Say Yes to Sweepstakes; Say Yes To Profits

When looking towards expanding the online traffic for your business, a great way to increase web views and marketing is through online contests and sweepstakes. Not only are these marketing strategies cost efficient, but they’re a great way to deepen your web-presence and increase the number of people who are interacting with your brand. The key to understanding online sweepstakes and contest management is viewing these strategies as distinct from one another. A contest is defined as a game of skill where participants enter through a show of skill of kind, such as uploading a video or photo, or writing an essay, etc. The entries are then judged based on a set of pre-determined criteria, and a winner (or winners) are chosen. Contest management can be as grand or as simple a process as your business requires since entry fees and purchase is allowed in most states.

By promoting your online business or products through contests and sweepstakes you are putting your marketing in the hands of your consumers. The excitement of prizes or business perks will motivate customers to tell their family and friends through word of mouth (phone calls and face to face), but also instantly through social media, blogs, and text messaging. Managing sweepstakes and contests online is much easier when done through social media. Social media is a particularly powerful tool where you can spread news quickly by encouraging your customers to share important news or promotions. By showcasing products and content in this exciting way, more users will become aware of your brand, increasing site traffic when people are more motivated to visit the website of your business.

Sweepstakes and contests have been used by marketers for decades to create awareness for their product or service. Sweepstakes differ from contests because they do not require skill. Instead, sweepstakes are games of chance and can include random drawings, online instant win games, and scratch cards. Not only are sweepstakes cost effective advertising, they can also be used to collect relevant data for future survey and narrow in on target demographics. It is important to remember that each social network has its own requirements in addition to promotional law. Facebook, for example, does not allow ?like gating? or requiring a person to like the page in order to get an entry. Once you familiarize yourself with these details and adhere to the policies of social media websites and contest management and state sweepstakes laws, you’ll reap the benefits of a new and expanded customer base.