So you want to run your own Social Media Contest?

Smart web designers and developers understand that when you launch a new site one of the best ways to drum up enthusiasm and create brand awareness is by running your own social media contest.

You can increase exposure across multiple social media platforms in a fun and interactive way plus they can be fairly inexpensive to run which is often a great selling point to most businesses.

So how do you do it?

Here are some great tips and ideas from Lounge Lizard Worldwide on how to run your own social media contest.

10 Great Social Media Contest Tips

· Start with goals – This is a key starting point because you need to decide what you are trying to get out of this contest. For some it might be additional email subscribers, for others it might be to gain brand recognition or to gather more followers on the various social media outlets. Have your goal decided and then create a contest that fits your goal.

· Contest selection – What kind of contest are you going to choose? Again, there are options much like with your goals and some will fit better with what your business does that others. For example you can have photo contests, caption contest or quiz contests. You can have fan voting or committee selection for winners. Ultimately it will depend on 1) the social media outlet you use along with 2) what your particular demographic of users will be interested in.

· Clearly defined plan – Details of a plan are another key point. You should have clearly defined number of winners, prizes and how long the contest will run, including if you will cap the entries or allow multiple entries. Then you need to decide the content you will utilize in the contest because, after all, this is a marketing vehicle that you want to use properly! Also make sure that prizes are targeted towards your core demographic and they will be entering to win things they want or need.

· Make it fun! – Fun equals engaging and engaging is sharable which is exactly what any social media contest needs to succeed! Use unique hashtags, have fun promo videos and images and try and create hype and excitement with sign-up confirmation to encourage sharing with friends.

· Shamelessly promote winners – People love to be recognized for their achievements  because it means someone else is bragging for them. By promoting winners you are also promoting your brand so work hard at it. If your contest goes from 500 entries to a Top 10, plug that group like they are contestants on American Idol before it narrows down to the eventual winner.

· Promote, promote, promote! – You can’t simply launch a contest and hope it catches fire, there is legwork involved. Prior to the launch tease it on social media outlets. Use your mailing list to give insiders the “heads up” and for big promotions with big prizes consider using paid advertisements.

· Use entries to promote – A simple way to spread engagement is to require entries to comment, like, tweet, pin, or post something to their own social media outlet. While this means you will go outside your general demographic it does give you a chance for more brand exposure and possible find new customers based on friend-of-a-friend endorsements.

· Post clear rules – Clearly defined rules means reduced possibilities of people trying to game your system. This should be fun with equal chances for all and by having specific rules and guidelines you will do this along with preventing confusion. Make sure the rules are reviewed by multiple people to ensure they are easily understood. In some cases you might need to specific if legal guardians are needed for underage entries, etc.

· Track entries carefully – Do not set your contest on autopilot because that is asking for inappropriate materials and entries to leak into your contest which reflects badly on you. I’m sure Mr. Jack Meoff could be a real person, but I don’t want that name showing up in my contest.

· Target the entries – Some people will just sign up for your contest to win and have no interest in what you do. Of course that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to sell to them anyway if you have their contact information. In this case, consider specifically targeted messages to this group of people such as introductory coupons, or prevent opt-out offers and the like. If done correctly, even when people aren’t converted to customers you are still spreading positive brand awareness.

By using just a few, or even all, of these great tips provided by some of the best web designers in the business, your next social media contest will create the buzz you are looking for!