Mar 12, 2013
4 Benefits of Social Media Contests
From Christina Strickland, Community Manager for Social Media School:
4 Benefits of Social Media Contests
Mar 12, 2013
Social media contests are win-win opportunities for consumers and brands. Consumers enjoy the 
opportunity to win something–a gift certificate, a vacation, a t-shirt, a book, or a lamp. Who doesn’t love free stuff? And brands have the opportunity to grow their fan bases, build awareness, and engage with their target audiences. Here’s how contests can benefit your brand:
- Get More Fans: Social media contests are a good way to get more fans for your brand. Accomplishing this is pretty simple. You make following or liking your brand a requirement for entry, and voila! Anyone who wants to participate becomes a follower. It’s easy and doesn’t require any pushing or convincing on your part. If you allow fans to vote for the winner of the contest, this can increase your fan base as well. Anyone who wants to take part in the voting will have to follow or like your brand page.
- Turn Your Fans Into Promoters: As you know, Internet users are typically eager to spread the word about anything that’s free. If you create a social media contest that offers something of value for free, such as a gift from your store, a free period of service, a trip, a book or a gift certificate/card, you’re sure to see the entries fly in. And many people who enter will want to share the wealth (or potential for it) with their network of friends, family members, and associates. As such, your fans will become promoters of your brand.
- Encourage Engagement: Social media contests can also help foster emotional connections. This often occurs when contest participants are asked to create content for submission, such as photos, videos, pinboards, slogans, or jingles. Likewise, contests that allow participants to choose a winner help create emotional connections. These contests also encourage customer-brand interaction and help stimulate conversations within related online communities.
- Collect Data: Often, Internet users are suspicious and annoyed by requests for their information–name, email address, phone number, address, etc. A social media contest provides an easy, not-in-your-face way to collect such information. A brand can require participants to sign up and create a login as part of the entry process, mining valuable lead data without ruffling a bunch of feathers.
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