Social Media Giveaways: Do’s and Don’ts for Growing Your Business

The thought of diving head first into social media marketing may be daunting, particularly if time is already limited or you lack the resources to hire an expert.

Luckily, there's an easy way to market your business — social media giveaways. The only investment required is a product or service, preferably an add-on that complements another one of your most profitable offerings and will grab the attention of those in your target market.

Take advice from some of the most successful social media contests and then conduct your own with these guidelines:

Increased Exposure

Consumers are always on the lookout for the best deals, and when you incorporate the word “free” into the equation, those who are financially savvy are bound to jump on board. This means an increase of eyeballs on your landing page and increased exposure, even after the contest is over.

FTD offered social media fans a chance to win a $50 gift card by sharing the most valuable piece of advice they'd ever received from their mothers. Not only were the winners apt to share across other social media platforms, but they were also prone to fall in love with other items for sale on the site and spend more than the value of the gift card.

Customer Engagement

How can you learn what your target market really wants without candid feedback? Social media is the forum for it. It gets a bad rap, but it's not just for complaining customers. Oftentimes, companies will receive positive feedback that turns into testimonials.

Offer a chance to win a product or service in exchange for feedback or engagement. "Do Us a Flavor," Lay's social media campaign asked fans to suggest and vote on the next new flavor of potato chip, encouraging the public to directly engage with the company.

Passive Data Collection

You probably already engage in various passive data collection methods. Social media is another to consider. A social media giveaway is a passive way to collect identifying information — full name, phone number, email and physical address for future marketing promotions or to simply stay in touch so you’ll be their first choice when they desire to move forward.

Exponential Marketing

Word of mouth is one of the most effective and cost-efficient way to market a business. Social media giveaways are no different; they’re just virtual in nature. And social media giveaways are the perfect tool to accomplish this objective.

When one follower spreads the word about your giveaway, others will follow suit until the shares begin to increase exponentially.

Learn more about word-of-mouth marketing here.

The Do's and Don'ts of Social Media Giveaways

• Do establish an objective from inception: If it's to gain a set number of social media followers and generate $1,000 in sales, make a note of this and analyze the proposed giveaway to confirm it is the best way to meet your goals.

• Do focus on your target audience: It's pointless to amass a group of followers who have no intention of ever purchasing your offerings.

• Do analyze results of the giveaway: Are there tweaks that need to be made going forward to ensure the outcomes are more favorable in the future? Even if you hit the mark the first time around, there's always room for improvement. Research resources to track and measure your social media stats.

• Do make the offer attractive: Consumers want something they can actually use, not an item that's going to sit around the house or in storage collecting dust.

• Don't set the bar too high: If the barriers for entry are too high, consumers may deem the giveaway worthless and move on.

• Don't limit promotional activities: Enlist the support of other partnering organizations to spread the word about your giveaway. The more, the merrier.

• Don't forget to ask participants to share the love: This is the easiest way for your giveaway to go viral, and it only takes a second of the entrant's time. If possible, make sharing a requirement for participation in the contest.

• Don't exclude links to your landing page or organization’s website: Assuming an individual has no interest in the giveaway but wants to learn more about your company, failing to include the web address could result in the loss of a potential client.

Ready to Get Started?

Grab a notepad and start brainstorming some ideas for your social media giveaway. Whether it's a complimentary consultation or gift card for the winner of an uploaded video, photo or speed-tagging contest, you'll be well on your way to maximizing your company's profits.