| | Interactive Campaign Marketing: Run a contest using social media, free
by Melissa Brewer
Interactive marketing is the key to return visitors to your website, no matter
what you are selling or marketing. Businesses on a budget really don't always
have the kind of resources they need to start out. That's why there are so
many pricey marketing firms out there. Unfortunately, businesses without
interactivity on the web are sure to flounder, especially with the trend towards
social media sites such as Myspace and Youtube. Your customers and website
visitors need to interact with your business - and trust it, to be successful.
What's one solution to building interactivity on a budget? Hosting a contest
that gets your visitors involved with your comnpany and products. Video contests
are ideal for this - they are free and easy to manage using YouTube.
Worried that an interactive contest campaign is too costly or time-consuming?
Don't worry - we've got you covered - step by step. Altogether, it should take
about a week to set up a campaign using free tools and a little promotion
know-how. Your campaign will need a promotion until the contest ends - but the
basics should be easy to cover and check on. And even once the contest has
ended, you should see a good return in traffic based on the new prospects you've
met during the promotion.
1. First things first - get your business on Myspace and YouTube. Plan
to spend at least half an hour setting up your profile on each site. Sign up
at http://www.youtube.com and http://www.myspace.com. Don't just sign up and
leave - make sure you link to your website, upload photos of your products and
services, and describe your business and products throughly. (Using your seo
keywords.) If you're not sure how to fill out your profile, do a search for
other businesses on these sites... (Tip: there are tons of boutiques and
bookstores on Myspace, and they're easy to find using the Myspace search
engine...) Myspace can assign you a unique URL (Look on the left side of
your page under your profile pic.) Make sure you use your business name or
keywords when you choose your URL. (Our company's Myspace URL is :
http://www.myspace.com/capitalcreative ) Youtube assigns you a "channel" -
there's a lot you can do with this as far as building a social network - but
that will follow in another article. (Our company's channel is at :
http://www.youtube.com/capitalcreative to see an example of how a channel at
Youtube will look.)
2. Plan a contest - not a drawing, but a competition. That's right - this
isn't going to cost you money, but it may cost you a free gift certificate,
book, or other piece of your business inventory. It doesn't have to be expensive
- but if you have enough inventory, giving away something free that's of high
value will generate more buzz for your company. Plan on at least having a grand
prize, if not first, second, and third prizes. For an effective campaign, you'll
want to limit your contest to 30 to 45 days. (And when you see enough success,
you can do another one, later!) Choose an item you're really wanting to push -
in many cases, your customers may buy it if they don't win... Because during and
after this campaign, you're going to keep in touch with them.
3. Decide what the contest is going to be about - and what you want your
customers to think about your company. You can make it simple -
"Why do you deserve a free Ipod"? or use it to help build your brand - "Why I am
a home-made-vegan soap addict and I deserve a year's supply of soap." Many
bigger companies even ask users to submit their own commercials for a specific
product. The key to this contest is to build excitement for your products and
company - so ask a question to your prospects that helps them think about
your brand and how it relates to them.
4. Create a Youtube Group for your contest.
(http://www.youtube.com/groups_create) This is where you'll be directing your
entries. You get a free bulletin board in the group, so link to your contest
guidelines and your business on Myspace. (On Myspace, you'll get a lot of
friends this way. Let everyone know contest updates will be announced on Myspace
and via your mailing list.)
5. Create a Contest Page on your website. List the rules and the
theme of your contest. Although the video contest will be on Youtube, you'll
want to collect their email addresses and the URL of their video either by form
or email, depending on your preferences. Link to your Myspace profile and
Youtube Group prominently. Let them know that you will update them via email or
Myspace. Make sure you host a "Send this page to a friend" form. Not sure what
the contest rules should entail? Do a Google search for "contest guidelines" and
write up your own.
6. Announce your contest. Every place you announce your contest, you'll
want to promote the URL of your Youtube Group, Contest URL, and Myspace
profile. (if you already have a Myspace profile, then announce the contest
to everyone once a week, using a bulletin...) Who else can you announce it to?
Your mailing list. Online media and local newspapers using a press release.
Print up fliers and pass them out around town. Oh, yeah - and those free
contest websites - there are thousands of them with avid contest entrants.
(http://www.contesthound.com/addcontest.php3,
http://www.contestalley.com/submitcontest.shtml, to name a few) Try to get your
contest listed in at least five directories a week, or even a day, and your link
popularity will soar.
7. Promote until the day the contest closes. Continue listing your
contest in forums and directories, with a link to your contest page - if you
list your contest in just 5 places a day, you can achieve prominence quickly.
8. Choose your winners and give them some publicity. Let all of your
entrants know where to see the winning videos - and make them an offer they
can't refuse. Let your website visitors know where to see the results of the
contest. Offer all the "losers' some sort of coupon or freebie - or another
chance to enter a second contest. Post the winning video on your website and any
other place you promote your business. Ask winners for their photographs and
post them in your Myspace profile as " recent contest winners". Ask them to tell
their friends about their videos. Send out press release announcing the winners
- and the theme for your next contest.
Have fun with contests - when you run a contest, you build your company's image
and brand awareness. A contest is a great way to generate enthusiasm with your
website visitors, add people to your mailing list, and achieve brand
recognition. Contests also tend to be very viral in nature - people share them
with their friends and there are tons of contest fanatics on the web that
republish information for their own website visitors. just remember to make it
fun, link to where they can enter, and ask every one to tell a
friend!
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| | Posted 6/4/2007 6:00 PM - 58 Views - 4 eProps - 3 comments
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