Running a social media giveaway is a great way to both increase and engage your audience. If you have never run a giveaway before, there are a few important things to keep in mind. In this blog we will help you set up and launch the perfect social media giveaway that is sure to turn your customers into brand advocates!
Selecting Your Platform
First and foremost, you will need to select which social media platform you will run your giveaway on. If you are only on one social media platform, your decision will be easy. However, if you have a social media presence across multiple platforms, you will need to consider your goals to determine which platform makes the most sense. We do not recommend running a giveaway on multiple platforms at one time as it can become confusing for both you and your audience.
The top three channels to run a giveaway on are Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If your goal is to increase your follower base on one of these platforms, then you will want to run your giveaway there. Instagram is a great platform for running photo-based contests whereas Facebook is great if you're going to encourage comments or shares. And Twitter works really well if your giveaway centers around a hashtag! Specify your goals and understand your audience before landing on a specific platform.
Choosing a Prize
What are you going to give away? Obviously, it needs to be enticing if you want your audience to participate. We have discovered that both gift baskets and gift cards work really well as prizes. If possible, we recommend giving away your own product or service as part of the prize. This is the best way to promote branding and loyalty. However, we understand this isn't always possible. For example, lawyers likely aren't able to give away free services or even discounted rates. If you find yourself in this predicament, give away a gift card to a local business or tickets to a nearby event. Get creative!
Picking an Angle
Picking an angle means figuring out how you will entice people to enter and how you plan to select a winner. Of course, the prize will be a major incentive. But it is also important to consider what you want out of the giveaway. Do you want more online reviews? Consider positioning your giveaway as an opportunity for your customers to "spread the love". Maybe you want to run a holiday photo contest. Make this messaging clear and find a unique way to link it back to your products or services.
Executing the Giveaway
Finally, you will need to put some thought and effort into executing the giveaway. This includes deciding when to post, what imagery you will need, whether you plan to boost the post, how long you plan to run it, and how you will select and announce the winner. Running a successful giveaway is all about the fine details! Before you launch the giveaway, you should make sure you understand the platform rules. If you want to do a sweepstakes, there are quite a few legal hoops to jump through. That is why a simple giveaway is usually a safe bet. You will also want to make it clear that you will be randomly selecting a winner. This assures entrants that they have a fair chance of winning.
It may seem like there is a lot that goes into running a social media giveaway, but don't get discouraged! If you need assistance with launching a social media giveaway, the Digital Marketing experts at Informatics can help. Contact us today to get started.
