www.Why140.com

Social Media:Contests & Sweepstakes

Presented by Hollis ThomasesPresident, WebAdvantage.net

Author, Twitter Marketing: An Hour a Day

www.Why140.comBest Practices

• Follow the rules & guidelines of the social networks where you’re running your contest (e.g. http://help.twitter.com/entries/68877-guidelines-for-contests-on-twitter)

• Make contest rules and deadlines clear and easily accessible• Use a branded microsite and/or dedicated landing pages• Use strong, clear calls to action

– Incentivize fanning, following, etc. “For every new fan or follower, we’ll do X”

• Tailor contests to your target audience—make it all about them!

• Ensure transparency; reveal social stats like comments, tweets, and votes so people know others are engaged too

• Most importantly—make it fun!

www.Why140.com6 Twitter Contest Tips for Success

1. Frequent smaller prize giveaways trump infrequent large prize giveaways

2. Incorporate brand name into promo hashtags3. Use unique phrases for RTs which garner more

Twitscoop/Trendistic/Twitter Trend visibility4. Twitter contest + boring Twitter account = wasted effort; an

engaging Twitter account = higher chance of successful contest

5. “Dumb it down” to make it easy to participate; use one-click participation methods

6. Focus on building your follower base for greater success with contests

www.Why140.comSocial Media Big Brand Examples

• American Express– Twitter contest for Conan O’Brien’s “Legally Prohibited from Being Funny

on Television Tour”; used #amexConan

– Users follow @americanexpress on Twitter and then tweet “Hey @americanexpress, I want to be with Coco in <insert city>. Pick me!”

• Southwest Airlines– Facebook viral video contest: “What would you do for $100?”; utilized

custom Facebook widget

– Users upload videos showing what they’d do for $100 in order to win vacation packages

• Quicken– Twitter contest to win free rent; utilized a fully-branded contest microsite

(www.QuickenFreeRent.com)

– Users follow @quicken on Twitter and then tweeted #quickenfreerent to get entered into the sweepstakes

www.Why140.com

• WeTV: Women’s Entertainment Television– Runs weekly Twitter contests: “WE Giveaway Wednesdays”– Users RT contest announcement and follow @WEtv for a chance to win

weekly prizes

• Folgers– Viral video contest to compose original 30-40 second jingle for Folgers

Coffee brand for $25,000 grand prize and chance to be featured in a Folgers commercial

– Utilized fully branded contest microsite (www.BestPartofWakinUp.com) where video entries are showcased and voted on

• KOHL’s– “Raise Your Receipt” contest to promote KOHL’s grand opening in

California– Users relate their KOHL’s saving stories through user-generated content

(photos, videos, or stories) for chance to win $100 KOHL’s gift card– Used Facebook to showcase entries and allow voting & commenting

Social Media Big Brand Examples

www.Why140.com

• Dunkin’ Donuts– “Create Dunkin’s Next Donut” contest promoted through Twitter and

Facebook– Built a “Make Your Own Donut” app (www.DunkinDonuts.com/donut)

• Simmons Mattresses– “Tweet for Sleep” Twitter contest; used #simmonsbeautyrest– Users follow @SimmonsBedding and tweet a message using the hashtag

telling what they would do for a good night’s sleep

• Parenting.com– “Win a Year with Ford Models” photo contest—over 70,000 photos

submitted!– Parents submit photos of their children for a chance to win a year of

representation with Ford Models as well as monthly prizes– Site allows users to share photos, vote on and view winners, and receive

special coupons for Shutterfly photo service

Social Media Big Brand Examples

www.Why140.comPet Industry Examples

• PETCO– “Howl-O-Ween” pet costume photo contest; utilized dedicated area of

website to submit & showcase photos; used Facebook and Twitter to promote contest

– Contest drew over 1,700 submissions, 30,000 ratings, and prompted almost 1,000 social recommendations for various PETCO.com products

– Runs regular trivia-based Twitter contests from @petco to give away $50, $100, and $500 PETCO gift cards

• Surfpet– “Coolest Dog” photo contest, managed through Wildfire– Users upload photos of their dog looking cool for a chance to win $100 gift

certificate to Surfpet.com

www.Why140.comSocial Media Contest Tools

• Wildfire (www.wildfireapp.com)Enterprise-level promotion platform that manages campaigns/contests across multiple social platforms– Brands using Wildfire:

• Pepsi• AT&T• Sony• Victoria’s Secret

• Votigo (www.votigo.com)Creates viral end engaging photo and video contests, sweepstakes, and promotions with measurable results– Brands using Votigo:

• KFC• Sharpie• Folgers• Pizza Hut

www.Why140.comTwitter-Specific Contest Tools

• Twtaway (www.twtaway.com)Contest manager tool that lets people join your contest via Twitter and randomly selects a winner on a specific date

• Tweetaways (www.tweetaways.com)Picks a random winner for your contest or giveaway date

• itweet2win (www.itweet2win.com)Involves Twitter users in your contest to help spread the word and encourage them to follow you. Permission-based system helps eliminate spammers.

• TweetsWin (www.tweetswin.com)Lets you post a contest, gather statistics, and automatically choose a winner & manage winner pool. Tracks new followers and provides daily analysis.

www.Why140.comThank You!

• My Book: Twitter Marketing: An Hour a Day– Available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and Borders– Also check out Why140.com

• How To Reach Me:e. hollis@webadvantage.net p. (410) 942-0488

@hollisthomaseshttp://www.facebook.com/hollisthomaseshttp://www.linkedin/com/in/hollisthomases