Social media contests can be very successful for your business if your goal is to increase your fan base, increase engagement or increase your email subscribers. Since email conversions are much higher than social media conversions, smart marketers like to create contests that capture people’s email addresses. This way, they can follow up with them later on and inform them about news and specials.
I had the opportunity to work with Out And About Marketing and help them execute their #SochiDailyGiveaway contest. Winning a pair of skis or snowboards during the Olympics sounds like a great hook for passionate skiers and boarders – exactly the audience Squaw Valley wants to attract.
It’s no secret snow has not been great in Lake Tahoe this year. Despite the lack of snow, interest and participation in the contest has been through the roof. After all, this ski resort did everything right with the social media contest. The incentive, the prize, the urgency, the timing and the viral sharing were all put into place with the contest. The social media vendor used for the contest was Heyo, a very affordable yet solid solution and one that I consistently recommend to my partners.
In summary, here are 7 tips to make a social media contest successful:
- 6,975 new likes
- 30% email conversion rate
1. Make it relevant to your audience
2. Timing is everything
3. Keep it simple for people to enter
4. Make sure it’s mobile optimized
5. Come up with incentives guaranteed to get people to act
6. Capture their email addresses
7. Make it shareable to increase reach
Market Note: Social media is playing a major role in accelerating the decision cycle of consumers who patronize ski resorts. As a result, one of the country's largest such companies -- Vail Resorts -- has abandoned its long-time advertising strategies and practices. In their place, the billion-dollar-a-year corporation, which operates five major resorts and twenty hotels, has built a new in-house marketing operation that uses social media and other digital venues to constantly engage skiing enthusiasts in real time. CEO Rob Katz explains the dramatic changes.
Market Note: Social media is playing a major role in accelerating the decision cycle of consumers who patronize ski resorts. As a result, one of the country's largest such companies -- Vail Resorts -- has abandoned its long-time advertising strategies and practices. In their place, the billion-dollar-a-year corporation, which operates five major resorts and twenty hotels, has built a new in-house marketing operation that uses social media and other digital venues to constantly engage skiing enthusiasts in real time. CEO Rob Katz explains the dramatic changes.
