[69] How to Run an Effective Giveaway

  In this episode, I outline how to run an effective giveaway. Giveaways pop up all the time on social media – and for good reason. If delivered in a well-planned, well-executed way, they can be a very effective marketing tool for small business. Giveaways can be a great way to engage and build your audience. They are also a great way to celebrate something – such as a launch or new product – and, if done right, they can be very rewarding for all involved. So before you decide to go ahead and start gift giving – make sure you listen to this episode to ensure you get the most out of your giveaway!       Quotes and highlights from this Episode: * 1. Set your goal. * Is your goal to make more sales, build up buzz for a new product launch, or build more followers and subscribers? * 2. Decide on a prize. * Make sure the prize is not onerous for you to create and make sure it is something people want. * 3. Set some Terms & Conditions. * You need to put these in place to protect you. * It is also important to check terms and conditions of the platform you wish to use. They may have certain rules you need to abide by. * What date will the competition close? * Who is the competition open to? * How do people enter? * You need to make this clear and as easy as possible. If it is too hard people won’t bother. * 4.What is your method of delivery? * You should decide what platform you will use to host the giveaway. * You need to know how you will keep track of entries. * There are some online platforms such as Rafflecopter you can use to make this easier. * 5. Decide on how you will promote the giveaway. * It really should promote itself but you should always be helping it along. * Sharing amongst your social networks is a great way to promote it. * Don’t be afraid to post the giveaway multiple times and ask friends to share. * ‘Shout it far and wide and tell people.’ {Jess} * 6. Consider a collaboration. * Get in touch with others to see if they are interested in being involved. * ‘Make new connections with people and build your networks.’ {Jess} * 7. How will you choose a winner? * Is the decision random, skill or effort based? * Random.org is great for helping pick random winners. * Make it clear when the winner will be announced. Generally 24 hours is a good starting point. * Be mindful of the winners privacy and don’t publish their details. * Always contact the winner first. * Will you need a back up winner? Have it in your T&C in the case you can’t get hold of the original winner. * 8. Providing the prize. * Provide the prize with great thought! Make it fun and celebratory and don’t forget to say thank you. * Ask your winner if they will share a photo. * ‘It’s another piece of content you can share with your audience, another story you can tell.’ {Jess} * Analyse how the giveaway went. What worked and what didn’t? This is important info for the next one!   Download or Listen to This Episode http://createandthrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/69_How_to_Run_an_Effective_Giveaway.mp3 (You can also subscribe to the podcast and listen to this episode on iTunes + Stitcher – just search ‘Create & Thrive’.)