5 Steps to Running a Great Social Media Contest

In my I gave some examples of some fun and interesting social media contest going on in Tampa. And although they centered mostly around local businesses contest don't have to be purely for business -  individuals can also use them for fun and to generate more interaction. As promised, for this post I'm going to provide some important steps in using social media contest.

Step one:  Decide what your goals are.

Before getting too wrapped up in the details of the contest, you should spend some time and think about what it is you are trying to achieve. Are you trying to increase foot traffic to your business? Build an email database? Are you trying to increase the number of people who like your Facebook page? When all is said and done what would you like to welcome back and have at your disposal for future projects?

Step two:  Determine how you will quantify if the contest is a success.

Depending on what type of goal you have, you will have different ways of determining success. It may be number of page views, bar ad clicks, or number of entries, or quality of entries, or any number of things. A contest that is small and run for almost nothing will have a fewer entries and interaction yet still be considered successful.

Step three: Budget

Obviously the amount of money you have your disposal well of fact the types of applications and channels that you use not only to host the contest but also to promote it. This will in turn affect the specific goals that you set for our success. Obviously most contests will not have the budget that Pepsi Refesh has, so be realistic

Step four: Set parameters.
Using all of the above information, determine how much time you will need to run the contest and what your specific goals are for success. Also, realistically set your goals for participation especially if entries are time consuming on the part of the participants. Keep in mind that people are busy and for them to take the time to shoot and upload a video or even fill out a lengthy registration process is a significant disincentive for them to participate unless the winning prize is AMAZING. See Deana Goldasich’s blog on what NOT to do.

Step five: Promote promote promote.

A contest will not be successful if nobody knows about it regardless of how interesting or fun the contest or how awesome the prizes are. Not only should you use your existing networks to publicize that contest, but also consider advertising the contest. You can do this before, during, and after the contest to create interest with a behind-the-scenes style. Facebook ads and Google ad words can be great start that is inexpensive. Consider advertising on Westchase Patch. You can also gain exposure with more traditional forms of advertisement like signs and fliers and an ad in the World of the Westchase.

While the contest is going on be sure to HAVE FUN! Celebrate all legit entries and winners even more. Then, when all the dust settles, go back and see what you have learned from the contest and decide how you are going to leverage the data you collected.