Many businesses are reluctant to hold online giveaways – and we understand the hesitation. After all, giving away your products or services does have a financial cost. You want to make sure you get the best possible return for your investment.
But done the right way, online giveaways can boost your business. Let’s take a closer look:
The Point of Giveaways
At the risk of stating the obvious, people love free stuff. Free tools, software, headphones, trips, resources and more are all appealing – and that’s true for basically every niche and industry.
Let’s take a look at the right way to hold an online contest:
Establish a Goal
First, a giveaway isn’t going to lead to direct sales. Instead, it’s more of a quick shot in the arm to boost your brand in some way. The five most common goals of a giveaway campaign are:
- Increase social media engagement
- Increase social media follows
- Increase blog engagement
- Gain subscribers to your e-newsletter list
- Gain backlinks
Goals aren’t usually chosen at random. Google analytics and other data are looked at to determine what aspects of your SEO might be falling short. Then a giveaway campaign will be developed with that data-driven goal in mind.
Select a Prize
You can’t just give away something generically interesting or valuable. For instance, iPads are a pretty common giveaway — so common, people often ignore iPad contests entirely.
Instead, relate your prize directly to your business. Pick a popular product from your inventory or offer a free service.
When offering a free product from your business, you’re attracting potential customers. These are the exact people you want to connect with later using targeted marketing techniques.
Watch Your Prize / Entry Balance
People aren’t going to spend a ton of time entering a contest. But you can request a bit more info if your prize is sufficiently valuable enough. The trick is finding the right balance.
Some entries can be as simple as a “like” on a social media post. You can also create a more detailed contact form if the prize is appealing enough.
Don’t ask for more than you need. In most cases, a name and email are enough. After all, you’re just starting the conversion funnel. You don’t need detailed information, especially for anyone who might drop out of the conversion funnel quickly.
Bundle Your Prizes
One prize is great, but more is better. Instead of offering one item, offer a bundle of three. Even if the value remains the same, people like to win a “prize package.”
You might also want to consider offer a few different prizes, like a Grand Prize and a few Runner-Up Prizes. Research shows more people will enter a contest which offers multiple prizes.
Contest Duration
Marketing firm Kontest found that the best contest length is 25 days. This is long enough to gather up a sizable pool of entries, but short enough to maintain enthusiasm and excitement among the entrants.
Ideally, you want to tie the contest into something a bit more memorable, like a holiday. If your product ties into a holiday, too, that’s even better.
Create Contest Landing Pages
Your SEO Agency will create special landing pages for your contest. This is where people can enter. These pages are typically focused on the contest without a ton of general brand promotion.
Contest landing pages should be clear and easy to navigate. They should accommodate anyone who wants to just enter quickly and leave. At the same time, links should be available for anyone who is interested in learning more about the brand.
Announce the Winners
Contests are fun! You want to highlight the happy winner. Ask the winner to take a photo of themselves with their prize. Highlight the winner on your site and social media pages (with their permissions, of course).
Should You Have an Online Contest?
A contest is more valuable than many people think at first. Basically, any type of business can benefit, although businesses which sell a product are ideal.
Online giveaways are a great way to give a powerful boost to a brand when an aspect of an online campaign is lagging. Contact us to learn more about how a contest can be used in your business or ask any questions you have below: