Category: Facebook

20 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Contest Vendor

Before hiring a contest vendor you should ask lots of questions. Not all vendors are created equal. Some may be technically proficient but lack legal expertise. Some have the legal credentials but can’t build a website or do registration and bonding. Here are twenty questions you should be asking before you select your contest vendor: How well do they know sweepstakes law and advertising and mobile? A top notch promotional

March 10, 2017

Working with Third Party Brands for a Contest

You should approach working with third party brands in a contest or sweepstakes with caution. Giving away highly sought after prizes like trips, electronics or gift cards, or running promotions on social platforms, may seem like a great idea to garner interest and new followers for your brand. However, if you are naming a specific brand name other than your own as part of your contest, you may need

September 8, 2016

#Hashtag Contests 101

The buzzword in contests right now are hashtag contests (or hashtag sweepstakes). These types of promotions are easy to run, less expensive than setting up a contest web site, and don’t require a lot of lead time. The simplicity and low cost appeals to a lot of businesses anxious to expand their social channels, but you will still need to follow some best practices to ensure that you don’t run

May 17, 2016

Social Contest Platforms: Inexpensive, Easy…and Risky

Today I was sent a link to an article touting Platforms for Social Contests that will “launch and track your contest with ease.” The article then went on to list eleven platforms, all relatively cheap – well, really dirt cheap or even free – and all the wonderful features each one had. If I were looking for a way to run a contest and I didn’t know any better

April 19, 2016

How to Contact Winners in Social Media Contests

Running a promotion on Twitter or Instagram or other social platform is fairly easy. You basically follow the social platform guidelines, post rules, collect entries and select winners from valid posts or tweets or pins. The hard part can be contacting and clearing winners. In a traditional contest where a form is used to collect data you typically collect address and phone or email so contacting winners is easy.

February 23, 2016

50 Reasons to Run a Sweepstakes or Contest

Looking for a reason to run a sweepstakes, contest, instant win game, rewards program or loyalty campaign? Here are 50 of them! To create an email opt-in list. To create a mobile opt-in list. To give away your products. To build your brand. To encourage brand loyalty. To encourage product try-on. To encourage product usage. To encourage product trial. To reward your loyal customers. To introduce your customers to

November 4, 2015

Why a Facebook Ad Buy is a Must for Any Facebook Promotion

It’s happening again. Facebook is in the midst of changing their newsfeed algorithm. It’s another in a long list of unannounced Facebook changes that may result in even fewer of your followers actually viewing your posts. So what does this mean for a brand/marketer running a sweepstakes or contest on Facebook? Simply put, you must pay to play. Marketers can no longer rely on a “build it and they will come”

June 16, 2015

The Value of User Generated Content (UGC) in a Contest

User Generated Content (“UGC”) are digital assets (videos, photos, essays) created by an individual. When UGC is used in conjunction with a Skills Contest, entrants become really invested in their submissions, and in turn, the brand. Contests, compared to Sweepstakes, typically see a lower number of entries. However, the quality of the entry submissions and entrant engagement often outweighs the high entry count. A “standard” UGC Contest typically consists of

May 12, 2015

Why Do Facebook Users Like Your Brand Page?

A Facebook study done by Syncapse (a social performance service company) dove deeper into the reasons users like brands pages and some interesting results were found. Check out the original article on Mashable. Syncapse and research partner Hotspex surveyed 2,080 consumers and focused on big name brands like Disney, Coca-Cola, Victoria’s Secret, and XBOX. Consumers were asked which of the following predetermined reasons led them to become a fan or

May 5, 2015

Fun with Bonus Sweepstakes Entries!

Many clients want to extend the reach of their sweepstakes by adding in ways to earn bonus entries, either through social sharing or sending emails. This method of providing an extra entry for sharing about the promotion sounds easy enough, but you may want to consider all the pros and cons before implementing an incentive for entry mechanism in your next program. Pros: 1. Viral engagement! Letting

April 21, 2015