People love contests. It’s a simple fact of life. People also love social media. So why aren’t we using both to promote our businesses? It can be done, and it’s not that difficult. As a business owner, I am sure you could think of a few ideas for a contest related to your business. Once you have your idea, it’s simply a matter of using social media as the contest’s destination.
In the past, almost every online contest involved a blog. People would leave comments or sign up for RSS feeds or newsletters. Over time, things changed a little with web sites having pop-up windows that enabled visitors to enter a contest. They are all well and good, however, they are not very engaging, and there’s little to share.
Enter social media. Imagine a contest where participants had to post a photo (and almost everyone has a digital camera of some description, even if it’s just a mobile phone). That photo may be a fun or novel way to use a product for example. By publishing that photo through social media, with a link to the contest page, you are achieving a lot. Social media is engaging and if any of these photos amuse, they will be shared. A link back to your website may help to increase your inbound links as well.
Once the contest has been completed, don’t leave it there. You could follow up with an email thanking them for participating, and perhaps including a discount voucher or coupon. If your contest is successful and draws a lot of entrants, you will have done well to spread your message. If just ten percent of those who entered then use a voucher or coupon, that’s more business directly generated from the contest. Social media has many uses, it’s not just for engaging discussions.
