Contests on Social: How to Run a Winning Online Contest

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Contests on Social

SANDRA FATHI President, Affect

@sandrafathi sfathi@affect.com

Slideshare.net/sfathi

INSTRUCTOR

Special Thanks to Ben Pickering and Strutta

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1. Why run a promotion

2. Common types of promotions

3. Basics of promotional law

4. Planning your promotion

5. Tips for a successful promotion

6. Awesome case studies

AGENDA

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WHY RUN A PROMOTION?

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GOING BACK EVEN FURTHER

Napoleon Bonaparte

Nicolas Appert

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1. Generate leads and sales2. Drive traffic online <-> offline3. Increase brand equity4. Engage and delight customers5. Grow fan base, generate opt-ins and subscribers6. Gain user data and insight7. Collect consumer generated content

BENEFITS OF RUNNING A PROMOTION

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SWEEPSTAKES

CONTEST

Chance based promotion

Skill based promotion

VS

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SWEEPSTAKES

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OTHER SOCIAL SWEEPSTAKES

Enter, Tweet or Comment to Win

• Follow @

• RT or #CONTEST

• Blog comment

Winner selected at random

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WINNING!

•Good Design

•Clear Call to Action

•Simple Entry Form

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UGC PROMOTIONS

Skill Based

•Public voting / Closed judging

•What are the entry requirements

•Collect only information you need

•What is the criteria for winning

•Keep it simple!

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REWARDING PARTICIPANTS

•Coupons•Free Samples•Other Incentives•Encourage and Have Fun

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BASICS OF PROMOTION LAW

Promotion containing all 3 deemed an illegal lottery

1. Prize • Anything of tangible value

2. Chance • Any random selection of winner, absence of skill

3. Consideration • Purchase or Payment • Substantial effort • Possible with UGC contests but more theoretical than practical risk • Liking a Page, sending a tweet not “substantial effort”

Must eliminate 1 of 3

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FACEBOOK PROMOTIONS GUIDELINES

Don’t

• Administer a promotion directly on your Page or use Facebook features as an entry or voting mechanism

• Automatically enter someone for Liking, posting a photo or comment

• Use a Like button for voting

• Use Facebook channels to notify winners

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FACEBOOK PROMOTIONS GUIDELINES

Do

• Use a 3rd party application

• You can require a user to Like your page or check-‐in to a location provided the promotion is administered through an app

• Be sure your promotion includes the following:

a. A complete release of Facebook by each entrant or participant.

b. Acknowledgment that the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.

c. Disclosure that the participant is providing information to (disclose recipient(s) of information) and not to Facebook.

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UNIQUE ISSUES FOR TWITTER

The Twitter disclosure challenge• 140 character limit makes disclosure of any material terms, rules or privacypolicy challenging

Risk Mitigation• Reference official rules/URL• Tweet abbreviated rules in several messages• Consider use of tiny URL or cmp.ly

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KEY PLANNING QUESTIONS

Do you have time and resources to plan and execute?Beware the “Field of Dreams fallacy” (i.e., if I build it they will come)

Do you have clear and realistic goals?Enable it to “go viral” but don’t count on it

Do you know what your audience wants?Have a premise and prize targeted to your audience

Do you understand applicable rules and regulations?What platforms are you using and how do you want to administer

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ALIGNING WITH BUSINESS OBJECTIVES

1. Crystallize goals & objectives before launching a promotion

2. Design promotion to achieve these goals

3. Tailor program to focus on and attract your target audience a. Consider safeguards in rules and regulations b. Raise the barrier for entry

4. Identify Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

5. Build in milestones and triggers for measurement

6. Calculate investment vs. return

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CHOOSING YOUR PROMOTION TYPE

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TIPS FOR RUNNING YOUR PROMOTION

Plan AheadOne of the biggest reasons promotions fail is due to lack of planning. Plan forwhen things don’t go according to plan!

Don’t Over-ComplicateFavor execution over concept -‐ i.e., a concise message, clear call to action, andgood UI will outperform “clever but complex.”

Leverage PartnersMarketing partners/sponsors can expand the reach of your promotion and provideadditional marketing channels. They can also help increase the prize value,making it more attractive to entrants.

Technology partners with platforms and social media tools can make it easy tocreate and manage a promotion.

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TIPS TO BUILD BUZZ

1. Make it easy to share2. Post regularly on Facebook (use “Pinned Post”)3. Leverage other social networks (Twitter, G+)4. Promote on your website5. Email existing customers6. Enlist sponsors to cross promote7. Identify influential blogs (or other media)8. Use UGC entries for content marketing9. And in case you missed it... Make it easy to share

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PROMOTING YOUR PROMOTION

1.Build and budget for effective marketing plan (pre and post) • Public Relations • Marketing • Social Media • On-‐site/In-‐store • POS

2.Leverage existing and new company assets to achieve KPIs3. Stack the deck –-‐ seed entries4.Plan for contingencies • Additional marketing budget • List purchase/email marketing solicitation • Public take-‐over • Crisis communications

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TECHNOLOGY PARTNER OR PLATFORM

1. Custom vs. Standard Build2. Expertise vs. Experiment3. Social Media Tie-‐ins4. Budgetary Constraints5. Time-‐to-‐Market6. Internal Resources

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NEW YORK INTERN PROJECT

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GOALS & OBJECTIVES

1. Generate Awareness for the Agency • Drive public relations

• Increase social media engagement

2. Proof of Concept: Run a Successful Contest • Gain valuable experience and insights

• Train our internal team

3. Find an Intern • Summer Internship Slate

• Potential Full-‐time Employee

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GOALS & OBJECTIVES

1. Student, 18 or over2. Legal US Resident3. Upload Photo or Video4. Fill Out Questionnaire5. Solicit Votes & Comments

Top 6 Advance to Semi-‐FinalsTop 3 Flown to NY for Interviews &

ChallengesJudges Pick Winner

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FLIGHT PLAN

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MARKETING PLAN

1. Prompting Action 3. Setting Triggers 5. Analyzing Results2. Setting Milestones 4. Tracking & Measuring

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CELEBRITY JUDGES

1. Lend Credibility2. Built in Promotional Mechanisms3. Objective Judging

GUY KAWASAKI, FOUNDER OF GARAGE TECHNOLOGY VENTURES

ERICA SWALLOW, ASSOCIATE EDITOR AT MASHABLE

JESSICA DICKLER, STAFF WRITER AT CNN MONEY

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BRAND REPUTATION MANAGEMENT = MODERATION

1. User Generated Content • Copyright Issues • Language • Comments • Inappropriate Content2. Public Voting & Fraud3. Media Monitoring4. Social Media Monitoring5. Communicating Results

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MEDIA, SPEAKING & AWARDS RESULTS

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RESULTS & ROI

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RECAP

1. Why run a promotion: Engagement, Data, Leads ->Sales

2. Common types of promotions: Contest vs. Sweeps

3. Promotional law and FB guidelines: Know the rules

4. Planning your promotion: Set clear and realistic goals

5. Tips for a successful promotion: Keep it simple, Partner up

6. Case studies: How can a promotion work for you?

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THANK YOU!

Any Questions?

Sandra Fathi | President |

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