Source:
Israel, S. (2022). How To Run a Great Twitter Contest [Ideas + Examples]. Retrieved from https://blog.hootsuite.com/twitter-contests/
A Twitter contest is the quickest way to get more followers, improve your engagement rate, and increase brand awareness on the platform.
| ![How To Run a Great Twitter Contest [Ideas + Examples] | Hootsuite](https://blog.hootsuite.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Twitter-contests-556x556.png) |
Twitter contests and giveaways are a fun and easy way to drive engagement. They’re quick to set up, simple to run, and can help you gather useful information about your audience.
Best of all, running a Twitter contest doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming. In fact, the simpler, the better!
Keep reading for an easy guide to running contests on Twitter, including nine great contest ideas to jumpstart your next promotion.
You can use Twitter contests or giveaways to achieve a variety of different goals. Before you get started, think about what you want to accomplish with your contest.
For example, your goals could include the following:
Twitter giveaways can help boost your follower count. If your goal is to grow your audience, include a “tag a friend” or “retweet” component in your contest. Before launching, decide how many new followers you’re hoping to gain. (Remember, your goals should always be SMART — specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound)
Twitter contests are a great way to build brand awareness. As of mid-2022, Twitter has 206 million daily active users worldwide. That means your contest has the opportunity to reach a huge number of users. If you want to build buzz, include a clear and straightforward brand message.
Use a Twitter contest or giveaway to build hype around the launch of a new product. This type of contest relies heavily on imagery, so keep this in mind, as it may incur a cost. Make sure you have great photos of your product or giveaway bundle so your social posts pop.
Setting up a Twitter contest or giveaway is simple. It just requires a bit of planning on your part.
Start by defining a clear goal for your Twitter contest. Include measurable targets such as increased follower count or impressions. This will help you gauge your success after the contest closes. Solid numbers can help you decide whether to run contests again in the future.
Sort out the logistics for your contest, including:
Next, pick a prize for your contest or giveaway. This may be a digital prize or a physical item that the winner must ship or pick up.
Digital prize ideas:
Physical prize ideas:
If your prize includes an item or giveaway bundle, make sure to show off your prize with an eye-catching post. This will motivate users to share your posts and help your contest gain traction online.
What do you want users to do to win? Maybe they’ll need to follow your account, retweet your post, or submit specific content. Make your contest requirements and deadlines clear so there’s no confusion.
Remember to review Twitter’s promotion guidelines before launching your contest. We recommend setting clear Twitter contest rules to discourage spam. These include barring users from making multiple entries in a single day or entering using multiple accounts.
Now it’s time to launch your contest! But the work isn’t over yet.
Schedule regular posts to promote your contest. Keep an eye on entries, too. Engage with users who have entered by liking their posts or responding to their questions.
Choose a unique hashtag so you’re not sifting through unrelated tweets to find contest entries. Try something like #YourBrandNameGiveaway or #ItemNameGiveaway22.
If your brand is active on another platform, try cross-promoting your contest. For example, post a direct link in your Instagram Stories to bring some of those followers over to Twitter.
A robust tool can help you track contest entries and monitor engagement in real-time.
Hootsuite Streams is a great tool for tracking social media activity. It allows you to monitor post engagement, conversations, mentions, keywords, and hashtags—all in one place!
🛒 RETWEET to WIN 🛒
Hit that RT button for a chance to win a $500 @Fred_Meyer gift card, as we celebrate the new Mariners Rewards Program! Accumulate points as you shop and cash them in for tickets, merch, memorabilia and more.
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) August 20, 2022
</div></figure>### 7. Pick a winner and deliver the prize
Picking a winner can seem daunting, but don’t worry. You don’t need to close your eyes and point to a random tweet!
Many online tools can automate this process. They can also ensure that your winner has satisfied all the contest requirements. (Keep scrolling for more on those tools)
After your contest closes, review your original goals. Was your contest a success? Did you increase your follower count or boost your brand impressions?
Are you unsure how to structure your Twitter contest? We’ve outlined nine different types of Twitter contests to help inspire your next giveaway.
Choose one of the options below or mix and match to create your own unique promotion.
Asking users to retweet your post to enter is the easiest way to run a Twitter giveaway. It requires very little effort on the user’s part, so they’re more likely to hit the retweet button. If your goal is to build brand awareness, this contest option is for you.
This variation on the “retweet to enter” giveaway requires a bit more work for users. But it delivers a better payoff from a brand standpoint. Likes and retweets help build brand awareness while asking users to follow to enter is a surefire way to increase your follower count.
Increase brand awareness and boost engagement with a reply-to-win Twitter contest. Asking users to reply can help boost your post in the algorithm rankings, so get creative! For example, ask users to drop an emoji in the comments or have them answer a simple prompt, like “Tell us why you want to win….”
If you want to increase your follower count, include “follow and tag a friend” in your contest requirements. Tags allow you to reach a broader audience without requiring too much effort from users to enter.
Reach a new audience by joining forces with another brand or a social media influencer. Pick a contest type that addresses your mutual goals, and ask users to follow both accounts to be eligible to win.
Remember to create a unique hashtag for your Twitter contest. No one wants to spend hours sifting through unrelated tweets to find contest entries, and hashtag contests are a great way to increase brand awareness.
A photo contest makes it easy to gather user-generated content (UGC). UGC is original, brand-specific content created by customers. UGC can be photos or images, videos, reviews, testimonials, and more.
If you want to build your following on another platform, try running a Twitter contest that drives traffic elsewhere. For example, you can send followers to your brand’s Instagram account or custom app:
Here’s a great contest example that combines several Twitter contest types to create a unique promotion with a social twist.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has partnered with HeadCount and Ben & Jerry’s to get people registered to vote. Their campaign incorporates the following elements:
Picking a Twitter giveaway winner can seem intimidating. What if your contest receives thousands of entries? How do you choose a random winner who has followed your contest’s rules?
Luckily, many online Twitter contest tools can automate this process. These sites can help you pick winners from retweets, likes, or your existing Twitter following.
No matter which online tool you choose, review their selection policies carefully. Some tools can only select a winner from the most recent 100 retweets, which may not include all contest participants. Look for a tool that will pick from all your contest entries, not just the most recent ones.
Prepare one document in MS Word or Google Docs with the campaign theme and your five twitter (x) posts. Include the following:
Two posts should include video content.
Three can utilise static imagery and text.
Save your file as a PDF and upload it to the Dropbox provided on d2l. Please remember to show me your work before submitting it to Dropbox.