A good email list is an absolute goldmine. Email is one of the most perennially successful digital marketing channels, and once you've got a list of email addresses for the right set of people, you can bring in some serious profit.
The hard part, of course, is actually building your list. While it's true that people do buy and sell email lists, it's better to do it on your own. This ensures you're targeting the right audience, and when people actively sign up, they're less likely to unsubscribe as soon as they get a message from your brand in their inbox.
There are quite a few ways to build up an email address. Prompting users to sign up for a newsletter is one of them. Gated content, where you offer a whitepaper or an ebook in exchange for an email address, can also work well.
But one of the best ways to gather email addresses from your potential customers is less obvious, but very effective: Facebook giveaways.
Staging a contest or giveaway on your Facebook page is a great way to get people to offer you their contact info. If the prize is tantalizing enough, people will gladly sign up in exchange for a chance to win.
Of course, choosing this prize isn't always easy or straightforward. It's important that you choose wisely.
Not only does it need to be desirable, but it also needs to be relevant to your brand. If you're a B2B SaaS company, it might not make sense to offer a cruise to Jamaica as a prize, unless you have an incredibly creative way to tie this into your business.
Prizes that have nothing to do with your brand, or that are tenuously tangentially related, can also attract the wrong people. You want to make sure you're targeting an audience that's likely to convert.
If you're hard up for ideas about what to give out as a prize, check out these cool suggestions from Wishpond.
Facebook Giveaway Idea #1: Target Market Only
There are a couple primary ways to do this: offer products or offer gift cards. Both these prizes will attract only people who you can turn into customers down the line.
If you offer straight cash or an unrelated product (like a trip to Hawaii if your business is in electronics) you’ll only generate entrants who are interested in those products (and the critics will be right). Stay smart and target your market your giveaway.
Ideas for Target Market Giveaways on Facebook:
- Target couples with a romantic spa or engagement/wedding photo shoot (run this in early summer before wedding season starts).
- Target prospective leads in the tech community with a foosball table, personal consultation with a sector expert, a month of weekly pizza, or a “startup package” of bean bag chairs, stand-up desks and several flats of redbull.
- Target fine diners with a one-on-one culinary lesson with your restaurant’s head chef, a five-course meal or a night on the town (partnering with a limo service and theater).
- Give away your product. This one’s pretty simple. A small caveat, though: gift cards are (though less visually appealing) actually more desirable for your target market. Not only do they give your giveaway winner the opportunity to buy any of the products you offer, they also give you the opportunity to put a large dollar amount on your giveaway’s page (which is one of the most essential best practices of giveaways).
Facebook Giveaway Idea #2: Seasonal/Holiday or Event-focused Giveaway
Like holiday-focused giveaways, seasonal or event promotions are all about giving your entrants exactly what they’re thinking and wanting most at that point in time.
The best part of seasonal and event giveaways is that there’s always something going on, and (with a little creativity) those seasons or events can be tied to your business.
A Seasonal or Event-focused Giveaway Example:
[image source: Wishpond]
More Ideas for Event or Seasonal Giveaways on Facebook:
Facebook Giveaway Idea #3: Prize Package
One is the loneliest number! Instead of just giving away one small prize to a small number of entrants, up the ante and give away a package of prizes to a grand prize winner. This can be a collection of products from your line, or your product along with relevant accessories or complementary products. For example, if your product is a fitness-focused waterbottle, you might include some gym apparel or a yoga mat.
A Prize Package Example:
[image source: Wishpond]
Facebook Giveaway Idea #4: Photo Contest
User-generated content is awesome for marketing products – it provides a genuine quality that’s hard to replicate in your own marketing materials. Though asking a question (as mentioned above) is great, pictures are worth a thousand words… and videos even more. Asking users to submit a photo or video of themselves with your product (or something related to it) can make for an awesome Facebook giveaway idea.
A Photo Contest Example:
[image source: Wishpond]
Facebook Giveaway Idea #5: Partnered Giveaway
If you really want to increase your business’ reach within its target market, you need to get creative.
One great way to find more customers like the ones you have now is to partner up with other similar companies to run a partnered giveaway. This doesn’t mean working with your competitors – it means finding complementary businesses who you can team up with to create a really exciting prize package.
Facebook Giveaway Idea #6: Like, Share, & Tag
This is as simple as Facebook giveaways get. Running a giveaway right on your Facebook page means you don’t have to use an external Facebook app to put it together. Getting contest entries by asking for social engagement increases your reach on Facebook exponentially – and getting entrants to Like your page means you can market to them in the future.
A Like Share & Tag Example:
[image source: Wishpond]
You can find more awesome ideas for a Facebook giveaway over at Wishpond.
- A super-bowl giveaway offering a VIP gourmet snack package with all the goodies, delivered to the winner’s door on the day.
- A spring cleaning giveaway in mid-March with your newest cleaning products, a maid service or an interior decoration consultation.
- A summer giveaway run in May, offering camping gear, luggage set, travel insurance, swimwear, etc.
- Back-to-school giveaway like the example above, offering sports team sponsorship, an e-reader, or a cold/flu car package with tea, a blanket, a hot water bottle, and bubble bath.
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