which involves getting your company’s name in front of a larger audience. Another goal is lead generation, where the purpose is to collect contact information from potential customers. Many businesses also use contests to boost social media engagement, encouraging actions like likes, comments, and shares.
A business might also aim to grow its follower count on social networks, creating a larger community around the brand. Sourcing user-generated content (UGC) is another goal; this involves asking participants to submit their own photos or videos, which the company can then use in its marketing materials. Identifying your main goal ensures all elements of your contest work together.
Plan Your Contest Mechanics
Choose an Appealing Prize
The success of a contest often hinges on the desirability of the prize. It must be something that your target audience genuinely wants, which motivates them to participate. A prize that is highly relevant to your brand is more effective than a generic one. For instance, a company specializing in outdoor gear might offer a complete camping set, which directly appeals to its customer base.
While a generic cash prize or tech gadget is appealing, they may attract people only interested in the prize, not your services. A brand-specific prize, such as a collection of your products or a unique experience related to your business, helps ensure participants are genuinely interested in what you offer. This approach helps attract potential long-term customers.
Select an Entry Method
The method of entry should directly support the goals you defined earlier. If your objective is to generate leads, requiring participants to sign up for your email newsletter is an effective entry method. If you want to boost social media engagement, asking people to like, follow, and share your contest post is a direct way to achieve that.
This method increases the visibility of your contest and brand across social platforms. For campaigns focused on user-generated content, the entry method would involve participants submitting a photo or video. This engages your audience on a deeper level and provides you with authentic content for future marketing. Make the entry process as simple as possible to encourage participation.
Set a Clear Timeline
Establishing a clear timeline for your contest is important for creating a sense of urgency and managing participant expectations. Every contest must have a defined start and end date, which should be clearly communicated in all promotional materials. This transparency helps build trust with your audience.
The ideal duration of a contest depends on the value of the prize and the complexity of the entry method. A simple “like and share” contest can be run for a shorter period, perhaps a week, to maintain momentum. A contest that requires more effort, such as a video submission, may need a longer timeline of a few weeks to a month.
Understand the Legal Requirements
It’s important to understand the distinction between a contest and a sweepstakes, as they are governed by different regulations. A contest is a game of skill where the winner is chosen based on merit, such as judging the quality of a photo or video submission. A sweepstakes, on the other hand, is a game of chance where the winner is selected at random.
Sweepstakes are heavily regulated to prevent them from being considered illegal lotteries, which require a purchase to enter, an element of chance, and a prize. To avoid this classification, sweepstakes must not have a purchase requirement, which is why the phrase “no purchase necessary to enter or win” is standard. Contests based on skill are less regulated, but the judging criteria must be clear and objective.
Creating a set of “Official Rules” is a mandatory step for legal compliance. These rules should be easy for participants to find and understand. They must include key details such as eligibility requirements, the exact entry period, how and when the winner will be selected, and a detailed description of the prize. Major social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook also have their own promotion policies that must be followed.
Promote Your Contest
A multi-channel promotional strategy is the most effective. Start by creating dedicated posts for your social media channels, using eye-catching visuals and a clear call to action. Utilizing relevant hashtags can also expand the reach of your posts to users who don’t already follow you.
Email marketing is another powerful tool for promotion. Send an announcement to your existing email list, as they are an engaged audience and likely to participate. Adding a banner or a pop-up on your website is another way to capture the attention of visitors. For businesses looking to reach a broader audience, paid social media ads can target specific demographics and interests.
Execute and Manage the Contest
While the contest is live, active management is necessary to maintain momentum and ensure a smooth experience for participants. It is important to engage with participants by responding to their comments and questions in a timely manner. This interaction helps build a sense of community and shows your brand is attentive.
Monitoring entries as they come in is another important task to ensure all submissions comply with the rules. For contests with a high volume of entries, using contest management software can be beneficial. These tools can help streamline the process of collecting and organizing entries, making it easier to manage the competition.
Conclude the Contest and Analyze Results
The conclusion of your contest begins with the selection of a winner. This process must be conducted fairly and in accordance with the official rules. For a sweepstakes, this involves using a random number generator for an unbiased selection, while a skill-based contest winner is chosen based on predefined judging criteria.
After selecting the winner, announce them publicly to add to the excitement and transparency of the contest. You should also contact the winner directly to coordinate the delivery of the prize.
Once the prize has been awarded, the final step is to analyze the results of your campaign. Go back to the goals you set at the beginning and measure your success against them. Track metrics such as new leads generated, the increase in social media followers, or the engagement rate on your contest posts to determine the return on investment (ROI).