4 Benefits of Contests and Giveaways

Whether your brand/business is large or small, international or local, retail or online, contests and sweepstakes are key for your marketing strategy. 

Of course, they’re not to be overdone, however, when executed properly, contests and sweepstakes are incredibly effective marketing and content strategies. Not only will it increase reach and increase discussions surrounding your brand, but it will boost engagement and create excitement surrounding the giveaway itself. 

In short, it’s a win-win situation; one of your loyal customers will be rewarded with a free prize of your choosing, and your business will be rewarded with growth across multiple departments. 

So, are you eager to learn about the many benefits of launching contests and giveaways for your business?! Continue reading because this article is for you! 

Top 4 Benefits of Contests and Giveaways

In what follows, we’ll be sharing the top four (4) benefits of contests, sweepstakes, and giveaways for businesses and brands alike, no matter how big or small. What you’ll come to learn is that not only are they effective at building brand awareness and garnering traffic but also boosting the bottom line of your business at large. 

With that said, without further ado, below are the top four benefits of contests and giveaways…

It Boosts Reach and Engagement 

Engaging content is all but necessary in today’s digital ecosystem of consumerism. Not only is content arguably a form of currency, but it’s a great way to attract leads that wouldn’t otherwise be interested in your product or service. 

While there are several strategies for creating engaging and captivating content, contest and sweepstake campaigns are some of the most effective. 

Of course, people love free stuff…But it’s easier now than ever to participate in such campaigns. With no barrier to entry, participants will be more than happy to like, share, and comment on your post, ultimately resulting in greater reach and total engagement; two valuable KPIs for small and large businesses alike.

Acts as Word-of-Mouth Advertising; for FREE!

The majority of social contests and sweepstakes require those participating to like, share, and follow on their personal profiles. If your giveaway is good enough, those who view it are likely to share their excitement with their peers. 

The ultimate result is a web of potential leads obtained from word-of-mouth and word-of-mouth alone. By calling to action and encouraging participants to share your content with their followers, the potential reach is infinite.

While paid advertising certainly has its place in a digital marketing strategy, and although it’s certainly effective, launching a contest or giveaway campaign every so often is an incredible way to grow your following, improve brand awareness, and ultimately increase total sales. 

Results in an Increase in Total Sales

When you think of a contest or giveaway, you’re likely thinking that it’s going to cost you money as a business. Why? Because it’s your investment to giveaway, and it’s the participants who are getting the chance to win something free, right? Wrong.

While your direct ROI on a contest is minimal, the long-term indirect ROI is what makes it so valuable and worth it. 

The primary KPIs for a contest or giveaway, especially on social media, are to increase reach, engagement, and social following. On the surface, none of these KPIs provide a monetary return…However, all three KPIs indirectly lend themselves to an increase in total sales.

Not only will having a larger following inevitably boost total sales, but contests can also have a landing page integration that converts leads to email subscribers, and ultimately to prospective customers.

The best-case scenario for a contest is converting participants into long-term, loyal customers of your brand. 

Provides a Means of Effective Content

Building out an effective content strategy is a never-ending battle to share informative and entertaining content, remain creative and innovative, and ensure the content you’re releasing is converting on the data metric side of your business.

Because there’s a lot that goes into creating content, and because your content is largely what defines your brand image to the general public, it helps to have surefire strategies to ease some of the pressure of filling out your ongoing content calendar.

One surefire strategy that’s a must for any business’ content strategy? Contest and sweepstake campaigns! 

Contest and giveaway campaigns are great pieces of content for several reasons. First, they’re suitable for all social platforms, from Facebook & LinkedIn to Instagram & TikTok. Second, they provide a new and fresh post(s) that likely differ from your typical branded social post. Last, they’re extremely effective and rapidly increasing reach, engagement, and conversions.

In Summary

While any brand or business of any size can and will benefit from contest and sweepstake campaigns, businesses that source their creative marketing efforts to creative agencies tend to generate the most incredible results. 

Why? Because agencies boast unique expertise in such areas while also prioritizing their time to ensure campaigns are curated and launched at optimal rates. Withstanding agencies, contests and giveaways inevitably help create a sense of community, both online and in real life, while also making it easier to achieve word-of-mouth marketing; a tremendous added benefit most fail to realize…

Similar to other marketing strategies, contests and sweepstakes are key to your achieving the results you desire. Before launching a giveaway campaign of any kind, however, be sure to inform yourself of the rules and regulations for such a campaign as they vary from region to region, and they differ depending on what platform you launch it on.

Thinking about launching a contest or giveaway of your own? We're even better than any creative agency in London to do that, sure we can help… It’s time to go beyond simple contests; instead, launch extraordinary campaigns! 

Contact us today to learn more.