We see this all the time on social media, “Like, and Share this page to Win X Y & Z” but why do people run these competitions and how do they benefit? A competition with the right prize, and incentive to enter can be great for a business and it goes beyond just looking generous.
Increased Presence on Social Media
As you will probably notice, a lot of these competitions will require you to like and share a company's Facebook or Twitter page. The idea behind this is to bump up the social following. A rise in followers means more people to share your content with, and the likelihood of conversion increases. Although be careful not to abuse this newfound power by blasting your newly acquired followers with pointless status updates. Otherwise, you risk them un-following you and all the good work has then been wasted.
SEO Benefits
Not only can competitions give your social media presence a boost, it can also have a positive effect on your SEO efforts. Contact appropriate publishers and tell them about your new competition and they may just want to share it with their users too. Any mention of this on their website will, of course, include a link to the competition details. These links act as little votes of confidence for the search engines and can help boost your ranking potential. Soon the £250 you spend on a competition prize soon seems like nothing compared to all the new traffic and hopefully business, you are getting.
User Acquisition
This incentive isn’t as obvious as the others. The idea behind this is that because the user has already been in contact with you and your website, they will be more likely to convert with you in the future if they are looking for a product or service that you provide. This will not happen immediately but might occur over a number of weeks, months or years.
Data Capture
One of the major incentives for running a competition is the amount of data you could potentially capture. Providing the user has consented to their email address being used for marketing purposes, the email addresses could be used in a future email marketing campaign. To find out more about data protection and how future GDPR changes will affect the information you can retain, just check this GDPR overview.
PR
A competition is always a good PR opportunity; you could get coverage from local newspapers, websites and other social profiles. Utilising a slightly different and fun way for people to get involved in the competition will increase uptake. Maybe participants could be asked to upload a photo to social media, tagging your company in the process. This will help to make your competition standout and also generate a bit of a buzz on social media.
A competition can have value far beyond making you look good and generous. When conducted correctly a competition can have benefits far greater than the initial cost of starting and running it. This could also be the perfect boost your business needs. If you are lacking inspiration for a new campaign or are thinking of running a competition to boost your social media engagement, we will be happy to bring your idea to fruition or steer you in the right direction. Just contact-us with your idea and we will be in touch.
