Hosting a social media contest or sweepstakes presents an incredible chance to magnify your brand and to inspire your customers to generate and distribute user-created content centered around your products or services.
Contests encourage users to share photos.
Contests are a fun way to engage with fans, foster creativity in the communities, and reward them for their loyalty.
Contests are also enormous engagement drivers.
In this article, we explore the numerous advantages of running contests and sweepstakes, highlighting how they can amplify brand awareness, drive customer engagement, and foster a genuine sense of community.
Amplifying Brand Awareness:
Contests and sweepstakes featuring user-generated content amplify brand visibility and reach. UGC turns participants into brand ambassadors, spreading awareness virally.
Increasing Customer Engagement:
Integrating UGC into contests fosters interactive experiences, increasing customer engagement and loyalty. Consumers feel a sense of ownership and connection.Showcasing Authenticity and Trust:
UGC serves as authentic testimonials, building trust. By featuring real stories and perspectives, brands gain credibility and boost customer confidence.
Building a Community:
UGC-driven contests create a sense of community. Participants connect and interact, forming a loyal customer base that supports and advocates for the brand.
Gaining Valuable Insights:
Contests involving UGC offer valuable insights into consumer preferences and trends. Analyzing UGC helps brands refine strategies and personalize experiences for their target audience.
Get inspired by some of our customer campaigns
Madewell
Madewell ran a contest for a chance to win a $1,000 shopping spree. They promoted the contest on social, via e-mail, and on their site.
Komono
Komono organised the #EstelleInParis Instagram challenge, where four friends can win a weekend in Paris during fashion week and an Estelle watch. They promoted it via emails, on their website and on social.
In order to participate, users must post a picture of themselves in their “most stylish moment,” like the Komono Instagram page, hashtag #EstelleInParis and #Komono in their post, and tag their three friends.
Springfield
Springfield organized a campaign called "a common life", leveraging some Spanish actors/influencers.
They promoted it on their social media and used IG Stories to engage with their clients and get them to share their looks with the hashtag #springfieldlooks. They have also created a contest in Spain only where users can win a voucher of 300€.
They also organised an event to create a buzz, where a common life was highly promoted. IG Video, IG Photo 1, IG Photo 2, IG video.
Claudie Pierlot
Claudie Pierlot launched a monthly competition for customers to post UGC with #ClubClaudie announcing the winner via IG stories.
Breal
Breal decided to go with a competition hashtag #joliesfesses that translates as 'nice asses' which created a bit of a stir and controversy amongst their customer base.
To participate, customers must follow their IG account, take a picture of themselves from the back and in a natural environment + post it on IG including @breal_officiel and #joliesfesses + Bonus tag a friend. The price was 200€ of Breal products.
Disney Store
Disney Store FR therefore ran a summer competition ‘Concours de l’Eté’ asking people to post shots of DisneyStore products on holiday using #DisneyVacances and received some great content in return.
Then, they run a winter version of the contest for shots of their products over Christmas.
Both competitions gained a total of 876 new pieces of content, 63% of which were high enough quality to published to the website and activated across social and email.
Rituals
Rituals run a contest where they incentivized their customers to share their “home ritual” using the hashtag #myhomeritual. They also launched a landing page and promoted the contest on social.
Hunter Boots
Hunter Boots promoting a contest for the best #HunterBoots UGC look. The winner was awarded with a £500 gift card. They promoted it on emails.
