14 Jan Contesting and Promotions
By Justice Abbott
Hello and welcome to our first blog for 2022! We want to kick things off the right way. We’re here to explain the ins and outs of incorporating contests and promotions into your marketing plan. Stick around as we explain some popular types of contests and promos, how to use them, and any rules and regulations each platform might have.
Why should you use contests and promotions?
Contests and promotions are a fun, affordable way to promote your business. They are a great way to:
- Generate new leads
- Increase customer engagement
- Incentivize followers to support your business
- Generate more exposure for your product or service
Running a social media contest or promotion is a great way to start a conversation about your business and increase brand awareness!
Types of contests and promotions
There are a ton of different routes you can take when planning your contest or promotion. Although a lot have been done before, you always have the ability to personalize a common contest to be relevant to your business. Here is a list of some of the most common types of social media contests and promotions, you’ll want to save this for later:
- Share a photo contest
- Comment to enter
- Follow to win
- Social scavenger hunt contest
- Hashtag challenge (make sure you guide followers to use hashtags on public posts since privacy settings override visibility!)
Any of these contest ideas are guaranteed to get your business some buzz and new engagement! As mentioned, you’ll want to add a personal touch to whichever contest you decide on, making it more relevant and representative of your business and what you’re trying to promote.
How-to run a giveaway
Let’s talk about actually running a social media giveaway! Here are some key things you want to remember:
- Understand your objective, whether you are trying to increase follower count or boost brand awareness, it’s important to know your goal. Then you can decide which social media platform you want to use.
- Decide on the prize you will be giving away. This can be a new item or a service you provide!
- Know the rules and use the right tools! Each social media platform has different rules regarding promotions. You’ll receive a lot of entries so it’s helpful to use a tracking tool to keep track of who’s participating.
Rules and Regulations
One of the first rules to keep in mind when running a social media giveaway is to determine the proper terminology. There is a difference between “sweepstakes,” “contest,” “lottery,” and “giveaway”. You don’t want to use these words intercorrectly.
Another rule you don’t want to forget is that you have to make it clear to followers that the social media platform you are using is not associated with the contest or promotion.
Before running your contest or promotion, we recommend taking a quick look over Facebook’s policies for promotions, Twitter’s rules, and Instagram’s promotion guidelines.
Once again, remember that contesting and promotions is a great way to promote your business while simultaneously gaining engagement. Before running your contest or promotion, don’t forget to review the platform’s rules and regulations to ensure your campaign is legal.
If you have any questions about getting started, don’t hesitate to shoot us an email at info@germono.com!
