Running online contests through Twitter: a short guide

Twitter might not be quite as youthful and sexy as TikTok or Instagram these days, and not quite as grown-up and polished as LinkedIn, but it’s still incredibly popular, and wields incredible influence in the sharing of information and opinions. News articles, in print and online, will typically reference or screenshot relevant Tweets before incorporating content from other social networks. The very act of using Twitter has even managed to embed itself in the lexicon of modern life. Dialogue in movies and TV quickly adopted “Tweet” as a verb, whereas “I’ll send a Facebook message” or “Update my status” lacked the economy of words, didn’t ring in the ear, and can sound a little clunky, or even childish to say out loud.

The directness of Tweeting something is instantaneous, and given that the hashtag function was created on Twitter, the signposting of the internet, its relevance to any business looking to promote their brand, product or services by sharing content cannot be denied.

An ideal space in which to run and promote online contests

Creating and running contests, and promoting them on Twitter is a great way for companies to combine marketing their brand with an enjoyable experience. By promoting their online contest on Twitter, and encouraging users to, “Comment by tagging your friends!” or “Use our hashtag with your Twitter post,” businesses can also increase the number of users who interact with their competition, and organically grow their Twitter following.

Online contests, which can easily be promoted through Twitter, also allow businesses to collect data about participants, such as their email addresses, and even encourage and motivate participants to opt-in to marketing newsletters, which can then be used for targeted marketing campaigns.

When it comes to promoting your online contests across social media, you discount Twitter at your peril – it’s more headline-oriented, almost stream of consciousness approach is a perfect complement to messaging-based platforms like WhatsApp, and more content-led platforms like TikTok and Instagram. It’s a gap in the social media diet where posts are easy to find and can generate enormous reach.

Organise a contest on Twitter in 5 steps

Step 1: Choose the right game mechanics

To begin with, you need to choose the right game mechanics, or customise the existing game engine from the Drimify platform that best suits your needs. We advise you to consult the Drimify catalogue and try out the numerous game and contest formats it supports, and identify the best fit according to your audience and the specificities of your market. This might take the form of an instant win game for maximum participation, or a points-based branded casual game, such as Pacman or a themed sports game depending on the nature of your contest and your business.

Step 2: Content creation

To ensure that each member of your community benefits from a fun, enjoyable and rewarding experience, you will need to create impactful content in the form of your actual contest or marketing game. The nuts and bolts of an online contest ultimately boil down to a prize, or prizes, and an audience hoping to either win by skill, or see their stars align to receive the big ticket item.

The idea with creating your game or contest is to hold the viewer’s attention for as long as possible, but also to highlight the product at the centre of the experience: the prize for the giveaway. You’re drawing people in with an exciting experience and a chance to win something or gain something, but while they engage, while they participate, while they’re captive, you’re educating them and hitting them with targeted messaging.

Remember, gamification in the form of contest creation is about achieving a business objective. Will you entertain your audience? Yes. Will you reward participants? Yes, but remember that these are not the ends, but the means by which you reach your business goals.

Step 3: Plan your marketing campaign carefully

Yes, your marketing game or online contest is a marketing tool in itself, but for it to work, you need to promote it and market it as much as you possibly can. The more chances it has to connect users, the more chances people enter, the more chances they retweet it, and the more chances it builds momentum and takes on a life of its own. You also need to ensure you plan your contest’s promotional campaign with a clear editorial line, this way, whether you also run that same contest on your Facebook page or Instagram, your image and video content for the promotional campaign will be relevant and consistent.

To ensure the success of your communications operation, there are several decisive actions that you must take. For one, make several teasing tweets to capture your audience’s attention before your contest is released, and encourage them to retweet and state the relevant hashtags. You should also make a video or an animation dedicated to the launch of your contest, and set a publication schedule through which you can regularly put out tweets promoting the online contest to sustain interest and engagement with it over the course of its duration.

In terms of content to use to add variety to your tweets, you could consider tweets promoting the prize, short tweets that highlight key rules of participation, such as whether your competition is a paid contest or free to enter, and if it’s a Photo or video contest, why not use some already submitted user generated content (UGC) to try and inspire more users to participate?

Step 4: Optimise your communication

Particularly utilised by brands promoting their contests on TikTok and Instagram, influencer marketing is a great way to improve the participation rate of your game, and also to attract more people to your page. It basically involves working with influencers – individuals with significant social media followings, either through paid partnerships or ambassadorships, in order to piggyback on their social media followings (which if they’re a good fit, will be a community with an interest in the products and services you provide). It is a good way to bring visibility and traffic to your brand, its social networks, and website. Even though this type of marketing is less commonly used on Twitter, it allows you to reach more accounts.

In addition, don’t forget to communicate on all the other channels available to you besides Twitter, such as your other social networks and your website. Your competition should be visible on all media where the organising company is represented. This is essential to maintain a consistent brand image. It would be quite jarring to see a brand promote a contest on Twitter, but for its Instagram and Facebook accounts to be silent. It might even raise a red flag in some users’ minds, so keep it consistent.

Step 5: Announcing the winners

Before launching your competition, it is important to document the entire process in a set of rules. It must inform participants about the rules of entry (comment, retweet, follow, etc.), the prizes at stake, the conditions of the draw, and the end date of your marketing operation. It’s also important to consult Twitter’s contest rules and incorporate these to keep your contest entrants in good standing. For example, in the interests of gaming a contest, posting duplicate (or close to duplicate) tweets is against Twitter rules, as is the creation of multiple accounts, so these should be incorporated.

Once you have reached the end date of your competition, you will also have to create a final tweet dedicated to announcing the winners, and each prize that is awarded to them individually. You’ll also need to contact them to let them know how to get their prizes and gifts.

The advantages of Twitter for your competition

Each of the big social networking platforms offer their share of advantages when it comes to promoting or organising social media contests. Here are some of the key plusses in Twitter’s column:

Ease of use

The platform is incredibly simple and easy to use. In one click, it is possible for users – including your target audience – to retweet the publication of your favourite brand, to like it, or to follow a tweet’s call-to-action.

High engagement

It should be noted that users of this social network are often more engaged than on other networks. The higher level of attention from users makes them more likely to engage with marketing campaigns, including entering and participating in online competitions.

Real time

Every time there is a new comment or a new follow, you will receive a notification. This means that Twitter is a real-time social network, which means that companies can react quickly to trends and current events.

Precise targeting

In addition, it is possible to target your brand’s audience by using keywords, hashtags, and interest-based ads. This allows you to reach the most relevant accounts and profiles for your brand with your contest.

Use all the communications channels you have at your disposal

To get the best possible reach for your contests, it is important not to limit yourself to Twitter only. You need to publish and communicate across all your social network channels, as well as through your websites, blogs, and email lists. By diversifying your online presence, you ensure that you reach a maximum number of users.

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