How to Run a Social Media Contest to Grow Your Site (Best Practices + Examples)

After 15 years as a webmaster, I‘ve seen countless brands run social media contests. The successful ones have seen dramatic growth, while those that cut corners often fizzle out.

In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll share the proven contest strategies I‘ve learned. Whether you‘re new to social contests or want to improve your results, this in-depth look at running an effective contest will help.

Let‘s get started!

Why Social Media Contests Are so Powerful

Contests allow you to incentivize just about any action you want from your audience. According to statistics from Rafflecopter, some of the key benefits are:

• 5x increase in social media followers on average
• 2,000+ new email list signups per contest
• 100,000+ contest pageviews for proven promotions
• 500+ user-generated photos/videos submitted to branded contests

Just look at the outstanding results from this UGC photo contest case study:

• 10,868 user photos submitted
• 2.3 million social impressions
• 28,710 website sessions
• 2,523 email signups

Or how pet food brand I and Love and You drove 6,233% more site traffic during their ‘Meet Our Office Dogs‘ contest.

The numbers speak for themselves – contests convert. Now let‘s see how to maximize your own results.

Set Measurable Goals Based on Clear Objectives

The first step is identifying what you want to achieve. Ask yourself:

• What actions do I want users to take?
• How will I measure ROI?
• Who is my target audience?

Having clear goals and metrics for success upfront allows you to design and judge the efficacy of your contest.

Some examples of well-defined goals:

• Get 10,000+ new Instagram followers
• Increase email list by 5,000 qualified subscribers
• Generate 750 user-submitted photos and videos
• Achieve 100,000 contest landing page visits

Let your objectives guide your strategy as you plan.

Choose the Right Social Contest Platform

While you can run contests directly on social media, dedicated contest platforms make managing your promotion much easier. Here are the top solutions:

Rafflecopter

The most popular platform, used by major brands like Forbes and Pizza Hut. Offers sleek customizable contest pages and multi-platform entry options. Pricing starts at $17 per month.

Wishpond

An all-in-one marketing suite including landing pages, email marketing, and a powerful contest builder with custom designs and real-time analytics. Pricing starts at $49 per month.

Shortstack

Specializes in Facebook contests. More than 100 customizable templates and easy contest setup. Begins at $49/month.

Woobox

Supports both website and social media contests. Automates winner selection. Contest plans start at $49 per month.

ViralSweep

Robust platform with unique options like team entries and referral programs. Suited for more advanced contests. Starts at $59 per month.

Take stock of your budget, features needed, and ease-of-use to select the right platform.

Craft Compelling Contests That Convert

Design is where many contests go wrong. You need compelling prizes, clear entry requirements, and creative elements.

Offer exciting prizes

Give away things participants truly want – cash, gadgets, gift cards, vacations, etc. The better the prize, the more buzz and entries.

Keep it simple to enter

Requiring just an email signup or social follow makes conversion effortless. Avoid complex multi-step entries.

Add engaging content

User-generated photos and videos, infographics, personalized prize unboxing videos – creative content fuels viral sharing.

Share user stories

Profile selected participants. The personal connection makes people more eager to join.

Use teasers to build intrigue

Post teasers leading up to the launch. Give them a glimpse but leave them wanting more.

Apply these creative tactics to turn your contest into a viral hit people can‘t resist.

Promote Your Contest for Maximum Exposure

Even the greatest contest flops without promotion. You need a multimedia plan:

• Leverage your own channels – website, email lists, social media
• Paid social ads – Targeted Facebook/Instagram promotions
• Post in relevant groups – Share with Facebook Groups and subreddits
• Contest launch email – Dedicated email to your list announcing it
• Website popups – Use plugins like OptinMonster to hit site visitors
• Influencer outreach – Recruit influencers to share with their followings
• Retargeting ads – Remarket people who visited but didn‘t enter
• Web push notifications – Send follow-up notifications after they leave

This diversified promotion strategy maximizes reach and visibility.

Master These Social Media Contest Best Practices

Running a smooth user-friendly contest prevents headaches. Follow these tips:

• Check platform rules – Ensure you comply with regulations for Facebook/Instagram contests.
• Disclose entry terms – Be transparent about eligibility and selection process.
• Require email verification – Reduce fake entries.
• Implement fraud prevention – Use Captcha and sanitize submissions.
• Specify UGC rights – State what rights you have to user photos and videos.
• Follow contest laws – Seek counsel to ensure legality based on prize value.
• Promote responsibly – Don‘t have users spam their networks for entries.
• Announce winners publicly – Be transparent. Notify winners via email and social media tagging.
• Award prizes ASAP – Get prizes to verified winners quickly to conclude positively.

This checklist helps avoid issues and keeps the contest experience smooth for all.

Real-World Examples of Successful Social Media Contests

To see these strategies in action, here are a few real-world examples of brands running social contests that drove amazing results:

Case Study 1: The Home Depot – #PowerUpMySchool Contest

Home improvement giant The Home Depot ran a Facebook contest encouraging users to nominate a school to receive a tech makeover.

• Goal: Increase brand engagement and recognition
• Prize: $50,000 worth of tech equipment to winning school
• Promotion: Organic + paid Facebook ads, website banners
• Engagement: Over 5,800 nominations, 66k votes, 33k comments

This campaign exceeded engagement goals and positioned Home Depot as giving back to communities.

Case Study 2: Starbucks – #WhiteCupContest

Starbucks encouraged Instagram users to post holiday-themed photos of their Starbucks cups for a chance to win prizes.

• Goal: Increase brand engagement and user-generated content
• Prize: Gift cards, merch, new espresso machine for school
• Promotion: Instagram ads and influencers
• Engagement: Over 8,000 photo entries and 65 million impressions

The festive photos spread brand awareness while sourcing UGC Starbucks could use.

Case Study 3: Suja Juice – #SujaMySpace Contest

Cold-pressed juice brand Suja ran an Instagram photo contest asking people to share pictures of Suja in their space using a custom hashtag.

• Goal: Increase brand engagement and Instagram followers
• Prize: Year supply of Suja juice
• Promotion: Instagram influencers, existing audience
• Results: 10x increase in Instagram followers during contest

This simple, targeted contest grew their Instagram presence exponentially.

As you can see from these examples, crafted contests aligning with clear goals deliver outstanding marketing results. Apply these lessons when creating your own contests.

Recap: How to Crush Your Next Social Media Contest

In this guide, we covered start-to-finish strategies to runwildly successful social media contests, including:

• Recognizing the immense power contests have to achieve marketing objectives
• Setting measurable goals tied to clear outcomes
• Selecting the best contest platform for your needs
• Crafting compelling, creative contests
• Promoting your contest across multiple channels
• Following best practices for smooth execution

While contests require effort to do well, the payoff in terms of leads, engagement, and brand awareness is massive.

Use this comprehensive playbook to run your next contest, and get ready for outstanding results. Just don‘t keep the strategy to yourself – share it with others who want to level up their social media contest game!

Let me know if you have any other social media contest tips I should cover in future guides! I‘m always looking to improve based on your real-world experiences.