This presentation was given at #BlogHer13 on July 26th. It covers the ins and outs of creating on online contest and what you need to know from tools and technology to marketing and promotion.

1. Contests on Social:
How to Run a Winning
Online Contest

2. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required
Contests on Social
SANDRA FATHI
President, Affect
@sandrafathi
sfathi@affect.com
Slideshare.net/sfathi
INSTRUCTOR
Special Thanks to Ben Pickering and Strutta

3. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required
1. Why run a promotion
2. Common types of promotions
3. Basics of promotional law
4. Planning your promotion
5. Tips for a successful promotion
6. Awesome case studies
AGENDA

4. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required
WHY RUN A PROMOTION?

5. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required
GOING BACK EVEN FURTHER
Napoleon
Bonaparte
Nicolas
Appert

6. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required
1. Generate leads and sales
2. Drive traffic online <-> offline
3. Increase brand equity
4. Engage and delight customers
5. Grow fan base, generate opt-ins and subscribers
6. Gain user data and insight
7. Collect consumer generated content
BENEFITS OF RUNNING A PROMOTION

7. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required
SWEEPSTAKES
CONTEST
Chance based promotion
Skill based promotion
VS

8. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required
SWEEPSTAKES

9. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required
OTHER SOCIAL SWEEPSTAKES
Enter, Tweet or Comment
to Win
• Follow @
• RT or #CONTEST
• Blog comment
Winner selected at random

10. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required
WINNING!
•Good Design
•Clear Call to Action
•Simple Entry Form

11. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required
UGC PROMOTIONS
Skill Based
•Public voting / Closed judging
•What are the entry requirements
•Collect only information you need
•What is the criteria for winning
•Keep it simple!

12. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required
REWARDING PARTICIPANTS
•Coupons
•Free Samples
•Other Incentives
•Encourage and Have Fun

13. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required
BASICS OF PROMOTION LAW
Promotion containing all 3 deemed an illegal lottery
1. Prize
• Anything of tangible value
2. Chance
• Any random selection of winner, absence of skill
3. Consideration
• Purchase or Payment
• Substantial effort
• Possible with UGC contests but more theoretical than practical risk
• Liking a Page, sending a tweet not “substantial effort”
Must eliminate 1 of 3

14. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required
FACEBOOK PROMOTIONS GUIDELINES
Don’t
• Administer a promotion directly on your Page or use Facebook features as an entry
or voting mechanism
• Automatically enter someone for Liking, posting a photo or comment
• Use a Like button for voting
• Use Facebook channels to notify winners

15. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required
FACEBOOK PROMOTIONS GUIDELINES
Do
• Use a 3rd party application
• You can require a user to Like your page or check-‐in to a location provided the
promotion is administered through an app
• Be sure your promotion includes the following:
a. A complete release of Facebook by each entrant or participant.
b. Acknowledgment that the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated
with, Facebook.
c. Disclosure that the participant is providing information to (disclose recipient(s) of information) and not to Facebook.

16. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required
UNIQUE ISSUES FOR TWITTER
The Twitter disclosure challenge
• 140 character limit makes disclosure of any material terms, rules or privacy
policy challenging
Risk Mitigation
• Reference official rules/URL
• Tweet abbreviated rules in several messages
• Consider use of tiny URL or cmp.ly

17. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required
KEY PLANNING QUESTIONS
Do you have time and resources to plan and execute?
Beware the “Field of Dreams fallacy” (i.e., if I build it they will come)
Do you have clear and realistic goals?
Enable it to “go viral” but don’t count on it
Do you know what your audience wants?
Have a premise and prize targeted to your audience
Do you understand applicable rules and regulations?
What platforms are you using and how do you want to administer

18. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required
ALIGNING WITH BUSINESS OBJECTIVES
1. Crystallize goals & objectives before launching a promotion
2. Design promotion to achieve these goals
3. Tailor program to focus on and attract your target audience
a. Consider safeguards in rules and regulations
b. Raise the barrier for entry
4. Identify Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
5. Build in milestones and triggers for measurement
6. Calculate investment vs. return

19. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required
CHOOSING YOUR PROMOTION TYPE

20. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required
TIPS FOR RUNNING YOUR PROMOTION
Plan Ahead
One of the biggest reasons promotions fail is due to lack of planning. Plan for
when things don’t go according to plan!
Don’t Over-Complicate
Favor execution over concept -‐ i.e., a concise message, clear call to action, and
good UI will outperform “clever but complex.”
Leverage Partners
Marketing partners/sponsors can expand the reach of your promotion and provide
additional marketing channels. They can also help increase the prize value,
making it more attractive to entrants.
Technology partners with platforms and social media tools can make it easy to
create and manage a promotion.

21. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required
TIPS TO BUILD BUZZ
1. Make it easy to share
2. Post regularly on Facebook (use “Pinned Post”)
3. Leverage other social networks (Twitter, G+)
4. Promote on your website
5. Email existing customers
6. Enlist sponsors to cross promote
7. Identify influential blogs (or other media)
8. Use UGC entries for content marketing
9. And in case you missed it... Make it easy to share

22. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required
PROMOTING YOUR PROMOTION
1.Build and budget for effective marketing plan (pre and post)
• Public Relations
• Marketing
• Social Media
• On-‐site/In-‐store
• POS
2.Leverage existing and new company assets to achieve KPIs
3. Stack the deck –-‐ seed entries
4.Plan for contingencies
• Additional marketing budget
• List purchase/email marketing solicitation
• Public take-‐over
• Crisis communications

23. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required
TECHNOLOGY PARTNER OR PLATFORM
1. Custom vs. Standard Build
2. Expertise vs. Experiment
3. Social Media Tie-‐ins
4. Budgetary Constraints
5. Time-‐to-‐Market
6. Internal Resources

24. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required
NEW YORK INTERN PROJECT

25. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required
GOALS & OBJECTIVES
1. Generate Awareness for the Agency
• Drive public relations
• Increase social media engagement
2. Proof of Concept: Run a Successful Contest
• Gain valuable experience and insights
• Train our internal team
3. Find an Intern
• Summer Internship Slate
• Potential Full-‐time Employee

26. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required
GOALS & OBJECTIVES
1. Student, 18 or over
2. Legal US Resident
3. Upload Photo or Video
4. Fill Out Questionnaire
5. Solicit Votes & Comments
Top 6 Advance to Semi-‐Finals
Top 3 Flown to NY for Interviews &
Challenges
Judges Pick Winner

27. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required
FLIGHT PLAN

28. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required
MARKETING PLAN
1. Prompting Action 3. Setting Triggers 5. Analyzing Results
2. Setting Milestones 4. Tracking & Measuring

29. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required
CELEBRITY JUDGES
1. Lend Credibility
2. Built in Promotional Mechanisms
3. Objective Judging
GUY KAWASAKI, FOUNDER OF GARAGE TECHNOLOGY VENTURES
ERICA SWALLOW, ASSOCIATE EDITOR AT MASHABLE
JESSICA DICKLER, STAFF WRITER AT CNN MONEY

30. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required
BRAND REPUTATION MANAGEMENT = MODERATION
1. User Generated Content
• Copyright Issues
• Language
• Comments
• Inappropriate Content
2. Public Voting & Fraud
3. Media Monitoring
4. Social Media Monitoring
5. Communicating Results

31. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required
MEDIA, SPEAKING & AWARDS RESULTS

32. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required
RESULTS & ROI

33. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required

34. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required

35. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required

36. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required
RECAP
1. Why run a promotion: Engagement, Data, Leads ->Sales
2. Common types of promotions: Contest vs. Sweeps
3. Promotional law and FB guidelines: Know the rules
4. Planning your promotion: Set clear and realistic goals
5. Tips for a successful promotion: Keep it simple, Partner up
6. Case studies: How can a promotion work for you?

37. #BH13Contests INTERNET SSID: BlogHer | No Password Required
THANK YOU!
Any Questions?
Sandra Fathi | President |
web: affect.com email: sfathi@affect.com
blog: techaffect.com twitter: @ affect.com