
Online promotions are a fantastic way to get lots of engagement from your fans and customers, but there are some things you can miss by not thinking it all through.
Here are our top five tips things to consider outside of the actual mechanics of the promotions:
1. Use social media to leverage your promotion.
Social media should be integral to any online promotion. Sharing the details of the competition on your Facebook page is an excellent way to build some buzz and excitement. You can also leverage Facebook ads to target the promotion at your desired audience, such as existing fans of your page, or a certain demographic, location or interest group. It doesn’t need to be expensive to advertise on Facebook and the results can be astounding.
2. Use advocates to raise awareness.
If you have a core of die-hard fans or certain key partners and stakeholders, encourage them to seed the promotion and bring it to others’ attention. This is not about skewing any kind of result (that’s NOT what you should do!) but calling on a few key people or companies can really give your promotion a kick-start.
3. Make use of photos.
Social media is a hot bed of photos. Photos shared get an average of 44% higher engagement that simple text updates, so consider making photo-sharing an element of your competition or promotion. People on social media love sharing their own photos, and seeing your brand’s pics. It gives a much more human side to your brand, so don’t forget this key element.
4. Be mobile aware.
A significant proportion of people will use the internet and social media from their smart phones, so make sure your promotion is easy to engage with on a small screen. Keep the design simple, and make sure it is properly mobile-friendly and not just a weird shrunken version of the desktop site.
5. Make it easy to enter!
This is the most important point! Think about how many clicks people need to make to enter your competition and minimise these. If it’s too complicated, people won’t bother and your entry levels will be much lower. Think of the old KISS adage – keep it short (and) simple) – and you will be on the right track.
Always keep your customer at the front of your mind and you won’t go far wrong. Think about how you use the internet, what you like, what you don’t, and what drives you insane. Chances are you’re just like everyone else and so make it work for you and it will work for your customers.