Even simply adding the prize’s logo can make the competition more attention-grabbing and engaging. We’ve been doing annual giveaways for years, and the results have always been successful. In fact, our 14th birthday celebration attracted over 20,000 participants. After the contest concludes, analyse the results against your initial goals. Identify what worked well and what didn’t to improve future contests.

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• In the case of a product design or naming contest, it’s pretty obvious.
• But remember that followers are generally happy to see posts from brands they like – nearly half of frequent social media users want to see brand posts at least once per day.
• Running an online contest on social media more or less boils down to writing and sharing the announcement post.
• It’s definitely worth taking a look at before you launch your contest.

Many social media marketers understand the power of contests and giveaways in boosting engagement, increasing followers, and generating brand awareness. However, executing a successful contest requires careful planning and strategic implementation. In this comprehensive guide, we will walk you through a step-by-step process to host contests and giveaways that will drive social media success for your brand.

• This analysis will help you refine your strategy and maximize the impact of your social media efforts.
• You can type in a title, which will be shown to your visitors, or make the action mandatory so that visitors must complete this task to enter the competition.
• Tag a friend for a chance to win free lattes for both of you this Friday!
• While it’s beneficial to choose the platform where your target audience is most active, don’t limit yourself to a single platform.
• It’s a unique way to build buzz and maintain a fresh, spontaneous atmosphere on your feed.

‍9. Monitor engagement with your social media contest

Trivia quizzes are fun and interactive, attracting those who enjoy testing their knowledge and curiosity. They can drive high participation rates as followers answer questions about your industry, services, team, or backstory. Reach your target audience and grow your followers with interactive campaigns. For example, a clothing brand might challenge customers to style a particular piece in their own unique way, or a restaurant might encourage diners to share photos of their favorite dishes.

This tactic is not only effective in terms of reaching a broader audience, but it also makes the interaction more personal and engaging, leading to higher participation. That’s why we’ve curated a list of 20+ free social media contest ideas for 2025. These ideas are designed to help using social media to compete in online contests you ignite your creativity, engage your audience, and transform your social media platforms into vibrant, active spaces. Whether you’re a seasoned pro looking for fresh inspiration or a newbie eager to dive into the world of social media contests, there’s something for everyone in the list that follows. They can be tailored to suit your specific goals, whether it’s boosting engagement, generating user content, or promoting a new product or service. Moreover, they provide an exciting way for your audience to interact with your brand beyond just consuming your content.

Content Creation

Ugc contest campaigns represent a powerful approach to social media contests that leverages the authenticity and creativity of your audience. The creation of a branded hashtag provides a focal point for the campaign and makes it easy to track and measure participation. The aggregation of user-generated content provides valuable social proof and creates a rich tapestry of diverse perspectives on the chosen theme. The potential for a hashtag challenge to create a trending topic, and subsequently a viral moment, is a significant draw for businesses looking to amplify their reach and impact. Furthermore, the focus on community building fosters a sense of belonging and loyalty among participants, extending engagement beyond the contest period.

Tracking Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

For more detailed guidance on running a giveaway, check out How to Do a Giveaway on Social Media (Including FAQs). Keep an eye on trends, but don’t be afraid to carve your own path. When you think outside the box with creative prizes that truly resonate with your audience, the possibilities are endless. Take the first step today and start planning a social media contest that will inspire and engage like never before. For example, if you want to grow the brand’s audience, ask participants to follow your account for a chance to win a prize.

Hosting live sessions where participants compete or engage directly with your brand produces urgency and excitement. Video contests come in various formats, catering to different objectives and audience preferences. Short-form video contests, often seen on platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels, are ideal for capturing attention quickly and encouraging widespread participation. Long-form video contests, typically hosted on YouTube, allow for more in-depth storytelling and showcase advanced video production skills. It’s important to note that some entry mechanics violate platform terms and conditions. Avoid mechanics such as asking entrants to share a post, tag friends who are not present in a photo, or retweet content multiple times.

This platform supports an impressive range of contest types, including direct giveaways, video contests, quizzes, games, and more. Easypromos’s user-friendly website will help you find the best type of online contest for your economic sector, use case, objective, or key functionality you’re looking for. As you can see, when it comes to the types of online contests and the pool of themes and topics, the sky’s the limit! The best long-term strategy would be to try out different types of contests over time and see which ones get the most engagement.

⃣ Choose the right social media platform

By asking followers to design something for your brand, whether it’s a logo, a t-shirt, or even a product package, you’re involving them directly in your brand’s development. Each social media platform has its own rules for promoting contests. For example, on Twitter, you can’t encourage users to retweet the same thing over and over again.

Also called a mention contest, it involves creating a social media post with a specific hashtag. Before you let your imagination run too wild, however, remember that setting the bar too high would reduce the number of people willing to sign up for it. This type of small-scale, high-effort contest could still serve your goals, but if you’d prefer to attract a larger audience, stick to something with a lower barrier of entry. In this guide I cover every stage of how to run an online contest with plenty of useful tips and best practices. If your dream idea is still fuzzy around the edges, by the time you’re through with this section, you should have a much more solid outline of what you’re going for.

Some people will try to improve their chances of winning by using all the entry methods. However, it’s still a good idea to prioritize actions based on your social media marketing campaign goals. Recognizing the importance of these tips can help you create a successful social media contest or giveaway.

The campaign included weekly prize draws for contestants who created songs using local sound bytes and a grand prize giveaway at the end to keep followers engaged throughout. All you need to do is create a giveaway post asking your followers to tag a friend (or three friends) to enter. You can even offer bonus entries for every friend that they tag. To run a video contest, you can ask your followers to submit a short clip related to your contest theme.