Social Media Contests That Actually Increase Revenue

Here’s The Deal: Why Do A Social Media Contest?

Just recently, a friend walked into the room exclaiming, “Do any of you have a crazy pair of leggings?!
Also, what is a really good song to jam to?” After a pause for laughter, she quickly explained her recent obsession with Instagram-Famous mom, Alison (last name). She had to enter Alison's social media contest where the winner received two tickets to Alison’s birthday party.

Naturally, curiosity led me to @thealisonshow where thousands had entered the #alisonsstretchypantsdancceoff contest. Who entered? People wearing the most ridiculous attire and dancing with absolutely no care in the world. Two days ago Alison had 88 thousand followers, and has since gained over 2,000 more over the duration of the contest. This is a social media contest done well.

Here’s The Answer.

Social media contests offer a fantastic avenue to increase the reach of social posts and boost engagement. If the #alisonsstretchypantsdanceoff contest never happened, we’d have no idea who @thealisonshow was.

Social media contests are a leading strategy in social marketing. New social media campaigns acquire a 34% audience increase on average.

Besides guaranteeing a huge surge in social media engagement, social media contests also create multiple other benefits. These include:

1) Building Brand Loyalty & Your Email List
Contests create an avenue for capturing emails by making an email address required for entry. This is hands-down the fastest way to grow your company’s email list and create loyal subscribers.

2) Going Viral
Just like The Alison Show’s contest, if done successfully, contests have the potential to go viral. How? By providing user-generated content (UGC). Reports show that 75% of consumers say they are more likely to have a positive experience with a brand focusing on UGC. This leads to definite revenue opportunities. In today’s culture, social media platforms are seeing more success through user-generated content than any other method.

Here’s our innovative twist.

If this is true—social media contests increase engagement, build trust and brand loyalty with consumers, creating revenue opportunities that otherwise would not be created—then why not twist the concepts of a social media contest into the entirety of your social media strategy?

How you ask? Stay tuned for Part 2 of this blog series. We’ll discover how to launch a social media strategy that carries the same winning methods of a social media contest. A strategy that produces exponential sustainability and ensures that your increased engagement doesn't fall to the wayside.