Sweepstakes are a great way to increase engagement with your brand and generate leads. They are often underrated as a marketing tactic, but they can be extremely effective when used correctly. Here are the benefits of sweepstakes and how you can use them to grow your business.
Many marketing professionals stick to a core suite of marketing tactics. Mostly this involves advertising, digital marketing and PR. And while these are all great tactics, they can be expensive and there’s no guarantee of success. Most common marketing tactics only offer one way to grow your business. For example, ads only generate leads if someone clicks on them. But what if they don’t click? You’ve missed out on some engagement you really need.
With sweepstakes, you have the potential to generate leads even if someone doesn’t click on your ad. That’s because people can enter your sweepstakes without taking any action other than providing their contact information. And if you’re running a social media sweepstakes, you can even generate leads without spending any money.
How Exactly Does Sweepstakes For Marketing Work?
When you hear the word “sweepstakes,” you probably think of those big companies that give away cars or vacations. And while you can certainly do something like that, you don’t need to give away a big prize to run an effective sweepstakes. In fact, you can give away something as small as a $25 gift card and still see great results.
The key to running a successful sweepstakes is to make sure that your prize is relevant to your target audience. For example, if you’re a makeup company, you might give away a $100 gift card to your store. Or if you’re a fitness company, you might give away a free year’s membership to your gym.
As a company, the purpose of running a sweepstakes is to get more engagement with your brand, and to collect more leads of potential customers. It has proven to be an extremely effective way of doing both.
So how do you run a successful sweepstakes? Here are a few tips.
Research Sweepstakes Companies
Sweepstakes companies are plentiful, but not all of them are created equal. You’ll want to find a reputable company that has experience running sweepstakes for businesses like yours. Check out reviews and case studies to learn more about the company and their services. And be sure to ask them questions about your specific needs.
Create Clear Rules and Eligibility Requirements
Before you launch your sweepstakes, you’ll need to create clear rules and eligibility requirements. This will ensure that your sweepstakes is fair and legal. Your rules should include things like how to enter, what the prize is, and when the sweepstakes will end. You’ll also want to include any specific eligibility requirements, such as age and location.
If you’re not running it through a sweepstakes company, make sure you consult with a lawyer to ensure that your rules and requirements are airtight.
Pick An Appealing Prize
It’s important to pick a prize that will appeal to your target audience. The prize should be relevant to your brand and something that your target audience would actually want to win.
Avoid prizes that are too small or too generic. You want your prize to be something that will get people excited about your sweepstakes.
Use Compelling Visuals
Your sweepstakes should have compelling visuals that will grab people’s attention. Use high-quality images and videos that accurately represent your brand. Your visuals should be eye-catching and informative. They should tell people what your sweepstakes is about and what they can win. Make sure your visuals are also mobile-friendly. People should be able to see them clearly on their phone or tablet.
Generate Excitement with Your Copy
Your copy should be clear and concise. It should tell people what your sweepstakes is about and what they can win. But it should also generate excitement about your prize. Use strong verbs and emotive language to get people excited about your sweepstakes.
Your copy should also be functional, making your rules and requirements clear. People should know exactly what they need to do to enter and win.
Launch Your Sweepstakes
Now that you’ve created your sweepstakes, it’s time to launch it! Promote your sweepstakes on your website, social media, and email list. And make sure you’re using compelling visuals and copy that has been tailored to each different platform to get people excited about your sweepstakes.
You can also promote your sweepstakes through paid advertising. This is a great way to reach a larger audience and generate more leads. Just remember to keep your ads relevant to your target audience and make sure they’re well-designed.
Collect Entries and Leads
Now it’s time to start collecting entries and leads. You can do this by having people fill out a form with their contact information. Make sure your form is short and easy to fill out. People should be able to do it in a few minutes or less.
You can also collect entries by having people follow you on social media or sign up for your email list. Just be sure to make it clear that these are entry requirements.
Finally, you’ll want to set up a way to track your entries and leads. This will help you see how many people are entering your sweepstakes and help you follow up with them after the sweepstakes is over.
Announce a Winner
Once your sweepstakes is over, it’s time to announce a winner! Make sure you choose a winner at random and announce their name on your website and social media. You can also send an email to everyone who entered letting them know who won. This is a great way to continue engaging with your audiences off the back of the sweepstakes.
Don’t forget to follow up with your leads! You can use your sweepstakes as an opportunity to build relationships with your customers. Send personalized emails, offer discounts, or give them exclusive access to new products.