Contest for the win

It is getting considerably harder to engage your audience. Creating a  contest with prizes allows you to offer something in return and engage the audience more than any other post would. What are the main benefits of running a  contest?

Boost Brand Awareness:
Ecommerce giveaways generate buzz and excitement around your brand, helping you reach a  wider audience through social sharing and word‑of-mouth. 

Increase Customer Engagement:
Contests and interactive entry mechanisms encourage customers to actively interact with your brand. A  report by HubSpot found that interactive content, such as contests, can generate twice as much engagement as static content, increasing overall interaction and connection with your audience.

Attract New Customers:

Giveaways attract potential customers who may not have otherwise discovered your brand.

Grow Email List and Social Media Following:

Entry requirements often involve following your social media accounts or subscribing to your newsletter, helping you expand your online community. For example, according to a  study by Tailwind, Instagram contests can help brands grow their followers 70% faster compared to accounts that don’t use contests.

Generate User‑Generated Content (UGC):

Encourage customers to share content featuring your products, providing authentic testimonials and reviews. Nielsen reports that 92% of consumers trust UGC more than traditional advertising, emphasizing the credibility and influence of customer‑shared content.

Drive Sales and Conversions:

E‑commerce giveaways can increase sales, especially if you offer exclusive discounts to participants. Data from Vouchercloud indicates that 57% of shoppers are more likely to purchase from a  brand if they receive a  discount or promotion from them, showing the direct impact of giveaways on sales and conversions.

Very popular type of contest is a  simple giveaway. Especially if run on social media, giveaway can generate hundreds of leads in a  few days. Brands that hold contests grow followers 70 %  faster than others.

It’s important to specifically define the steps the user needs to take to participate. Usually, this includes following your brand, tagging a  friend, filling out an email address, or sharing the content on social media.

Step 1: Create the rules

Start by creating a  contest where you give away three pieces of your top‑selling products to three lucky winners. The rules of the contest are simple and engaging:

• Like your post

• Follow your Facebook page

• Enter an email address into a  Facebook lead form 

Remember to clearly state the rules and deadline of the entry within the copy of your post.

This format can also be replicated on Instagram, expanding your reach across platforms. To maximize the number of email addresses you gain, you can reduce the number of rules to only one (Enter an email address). 

Step 2: Time It Right for Maximum Impact

Timing is crucial. Plan your contests strategically, especially before major events like Black Friday. The influx of new followers and email addresses just before such events can significantly boost your marketing efforts and sales during peak seasons.

Limit your contests to once every two months at max to avoid being perceived as a  “raffle shop.”

Step 3: Use Best Sellers to Attract Interest

Ensure that the prizes you offer are among your best‑selling products. This will make the contest more appealing and worthwhile for participants, increasing the chances of engagement and participation.

Consider communicating the value of the giveaway in the copy. Showing off how much money participants can save if they win the prize helps boost interest.

Step 4: Set up the Lead form

After you prepare everything, set up a  Facebook campaign Lead form.

When creating the form, pay attention to the graphics and copy of your content. According to Neil Patel, this includes:

• Attention‑grabbing headline

• Professional Images

• Brief but Detailed Description

• Prominent Call‑to-action

• Simple form for collecting info 

Don’t forget to connect it to Ecomail so you can automatically sync the email addresses to your email list with a  tag to differentiate them from the rest of your audience.

Remember to make sure to check the Facebook contest rules, and clearly write down the terms of the contest.

Step 5: Promote the contest

Pay close attention to the steps and strategies for promoting your contest. Your goal is to reach as many potential customers as possible, so make sure you are targeting the right users and setting up ads to promote your contest.

Use not only paid ads, but also other social media. And do not forget your existing emailing list and customers ‑ they too should get a  chance to participate.

Step 6: Announce Winners and Reward Participants

Once the contest period ends, select three winners and announce them on your social media channels. Ideally, ask the winners to share their success on social media. 

Remember to also edit the existing posts and include information that the contest is over.

Step 7: Don’t forget the losers

To maximize the impact, email all participants with a  discount code for their next purchase. Make sure they feel included and know you appreciate their taking part in the contest.

This strategy not only helps you grow your email list but also drives immediate sales, potentially covering the cost of the contest and generating additional revenue.

Spin the wheel 

The classic spin the wheel is a  great way to engage your audience on your website in exchange for providing their email address. This type of contest has a  great response rate with an average 20 %  conversion rate. 

With usually only one click required to participate, it is easy to understand and brings excitement to customers as they are hoping to win the biggest prize.

Photo /  video contest

Ideal game for social media is a  content contest. Users are asked to create content of themselves with your product and share it on their social media. You can then either run a  contest for the best photo or reward everyone for sharing your brand. This type of contest is also amazing for creating UGC (user‑generated content), which is one of the most valuable content nowadays.

Online challenge

Create leaderboards or challenge boards where participants can compete against each other, earning points for completing certain tasks or engaging with your brand. Offer rewards or recognition to top performers. Remember that the challenge should be relevant for your business and correspond with your brand.

Quizzes

Create engaging quizzes related to your product/service or holiday‑themed trivia. Offer incentives for participants to answer questions and give their contact information to receive results or enter into a  contest.