Jan 13 2012

New Year, New Marketing Strategy: consider launching online contests and sweepstakes

It’s a new year and a fresh start.  Many people will make resolutions to lose weight, travel more, or change careers, but most businesses should be making resolutions to change their marketing plans.   With the social media hype from 2011 to the economic downturn, businesses should rethink their marketing strategy and focus on online promotions, such as contests and sweepstakes.  An online contest, like a Facebook photo contest, has proven to be a much more successful tactic than other techniques and will continue to bring great results in 2012.

If you look at this past Cyber Monday, IBM and eBay reported $1.25 million in sales, which was about 30% more than black Friday.  Over half of these consumers came from social media channels, particularly Facebook.  These numbers are bigger than last year and are projected to continue to grow in 2012.  With these statistics in mind, marketers should really be focusing on how they will plan their 2012 social media promotion through contests and sweepstakes.

Maybe in 2011 your marketing tactics did not pay off, so, do your homework.  Where are most people spending the most money today?  Where are the most viral and successful marketing campaigns?  The answers to both of these questions are the same…ONLINE!  Search marketing statistics and results and you will find the increase in user-generated advertising in social media though promotions, like an online contest or a Facebook photo contest.

Whether you are launching a new product or want to increase your online member base, contests and sweepstakes are a safe way to effectively participate in social media and online marketing.  An online contest is viral and your message or campaign will spread faster than any commercial or radio advertisement.  Just look at Doritos and their “Crash the Super Bowl Contest” where consumers create a Super Bowl commercial and compete to win the number one commercial.  Doritos’ contests have helped turn advertising for the Super Bowl into a user generated fest.  They have continuously stood out and will stand out in the lineup of Super Bowl marketers that pay a record $3.5 million for a 30 second spot for the 2012 Super Bowl.  Doritos marketing team definitely did their homework with this online contest!

Contests and sweepstakes are the best form of user generated advertising with many benefits for marketers from branding, creating dialogue with customers, and virally spreading your marketing message to building your member base and collecting real time market research on your target market.  An online contest or a Facebook photo contest can produce millions of results and hits to your site, which in return increases revenues and sales.  So do yourself a favor and make a 2012 resolution to host an online promotion and watch the results pour in.

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Michelle

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