For brands that live online, creating an online contest is a great way to drive awareness and engagement. It’s a way to create fun, anticipation, and community among your followers. It is also a great way to garner loyalty and insights. However, running an online contest shouldn’t just be about a “Like to win” or “Tweet to win” approach. It should be a well thought-out, valuable experience for everyone.

That is why we have come up with 5 steps that you can take to ensure your online contest runs smoothly and creates a great experience within your community.

Create a Unique Website or Landing Page

Being able to direct your followers to a location on your website where they can enter your contest is important. This space should be eye-catching, it should include a call-to-action with an ‘Enter Contest’ button, and it should include the Rules & Regulations of the contest. This is where you will drive traffic for people to sign up to your contest. Make it as aesthetically pleasing as possible.

State your Intentions Clearly

People need to understand why they are entering your contest, so take the time to explain this to them. What will they win? What is the purpose? What are you trying to achieve? What is the end goal? Explaining this to people will help them understand and will encourage them to be on-board.

Create a Video or Image to Introduce your Contest

Once the landing page is created you will want to then create a video or image that you can share to promote your contest. If you create a video, you should aim for it to be around 2 minutes in length. If you create an image, make sure several versions are created in order to optimize the image dimensions for each social media channel or advertising platform.

Drive Interest on Social Media

Most companies will have a social media community that they will want to leverage for their contest. Use these communities to create buzz and to encourage followers to enter the contest or tell others about it. You can even use a unique hashtag to track conversation about your contest. Whatever you do, make this fun for your followers. Encourage them to participate, and then engage with them when they do.

Leverage your Email List

Whether you use Mailchimp or some other bulk email service, make sure you share this contest with your email subscribers. These are the folks who value your insight the most, and should almost be given the first chance to enter. Once again, make sure you use a combination of graphics and clear intention to share your message, and make sure your readers know “what’s in it for them”.

Final Word

When running an online contest remember that you have already gained the trust of your followers by having them be part of your community. The point of an online contest is to have fun and create camaraderie, to show your community your human side. So have a good time with it, but make sure you pay attention to the details. In the end, it’s the little things that count.