Looking for new business? Want to see more return clients?
Well, you should probably try engaging customers with attention-grabbing content.
On paper, that all sound dandy, but, it’s not quite straight forward.
In the current state of the world we live in, consumers are oft bombarded with marketing campaigns on a number of fronts. It’s not just social media that’s used to disseminate information, radio and TV are also quite popular mediums.
Given the current state of affairs, it can be a tad bit tricky to stand out.
Thankfully, we seem to have cracked the code.
Since time immemorial, contests have been known to bring out the competitor within people. You can use this to your advantage by hosting contests laden with incentives on your page.
Pretty nifty right? Definitely!
If you’re looking to see your social engagement numbers soar, be sure to check out these amazing content ideas.
11 Fun and Successful Contest Ideas
1. The element of surprise
This is one of the most brilliant content ideas.
Since surprises tend to evoke the right kind of emotions in people, you need to limit the number of times you issue them out.
A good metric would be something along the lines of once per month or fewer.
Ideally, you want to engage as many people as possible, then, issue out a reward to a random participant. Ever the optimists, people are sure to come flooding to your page looking to connect.
2. Photo contest
If you happen to find yourself starved for content ideas, then, be sure to try this one out.
With camera phones on almost every other palm, it’s safe to say most consumers are well versed on what makes a good photo.
Well aware of this, you can ask them to share their best pics about experiences with your product/service. By simply promising to reward the best photo of the bunch, you’ll notice a considerable spike in engagement levels.
Notably, the consumers will also be helping you promote your brand with all the positive feedback they share.
3. Take a wild guess!
If you have limited time to come up with contest ideas, then this challenge contest is just what the doctor ordered.
It’s quite simple and allows you to draft up a challenge in a short span of time. All you need to do is pose a simple challenge for people to take a shot at. Whoever is able to solve the challenge can win the reward.
If you’re looking for more social engagement, it’s probably a good idea to keep the challenge simple. It can be anything from guessing how many fingers are behind your back, to asking your followers to pick a number between 1 and 500.
4. Video contests
Research shows that videos are the number one type of content consumers like to see from a brand on social media.
The masses prefer creating video content compared to other formats because it’s actually easier and much less daunting.
Compared to writing lengthy text submissions, people would rather snap out their iPhones and shoot a simple video.
While video is a more convenient format, it actually allows people to create heart-warming content that isn’t easy to come up with in other formats.
Since it also happens to be a format which is easily shared, you can use snippets from the submitted video in your marketing campaigns later on. This usually resonates well with audiences and helps boost social engagement levels.
When coming up with video contests, you simply have to lay a couple of ground rules. This may include specifications on length, face and voice clarity, hashtags to include, and age limitations (where necessary).
As you work on your video contest concept, you can set challenges to your followers or come up with a competition for them to participate in. In a bid to outdo each other, they are likely to send numerous submissions to your page.
In the end, you’re going to benefit from all the positive correspondence and your brand will also be positively be impacted by the buzz.
5. Power to the people
This puts a new twist to the previously shared contest ideas. Instead of you selecting the winner, you’ll be embracing a new form of democracy.
You can use a hashtag to keep track of what people share.
To get a winner, you can request your followers to “Like” the best photo from the selection.
This tactic is a great way to boost social engagement since it invites people who would be unwilling to actually take a photo.
6. Check-in contests
Despite the emergence of online stores everywhere, brick and mortar businesses are still very much alive. If you happen to run such a business, you can still compete with the very best of them on social circles.
One great way to do this is to hand out a prize to a couple of people who “check-in” at your location. You can advertise the campaign to your followers and later on make public who the winners are.
7. Fill-in-the-Blank contest
You can choose to run a fill-in-the-blank contest where you award a special prize to the most funniest and correct answers for filling in the blank word.
To ensure you get more social engagement, try to go for something which is not a Google search away. Rather, make it hard enough for followers to rack up their brains, but simple enough for at least a fraction of them to solve.
To ensure that the trivia remains embedded in the hearts of consumers, try to string it based on your niche.
8. All about customization
Among contest ideas, this is probably the icing on the cake. Not only does it help boost engagement, but it also showcases just how versatile your product and/or service offering is.
If you’re in the jewelry industry, you can ask your followers to share the best snapshots of themselves rocking your pieces. You can then choose which outfits actually deserve some praise and recognition.
Going forward, you can choose to diversify your portfolio and venture out into the most common suggestions tabled.
9. Chip in contest
This is one of the most smartly crafted contest ideas.
This is because it gives your followers the impression that you really value their input.
You’re likely going to see many people sharing ideas on your platform once you suggest that you’re looking for some inspiration.
It doesn’t have to anything complex. You can ask them to help you name your next product, or even have them suggest a good venue for an event you’re hosting.
10. Caption contest
This is just one of those contest ideas that always draws in the loudest of laughs.
It’s great to encourage your followers to come up with witty and brazen captions to images your share. Then, proceed to crown the best caption among those submitted.
11. Tag to win!
When thinking about contest ideas, it’s important to always keep it all fun and games. When you implement this strategy, you not only encourage social engagement, but, you’ll also be helping boost your organic reach.
You can encourage your followers to tag their friends in the comments section.
By doing so, they’ll be entering them into a contest and making them eligible to win the grand prize.
Conclusion
Having shared with your some contest ideas for your brand, we’re confident you now have a clear picture on how to approach social engagement.
Once you run the first contest, you’ll start to appreciate the entire experience and find it easier to connect.
Which contest idea do you think you’ll implement first? Which one have you ever seen in action?
Let us hear your thoughts in the comments below!
