12 Simple tricks to succeed in a contest

After about 50 contests, I jotted down a list of do's and don'ts. Here are some tips that will help you succeed in your competition. This article is aimed at all types of contests, but with some tips just for  Facebook contests . I suspect that many of these things may seem simple to you, but I prefer to see the whole base together to allow everyone to have great contests.

Of course, you could tell me that for your situation, some stuff doesn't apply. You have to be aware that there will always be a “it depends” to ask yourself after the advice and that nothing is absolute.

First, you can read my advice on what, then on what not to do and I will end with general advice.

TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL COMPETITION

DRAW A PRIZE RELATED TO YOUR BUSINESS

If you raffle off a prize that is simply an unbelievable prize, you will attract a different customer to your products. On the other hand, by drawing a prize related to your brand, you will attract people who really want your brand. There will be fewer participants, but more targeting. It is certain that if you have a service / product whose usefulness is rare / on demand or special cases, you can find something else of course. On the other hand, always try to keep a certain link with the company.

Here are some examples :

MAKE THE FORM AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE

A contest form should follow some basic user experience rules such as:

• Automatically format some fields or display the format you want, but don't give an error message when the field is badly formatted if you don't display the format you want

Example :

• Do not ask for information that is too confidential
• Don't ask for information you don't need
• Do not make the form on several pages

Here is an example where the form is perfect for the needs of the cause: we just want your email. There is too much text to say that the whole form is optimized though.

SIMPLIFY THE METHOD OF PARTICIPATION

“The participants will have to film themselves singing the name of my competition. They will then have to put the video on YouTube and send me the YouTube link along with a 50-word text describing the video. » A contest must have the simplest possible method of entry to allow the most users to participate.  

This means that you have no use for the additional information you request, think carefully before asking. Simply asking for a phrase instead of a word on the form could turn some participants off.

On the other hand, it allows you to add some branding to the application if you ask for additional information related to the price. You have to know how to strike the right balance. 

This is in order for content submission contests. Think about all the participants before setting rules that are too strict. But above all: adapt as needed once the competition is launched.

ON THE OTHER HAND, MAKING PARTICIPATION FUN ( VIA TWITTER )

If you can add a little fun to your contest , participants will thank you. This could be, for example, a scratch ticket or a spinning wheel. 

GIVE EXTRA CHANCES IF USER SHARES

You have to give a little something to the users who share in order to motivate them to share. Often, it is offered to double the chances if users share.  

FOCUS ON IMAGES

Minimize text and optimize visuals to entice people to participate , put prize and prize value as the main focus. The contest must be easy to understand, but above all fast.

IN THE CATEGORY OF THINGS NOT TO DO

DO NOT PUT A CAPTCHA AT THE END OF YOUR CONTEST

I have done a good fifty contests and I do not see an occasion where a captcha would have made a difference. I'm not saying this because spammers are able to solve a captcha (probably), but rather because all of the participants are humans.

DO NOT PUT "ONE PARTICIPATION PER DAY"

This does not make you want to participate in your competition, because by doing a simple calculation, we realize we do not have time to come back every day to participate while some people do, so we will simply tell ourselves that that don't want to bother to participate. In some rare cases, we might see a similar solution, for example: "Come back to see the index of the week which is the product on sale".

There are a few exceptions to this rule, but it's pretty rare. This can be useful if there is a different offer each day or if it is a forward schedule.

DO NOT AUTOMATE CONTEST SHARING

Users like to have control over what they share, it is important to give them the chance to write whatever they want on the link they will share. It is better not to force, because people might abhor a certain contempt towards the competition.

NOT ASKING FOR FACEBOOK PERMISSION UPFRONT

Some users might be scared off if the first thing they see is a request from the app to access our data when we just want to know about the contest. This may change depending on your application running the contest.

AND GENERAL ADVICE

CONSIDER ADVERTISING THE COMPETITION

Do not think that once your contest is created, that it will cause a significant increase in the number of subscribers without effort on your part! You have to put your hands in the dough so that your competition obtains an incomparable success.

There are several ways to make your contest popular:

• The current social presences of the company (plan more than a message)
• Facebook Ads
• Company newsletter
• The mention of the competition by the partners
• Influencers

KEEP YOUR GOAL IN MIND

Finally, I would like to remind you that the most important thing is that the contest respects your company's objectives. If the goal of your contest is to accumulate emails from interested people, perhaps you will go with a fairly simple mode of participation compared to a contest that wants to increase brand image. If your goal is to increase in-store sales, why not just offer a discount coupon at the end of the contest.