Category: Social Media

Paying for Votes Doesn’t Pay Off

If you are lucky enough to be a finalist in a contest you might think about going to extraordinary lengths to win — like paying for votes. But what really works and what is a bad idea? Before you get yourself into trouble and get disqualified, you should consult the official rules of the contest. The rules outline all the ways you could get disqualified for cheating, and some

January 31, 2019

3 New Year’s Resolutions for a Better Promotional Marketing Plan

As the year winds down, it’s that time again when people start thinking about setting resolutions to make the coming year better than the last one. And while it’s usually personal resolutions that make the headlines, like joining a gym or eating less takeout, it’s also a good time to make some resolutions for your business. This year, why not think about incorporating some simple actions to take your

December 19, 2018

10 Questions to Ask Before Partnering with a Promotion Agency

A contest, sweepstakes, instant win game or other promotion concept may be a great way for your client to increase sales and build their branding efforts, but if you have never done a promotion before don’t try to do it alone. You will need an experienced, knowledgeable promotion marketing agency to partner with you to make sure you run a legal, compliant, successful promotion. But what should you look for

June 28, 2018

10 Holiday Prize Ideas for Your Next Sweepstakes

Fall has finally arrived, which means the holidays are just around the corner. Haunted houses, turkey, and Santa Claus are on your customers’ minds – make their dreams come true by offering prizes they would want in your upcoming promotion. Here are some holiday prize ideas for your next sweepstakes: For Halloween: 1. Pumpkin Picking/Hay Ride Trip It’s not fall until leaves have fallen and you have a pumpkin

October 12, 2017

3 Tips for a Big Football Sweepstakes Score

Football season is back! Time for tailgating and weekend fun watching the pee-wee, high school, college and professional games. You might think that it would be a great time to promote your business by giving away game tickets or running a football sweepstakes. And it is! People love winning free tickets or team merchandise, especially autographed items or trips to big games. However, there are three questions to ask before

August 25, 2017

Sizzling Summer Social Sweepstakes Ideas

Need a summer social sweepstakes idea? Here are 6 of them! Hashtag a Day Sweepstakes: Post a new hashtag every day in your social posts, and ask your customers to tweet or post an Instagram photo or Tumblr post using that hashtag of the day. This sweepstakes will encourage people to look for your social posts each day – and reward customers with random drawings for daily prizes. I

June 16, 2017

Social Contests and Sweepstakes: Favorite (and Least Favorite) Platforms to Use

Social contests and sweepstakes are currently the most popular tactic that we are seeing our clients use to increase brand awareness and reach. The Marden-Kane team has some strong ideas on what social platforms work, and which ones can cause headaches. We compiled this list of pros and cons to use when evaluating social platforms for your brand’s next social promotion. Remember: If you are thinking of running social contests

April 4, 2017

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

Run a Legal Giveaway

Trying to figure out how to run a legal giveaway? It’s easier than you think – or not, depending on where you are running your giveaway, who can enter, how you collect and use data, and what you are giving away. First, there are some basic things to know about the legalities of a giveaway. In the United States, a giveaway, or sweepstakes in legal terminology, is when you

September 30, 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