These days, social media and word-of-mouth are two of the absolute best means of marketing your ecommerce business. Fortunately, the two go hand-in-hand, and that’s especially true when you can create friendly contests and competitions that will help you engage with your audience. The following 15 competition tips are fantastic ways to create competitions that will spark interest and increase your brand’s recognition.
Photo Caption Contests
If you’re prepared for some humor, and if you really want to create a viral post that is sure to garner some attention, photo caption contests are a great choice. Simply take a photo related to your business or product and ask people to come up with a unique caption. Your favorite will take home the prize.
Video Contests
Videos draw more attention on social media than traditional posts or even photos, so they are wonderful ways to engage with your audience. Of all the competition tips listed here, this one has the potential to be the most powerful. Ask followers to create a short video related to your store or one of your products and choose your favorite as the winner. You could even use the videos as testimonials in the future.
Sweepstakes
Sweepstakes indicate random winners, which keeps things fairer for those who don’t have much time to participate in videos or other types of contests. List the ways in which participants can earn entries, and then choose a random winner from those participants at a scheduled date and time.
Selfie Competitions
Selfies are also fantastic competition tips that can get people excited. Ask your followers to take a photo of themselves using your product or posing with your logo. Again, this puts numerous faces to your products and can help spread the word. Just randomly choose a winner, or better yet, let your followers vote for a winner.
Ask for Knowledge
Of all the competition tips available, this one is best if your audience is the cerebral type. It’s also a great choice for products geared toward parents and caregivers. Simply put, just ask people to reply to your post or tweet with their favorite tips related to a product or service. Then, choose a random winner or ask followers to vote for the tip they found most helpful.
Tag-a-Friend Contests
Games of tag are always great competition tips, and for good reason. In a Facebook post, tell your followers to “tag a friend” who might be interested in a particular product or service. Then, for every friend your followers tag, give them an entry, and draw a winner at random at a predetermined date and time.
Instagram Competitions
Instagram is quickly becoming one of the most popular social networks of them all, and if you’re looking to increase your following, these competition tips are for you. Ask people to feature your product or company logo with a custom hashtag you create, then reward the winners accordingly.
Photo-Sharing Competitions
Rather than asking people to share videos or tag friends, you could also ask them to share a simple photo that shows your product or service in action. This can really spread the word about your product and show its benefits in real life settings. Asking your followers to vote for a winner creates even more engagement.
Art Contests
If your logo is creative, then one of the best competition tips out there involves asking followers to incorporate your logo into their own works of art. They can draw or paint, whatever they choose, as long as your logo is clearly visible. Again, asking followers to choose their favorite boosts engagement.
Cutest Pets/Cutest Kids
Everyone is all about showing off their kids on social media – even their four-legged kids. With these competition tips, you can give them the opportunity to do one of their favorite things and feature your company, products, or services at the same time. For example, if you sell ladies’ clothing, a follower might choose to put a blouse on a Dalmatian. You just never know, and the results could go viral!
Recipe Contests
Everyone loves a good recipe, so if your ecommerce shop offers food-related items, ask your social media followers to share their favorite recipes that incorporate your products. You could even ask for the most unique creation! Be sure to require photos of the finished product, too.
Trivia Competitions
For the brainiacs in your followers list, these competition tips are amazing. Ask a series of trivia questions related to your product, service, or industry, and watch as people hash it out in tweets or comments. It can get pretty intense, but everyone will learn a thing or two, and your brand will gain some needed visibility, too.
Giveaways
To keep things simple for your followers, consider giving products away at random. You’ll need to select a pool from which to choose, so just tell people to “like” the post with the daily giveaway item, then draw a winner several hours after you post it. The item doesn’t have to be incredibly valuable – after all, people will go out of their way for a chance to get something for free.
Product Naming Competitions
People are truly engaged when you give them an opportunity to be part of your legacy, and there’s no better way to do that than to allow them the opportunity to name a new product. Remind your followers that only the first person to suggest a name will be the winner, and whoever does the best job naming the product should receive some for himself or herself, too.
The competition tips here represent some of the best and most buzz-worthy contests you can hold to generate interest in your store and products. However, they are only the tip of the iceberg. Feel free to brainstorm some of your own ideas and remember that contests of any time can make everyone’s day – and give you some cheap exposure, too.
