Our latest #tourismchat (December 1, 2011) focused on social media contests. A lot of the chat participants have managed contests in Facebook but not too many had experience with Twitter or Flickr contests. Below are my highlights from the chat. Check out the entire chat transcript for all the details.
Have you managed any social media contests for your DMO? What were the results?
- @pagetx Yes. We’ve done Flickr photo contests for 2 yrs. Increased social fans, engagement, & # of photos in group. Success!
- @MontanaTia We did our first giveaway this summer via facebook and increased the # of fans on our page.
- @SarahElam Yes, we’ve done 2 very successful ones on FB. One geared towards outdoor fun, one on shopping. Increased fans & exposure!
- @stefanieksays Yes, had amazing results w/ Facebook contest especially if supported with ads. See fans sticking around even after it ends.
- @emilyforsha Flickr photo contests and some ticket giveaways on Twitter. Great engagement on both. Flickr gets us great content.
- @ParadiseMeeting Our social media contests have been free nights at hotels. The response was phenomenal! Everyone wants to visit Florida.
- @catherineheeg Facebook contest to gain fans and photos. Now working on a web-based contest to gain exposure to Trvl. agents
What were the goals for your social media contests?
- @stefanieksays email address acquisition/phone number acquisition is always a big goal for clients I have worked with.
- @catherineheeg goal was to gain more photos to be used in future marketing campaigns. Fans increased as well.
- @CygnetUpdates consider results/goals that go beyond raw numbers. Are people continuing to engage AFTER the contest ends?
- @SarahElam Increased fan base and general vb exposure…and fan interaction!
- @pagetx Our goals were increased awareness of region & getting more photos in our Flickr group. Wanted active shots, not scenery.
- @jeremy_harvey Definitely increase fans (& keep them), but also get some good interactions and conversations going!
- @ShuttersSecrets We’ve seen the best results from contests where people have to do more than “like” us. Continued engagement is key.
- @seanmdixon Recent (and awesome) side effect of last FB campaign: 150+ written FB Recommendations.
Which platforms or networks are best for contests? With which goals?
- @pagetx I’ve only used Flickr for contests. Promoted via Facebook/Twitter, but avoided paying for 3rd party apps that way.
- @WhosYourAnnie If gaining high quality photos, flickr is great. Engagement = Facebook. Fast & Short giveaways = twitter.
- @emilyforsha Flickr is great for photos because the pro photographer community is there. FB for engagement.
- @stefanieksays have had the most success w/ Facebook for achieving all goals, on Twitter ran into more people not following back, etc.
- @jeremy_harvey I like FB the best, but I guess it depends. We used YouTube for people to submit cast videos to be in our web series.
- @VacationFun Little contests on FB wall for interaction – big like-gated welcome page sweeps for likes/leads – Twitter to promote it
What’s a good duration for the contest?
- @WhosYourAnnie Flickr contests can be longer; Facebook = 2-3 weeks; Twitter = 1-2 days? What do you think?
- @pagetx Our Flickr contest ran too long. 1.5 months. I’m going to chop off at least 2 weeks for the next one.
- @stefanieksays If there is a high barrier to entry than I like to do at least a month, for sweepstakes less- two to three weeks
- @catherineheeg I’ve built them to run for several months with monthly and a grand prize = Engagement.
- @CygnetUpdates Flickr=1 mo RT @WhosYourAnnie: A4: Flickr contests can be longer; Facebook = 2-3 weeks; Twitter = 1-2 days
Does prize value affect the amount of entries?
- @HeidiTown I have found that prize value does NOT reflect the amount of entries. I find ppl like t-shirts & beer.
- @CygnetUpdates Yes & if it’s too big it becomes ALL about the prize & then they’re gone. Q6: Does prize value affect the amount of entries?
- @ParadiseDeals The prize value may affect the amount of entries…Who wants to win a keychain? lol
- @WhosYourAnnie I think up to a level. A getaway package will probably get the same interaction if the hotel is $$ vs $$$$.
- @pagetx Yes, I think it can affect # of entries. It’s a fine line between just wanting the prize & wanting to be engaged with you.
- @catherineheeg Prize has to be relevant to the audience. Interaction is key motivation for many.
Which apps did you use to facilitate your contests? And what are you doing to make them sharable?
- @WhosYourAnnie I’m a fan of woobox. It allows you to give bonus entries for sharing & liking other pages.
- @SarahElam We used WildFire and were quite happy with it.
- @catherineheeg Used Offerpop and Wildfire.
- @stefanieksays love Woobox; it offers so many bonus entry options, bonus for liking partner pages, bonus for sharing, etc
- @VacationFun Static HTML iFrame tabs was any easy wat to start with a like gated contest
- @stefanieksays Woobox is very easy to use and pretty inexpensive; they charge by fan size (>20k – $29.99 a month, 100k- $99)
- @FSAustin We used Offerpop for our last contest and liked it. Only downfall is no mobile entries
- @stefanieksays Woobox also offers a microsite that has all of the FB functionality (required like, etc) that is mobile friendly
What tips do you have for successfully managing social media contests?