What’s more, when you thought about it, you probably thought it was the easiest and most effective way to get potential customers. Because everyone is nowadays on social networks, sharing, liking, uploading photos, retweeting, etc.
{{cta(‘bb2971b9-bf36-4c36-8edc-75223dba5208’)}}
Well, you should know that all that glitters is not gold and that, for this reason, nothing is as simple as it seems. In social networks, where there are so many users, you can get a lot of followers, but are these followers really your potential customers?
As the answer is not always yes, you need to be clear about several things. First of all, you have to state the objective of the contest before proposing a game dynamic on any of the social platforms. And secondly, determine the type of dynamics and a proportional reward according to your objective.
Now, who are the ideal participants?
Always keep in mind that wherever there is an interesting contest, there are people likely to participate. They are the most active users in the networks. And they are not always potential consumers. Because what may attract them is what you offer as a “prize” and not your brand. For this reason, when planning a contest you have to take into account the work you have done in defining your potential customers: the buyer persona.
These buyer personas are those consumers most likely to consume your products and/or services. Basically because they are profiles based on the information you get from your real customers and prospects. Using tools such as Google Analytics you will be able to better understand the interests, needs and desires of these users who visit your online channels. And through interviews and surveys, you will also get relevant information.
The more data you get, the better. In fact, if you have done a good job of building their profiles, you will know if these potential consumers of your products and/or services frequently use social networks to read or view the content you publish. And from there, how to approach the contest.
But where there are buyers, there are also anti-buyers. These anti-consumers are the users you can find on social networks who care little about what your business offers. Unless they can get something for free. For that reason, if your goal is to get qualityfollowers you need to evaluate what kind of dynamics you should discard and which one you should opt for.
So, what are the main types of competition?
1. The “hit the button” contests.
These are contests that consist of liking on Facebook, replying on Twitter, sharing an image. A contest in which the most feedback you get from the user is to “hit a button”. There is little creativity, low demand and it attracts both buyers and anti-buyers.
These contests require little effort. And yes, they do grow the number of followers if the reward is attractive, but the vast majority will not be your end consumers.
If you frequent our blog, you should already know that we are fans of valuable content. We do not like to propose invasive and in many cases senseless techniques. But if your only goal is to get visibility among users, this may be the option for you.
Even so, we recommend that you introduce some rules of participation that involve a little more ‘participation’ on the part of the user. For example, propose that they follow your account.
2. The “upload and share” contests.
These contests are exclusively aimed at your buyer personas. They involve a more active participation on your part by performing an action that is not only online. For example, uploading and sharing a photo in which you use the brand’s product or enjoy the service. These are experiential contests, more demanding and that, if well planned, can connect with the real consumer of your brand.
The approach has to be simple. Don’t require too many steps, but don’t fall short either. Suggest that they follow you, use your hashtags, tag friends and perhaps, if you see fit, vote. Remember that you have to be able to provide value, so the prize has to be proportional to what you demand.
To carry out these contests you must take into account that the prize must be very attractive and must be linked to a specific campaign, such as the launch of a new product, so that it makes more sense. At all times you sell experiences with your brand. The contest should be one more.
3. The “question-answer” contests.
This game dynamic is a classic. If you pose a question that directly engages your consumers you can get more quality followers. Think about it, this is always a good option. The question should not be impossible to solve, but also not so easy that the anti-buyers can solve it easily.
And if you select a random user from among those who answered your question correctly, you ensure that more people participate. Limiting the dynamic to the first user who answers correctly would imply low participation. This way you can extend the contest for a longer period of time if you wish.
