Wishpond
Are you sold on running a Facebook giveaway but struggling a bit with what kind of giveaway to run?
It’s a common occurrence. You know you want to get the social media boost and email generation of a Facebook giveaway, but you’re not exactly sure what kind of giveaway will give your business the results you need.
Hopefully this article will help. Here’s what I’ll cover:
- I’ll breaking down the five most-successful giveaway strategies we’ve seen work again and again
- I’ll show you real-world examples of these strategies which worked for businesses like yours
- I’ll give you a few specific giveaway prizes and ideas related to each strategy.
Let’s get into it.
Giveaway Idea #1: Holiday Themed
So much of running a successful contest is about tapping into what people are thinking about (that’ll be a running theme in this article) and holidays are the most proven way of doing that.
People want to make their holiday special for themselves and their loved-ones. A prize which gives that to your entrants is special indeed, and more than worth an email address. Again and again our most successful giveaways coincide with one of the many holidays throughout the year.
A Holiday-Themed Giveaway Example:
A real-world example of a company doubling-down on the holiday theme:
More Ideas for Holiday-Themed Giveaways on Facebook:
- A Mother’s Day giveaway offering Mom a spa day with a girlfriend, a family photo session or a date night with her partner.
- A food-focused giveaway around the holidays. Whether it’s Christmas, Thanksgiving, the 4th of July or Labor Day, people are thinking about food. Offer any kitchen item around these holidays and you’re good to go.
- A Valentine’s Day giveaway which offers something different: a weekend car rental or limo service, hair and makeup package, concert or art gallery tickets, pin-up modeling photo shoot or boat cruise.
The possibilities for holiday-focused giveaways are endless. Check out this incredibly successful contest run on Hug Your Cat Day (apparently a real thing)…
Giveaway Idea #2: Target Market Only
Giveaways get a lot of flack from critics. They say “there’s no point in running a giveaway, you’ll only generate useless entrants who you’ll never be able to turn into clients!”
They have a point, unless you stay smart and run a giveaway the right way.
Create giveaways which target the people you want to have as clients. If you keep that one maxim at the forefront of your giveaway strategy the return on your investment will be significantly better.
There are a couple primary ways to do this: offer products or offer gift cards. Both these prizes will attract only people who you can turn into customers down the line. If you offer straight cash or an unrelated product (like a trip to Hawaii if your business is in electronics) you’ll only generate entrants who are interested in those products (and the critics will be right). Stay smart and target your market your giveaway.
A Target Market Only Giveaway Example:
More to Brag About:
This merchant has run regular sweepstakes (like the one above) for the past year. They exclusively offer their own products, consistently invest in a visual layout, and keep their messaging short and to the point.
And it’s paid off. Below is a screenshot of the campaigns they’ve run since last November. I’ve blurred out their name, but you can see the results on the right:
Yep, that’s an average conversion rate of 36.96% and a total of 31,862 email addresses – just from product giveaways on Facebook.
More Ideas for Target Market Giveaways on Facebook:
- Target couples with a romantic spa or engagement/wedding photo shoot (run this in early summer before wedding season starts).
- Target prospective leads in the tech community with a foosball table, personal consultation with a sector expert, a month of weekly pizza, or a “startup package” of bean bag chairs, stand-up desks and several flats of Redbull.
- Target fine diners with a one-on-one culinary lesson with your restaurant’s head chef, a five-course meal or a night on the town (partnering with a limo service and theater).
- Give away your product. This one’s pretty simple. A small caveat, though: gift cards are (though less visually appealing) actually more desirable for your target market. Not only do they give your giveaway winner the opportunity to buy any of the products you offer, they also give you the opportunity to put a large dollar amount on your giveaway’s page (which is one of the most essential best practices of giveaways).
Giveaway Idea #3: Seasonal or Event-focused Giveaway
Like holiday-focused giveaways, seasonal or event promotions are all about giving your entrants exactly what they’re thinking and wanting most at that point in time.
The best part of seasonal and event giveaways is that there’s always something going on, and (with a little creativity) those seasons or events can be tied to your business.
A Seasonal or Event-focused Giveaway Example:
More Ideas for Event or Seasonal Giveaways on Facebook:
- A super-bowl giveaway offering a VIP gourmet snack package with all the goodies, delivered to the winner’s door on the day.
- A spring cleaning giveaway in mid-March with your newest cleaning products, a maid service or an interior decoration consultation.
- A summer giveaway run in May, offering camping gear, luggage set, travel insurance, swimwear, etc.
- Back-to-school giveaway like the example above, offering sports team sponsorship, an e-reader, or a cold/flu car package with tea, a blanket, a hot water bottle, and bubble bath.
Giveaway Idea #4: Social-Focus
One of the primary objectives for brands running Facebook giveaways is increasing their Page Likes. And why not? A giveaway on Facebook gives you the same return as dozens of hours spent creating smart and time-sensitive Facebook posts or hundreds of dollars on Facebook advertising.
Focusing on social engagement is a great idea for a Facebook giveaway, and there’s a couple primary ways you can do it:
- Prompt entrants to Like your page with arrows, prompts, and CTAs within your giveaway Page
- Create a “Like-This” entry popup which appears over your giveaway’s Page (only available through select third-party giveaway apps, like Wishpond)
You used to be able to require entrants to Like your Facebook Page before they could enter your contest (called a “Like-Gate”) but Facebook banned it. Luckily, many brands are finding that the “Like-This” entry popup actually generates more valuable Fans (because people are more actively choosing to Like, rather than being forced into it).
It looks like this:
A Social-Focused Giveaway Example:
More Ideas for Socially-Focused Giveaways on Facebook:
- Prompt your giveaway entrants to share with their family and friends and get them to vote for the entrant’s submission (use a vote or photo contest for this). This drives serious traffic to your Facebook Page.
- Use Wishpond’s Like-prompt popup, with your brand logo, an image, and a request to Like your Page (they can always disengage by clicking anywhere away from the popup).
Giveaway Idea #5: Give Something Priceless
This is where you have to get creative to get ahead: offer something your entrants will never have seen before, something they’ve never experienced and something which is worth more than any dollar amount.
A Priceless Giveaway Example:
More Ideas for Priceless Giveaways on Facebook:
- First-Chance at a Product giveaways are a priceless offer. Everybody can have your 7,000th product, but there will only be one first edition.
- One-time Q&A with a sector expert. Connect with a paid consultant (or use one of your own business’ experts) and give away an hour of their time. Remember to put the normal dollar value of that time front and center in your giveaway page.
- Feature the winner to your large audience or connect them to someone with a large audience. Consider working with a radio station to feature the top-chosen music clip from your giveaway, a YouTube channel with a sizeable following, or your own website (so long as it has a substantial number of visitors).
Conclusion
Hopefully, this article has given you a bit of inspiration for your next Facebook giveaway. Remember to focus on professional images, a prize related to your target market only, and a theme which taps into what your audience is thinking about.
I’d love to hear about your giveaway experiences in the comment section. Let’s see if we can’t get you more entries next time!
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