Social Media Promotions: Which Prizes Should You Offer?

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One of the most important parts of planning a social media promotion or contest involves figuring out the prize. After all, if you want social media users to participate in your promotion, they need to feel compelled to do so. Oftentimes, this is done by offering a prize. So, which prizes should you offer?

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First, not all social media promotions have an actual physical prize such as a gift card, movie tickets, or a new iPad. In some cases, bragging rights is the prize. For example, if you’re running a photo promotion to get more likes, the prize might be featuring the cutest cat photo as your page’s cover image for a month. Offering a discount off of your products or services or free shipping on any order is another option that doesn’t involve investing in an actual prize and shipping it to the winner.

While bragging rights and discounts have their place, you may want to incentivize a social media promotion with valuable prizes. Prizes can motivate more people to take action. The more contestants you attract, the more viral sharing you can expect. Thus, the more exposure your promotion (and your brand) will receive.

Below are a few prize ideas to consider.

Other considerations when choosing a prize for a social media promotion include cost of the prize, practicality in delivering it to the winner, and return on investment. As with any other marketing initiative, you’ll want to track the performance and ROI of each promotion. Which prizes generated the best response? Which resulted in more likes or sales? Which didn’t generate interest? Experiment and compare results. When you find a winning combination, repeat.

Thomas von Ahn | Chief Elephant Slayer | Viral Solutions LLC
thomas von ahn

Watch out elephants! This slayer of business challenges comes with 30 years of record breaking sales, marketing, operations, training and leadership experience . He has worked face-to-face with 100’s of small business owners as well as large firms. His love of creating, communicating, developing and executing results for clients shines with each project, publication and training event. His entrepreneurial spirit, passion, industry experience, education, problem-solving prowess, charismatic personality and been-there-done that attitude leads his client focused approach.

 


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Filed Under: Social Media

About Thomas von Ahn

With more than 30 years of experience in B2B sales across various industries, Thomas has unique insight into both the offline and online sales sphere. It was during his time in the trenches that Thomas noticed a recurring theme: Though business owners are knowledgeable about their craft or trade, they often struggle to market and sell to their prospects. This realization is what prompted Thomas and his now business partner, Christine, to bring Viral Solutions to life. Since starting the company, Thomas has been able to assist countless business owners in developing a solid marketing plan based upon sound marketing strategy, then assigning the marketing tactics to a team of talented employees, and, finally, watching those actions unfold—his true passion.

Though Viral Solutions is on Thomas’ mind 24/7, he does occasionally take a break to cheer on the Green Bay Packers and enjoy his adopted home of Wisconsin. Much of his family also works at Viral Solutions, and this closeness with family and employees is the cornerstone of the Viral Solutions culture.