Growth is essential for every business, and to expand your company needs to attract new customers. Thanks to the internet, reaching new audiences has never been easier, but actually converting individuals from website browsers and passing internet users into customers can be tough.
Thankfully, there are many techniques you can use to generate leads online. While some of them are obvious, such as making the most of paid advertising and social media, there are some that are more creative but just as effective.
One innovative approach is to host an online competition. Many companies and charitable organisations use competitions to share their message and generate leads.
If you’re eager to plan your company’s first online contest, then here is our practical guide to help you get off to the best possible start.
Choose An Amazing Prize
The prize will be the draw that encourages potential leads to take the first step and become contestants in your contest. So, you need to make sure that it’s enticing and valuable without actually costing your company too much money. Consider offering your services for free and highlighting how much they would be worth if they were paid for normally. Alternatively, think about working with partner businesses in return for advertising for their firms so that you can offer a unique prize that competition entrants will be eager to win.
Write Clear Rules
Every competition needs rules, and if you want your game to be seen as fair and unbiased, then you need to make sure that yours are clear and concise. The rules need to include the deadline date for submissions to enter, what information participants need to provide to be considered and how you will notify them of the results of the contest. Make sure that these rules are added to every page that promotes or mentions your company’s online competition so that visitors understand the game.
Create A Funnel
As well as game rules for participants, you also need to map out your sales funnel or how you’re going to turn those who enter your competition into paying customers. Learn how to create a marketing funnel and then work out how you can take each entry’s data and use it to your advantage. You could consider offering a discount on products or services for those who participate in your contest or including an automatic sign-up for your company newsletter in the game’s terms and conditions. Whatever approach you take, you need to make sure that you have a clear system in place and a way to monitor which leads convert and which ones drop off and need to be retargeted in the future.
Get A Second Opinion
Before you launch your contest and start accepting entries, you need to make sure that it is compliant with all relevant regulations and that it will be worth the time, money and effort that you put into it. That often means getting a second opinion, both from legal advisors and business associates. They can help you to ensure that your competition is compliant with relevant laws and that it highlights the best qualities of your organisation. Planning an online competition isn’t a quick and easy process, but a long and involved one, so be prepared to host many meetings and make a variety of changes to your competition before you’re able to launch it officially.
Promote Your Contest
When your contest is ready to launch, you need to make sure that it gets the attention it deserves. That means promoting it online, not only on your website but also on other digital platforms such as paid search results and social media pages. Consider creating a selection of adverts for your competition to promote it and also increase brand awareness. These adverts need to be clear about the contest’s rules and prize, so make sure that you liaise with your legal counsel or business advisors when creating them. Promoting your competition will encourage entries, which will help you to earn as many leads as possible.
Ensure The Draw Is Compliant With Relevant Laws
As mentioned earlier, there are many laws that you need to obey when hosting a contest, particularly when it comes to selecting a winner. Because online lotteries are classed as gambling, there are rules you need to follow and laws you need to comply with. One of these is the advertising standards rules, which indicate that contests must be fair and objective. If you’re hosting a random competition, then you need to make sure that you select the winning numbers using a random number generator that’s compliant with relevant rules. Luckily, OneStopWin offers a free random number generator that is compliant with the UK Advertising Standards Authority CAP code. Use this innovative online tool to ensure that your contest is compliant and that the winner is chosen fairly.
Share The Competition Results
Once the winner has been decided and notified, it’s time to make the most of the contest by sharing the results of the competition online. You can use the results as an opportunity to encourage more social media and website visitors to sign up for your email newsletter to get notifications about future contests. Even individuals who didn’t enter the initial competition might become leads after the online game is over, so make sure that you make the most of the days following the announcement of the winner. As well as earning more leads for your company, promoting your contest’s winner also allows you to highlight the validity of your competition and show that it was a genuine attempt to connect with your audience.
Online competitions can be a great way to generate and entice potential leads to communicate with your business, but only if you do them right and take the time to plan them out meticulously. These tips should help you to get started and make the most of your online competition. You’ll then be able to grow your business and achieve the success you and your team deserve.
