Increase sales: 7 best methods for holding competitions in an online store
Imagine a crowd of customers eagerly waiting to hit the jackpot in your online store. Sounds like a dream, doesn't it? Want to know how to make it a reality? Contests are your key tool for attracting and retaining your audience. In today's competitive world, every detail matters, and a properly organized competition can work wonders. Plunge into my TOP 7 effective methods for conducting competitions, and you will see how easily you can turn an ordinary day in your store into a real lottery for customers, where every step leads to increased loyalty and increased sales.
Glossary
🎉 Competitions - events organized to attract audience interest and participation, which may include competitions, sweepstakes or other activities to promote the brand and stimulate sales.
📈 Attracting an audience - the process of gaining the attention of potential clients or participants through various events and marketing promotions.
👥 Customer Retention - a set of strategies and activities aimed at maintaining loyal relationships with existing customers.
📲 Social networks (SM) - online -platforms (for example, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram), where competitions are held to increase engagement and expand audience reach.
🔄 Repost - get a prize - type competition, where the conditions of participation are reposting the organization’s entry to the personal accounts of participants in order to expand the visibility of the event.
📢 Invite a friend - get a prize - competition , which you can become participants by inviting friends and acquaintances to participate, which helps expand the client base.
💬 Competition for the best comment - competition, in which participants must leave a creative or most interesting comment under the company’s post or product.
📸 Photo competitions - competitions in which participants upload photos, often related to a brand or product, to judge and select a winner.
🎥 Video competitions - a competition format in which participants create and publish videos in accordance with the conditions of the organizer.
📚 Literary competitions - competitions aimed at creating texts, including stories, poems, slogans, and are judged on their quality and originality.
❓ Questions and answers, riddles - competitions , where participants answer given questions or solve riddles, showing their erudition and creativity.
🧩 Tips for holding competitions - recommendations and best practices for organizing and running successful competitions include clear rules, correct choice of topics and audience, active promotion and use of various platforms.
Advantages of holding competitions for online stores
When we first started using competitions in our online store, I noticed an immediate positive change.
And this was due to several key aspects:
🎯 Attracting a new audience: As soon as we launched the competition, the number of participants skyrocketed has grown. Every time someone reposted or completed a simple task to participate, our audience grew. I can say with confidence that this is the fastest and most effective way to attract new customers without spending a lot of money on advertising.
🚀 Increase in the number of subscribers: Growth of group subscribers online store has become especially noticeable on social networks. People are interested in participating in a competition with a chance to win a prize - this motivates them to subscribe and follow the news. For example, in one of our competitions the number of subscribers increased by 30% in just a week.
🌐 Increase in traffic on the website: The more users participate in competitions and share information, the more traffic your site receives. One of our competitions held in the fall brought over a thousand unique visitors to the site within the first week. I believe that these results speak for themselves.
❤️ Increasing audience loyalty: Competitions are not only a marketing tool, but also a great way to interact with customers. We had a practice of actively responding to comments from participants, congratulating the winners and explaining the conditions. I am convinced that this increases customer trust and loyalty.
Key points that I would recommend taking into account when holding competitions:
- 🤗 Simplicity of tasks: Tasks should be simple and understandable so that as many people as possible can participate.
- 🎁 Attractive Prizes: Prizes should be desirable to your target audience.
- 📈 Analysis of results: Track metrics to understand how effective the competition was and what areas can be improved.
Important remember that competitions are not just a way to attract customers, but also an opportunity to build long-term relationships with the audience.
Contest Best Practices Table
| Useful actions | Ineffective actions |
|---|---|
| Attract New Clients | Don't Just Focus on Current Clients |
| Offer interesting prizes | Do not use prizes that are not interesting to the audience |
| Track results | Don't ignore analytics |
| Interact with members | Don't ignore comments and questions |
| Keep tasks simple and convenient | Don't create complex competition conditions |
So, by holding competitions, increase activity in the group of the online store on social networks, which will significantly increase your popularity and strengthen your position in the market.
Where to effectively conduct competitions for an online store?
When I started planning my competitions for an online store, I was faced with an important question: where exactly to run them to attract the maximum audience? Experience has shown that posting information about the competition on various platforms significantly increases coverage and attracts new customers. I developed my strategies by integrating them across several key platforms.
Social networks
The first place I recommend you pay attention to is social networks. This could be your online store’s community on Facebook, Telegram or other popular platforms. Social networks allow you to quickly disseminate information about the competition among a large number of potential participants. I ran contests using the following methods:
- 📢 Facebook: If you sell cosmetics , it’s worth looking for popular women’s communities and agreeing with their administrators about advertising your competition.
- 📢 Telegram: Large public channels related to your niche are ideal here. For example, for selling food, these are channels dedicated to recipes and healthy eating.
In addition to posting contests in your own groups, I noticed how important it is to organize repost contests. This allowed us to significantly increase our reach and attract new customers, as people began to share information with friends.
Popular blogs and public pages
Another effective way to attract attention to your competition is to post information on popular blogs and large publics. These platforms have an already formed audience that trusts their opinion. When I held competitions, I collaborated with bloggers and sites whose target audience overlapped with mine. This helped me attract new clients. Here are some examples:
- ✍️ Blogs: Collaborate with blogs that are popular among your target audience audience can significantly increase engagement. For example, if you sell sporting goods, pay attention to fitness bloggers.
- 📺 Publics: By posting information about the competition in large public pages that are well known to the target audience, you can also achieve good results.
Media and Internet portals
I recommend not to ignore the possibilities of the media and various Internet portals. These can be thematic sites, news resources or specialized sites dedicated to your industry. Posting information about the competition on such sites allows you to attract the attention of even those who have not yet heard about your online store.
Cross-marketing with partners
Partnerships with other brands and companies can be an additional powerful tool for promoting the competition. I have found that collaborations with partners in related fields produce excellent results. For example:
- 🤝 Cross-marketing: Organizing joint competitions with brands whose products complement yours . If you sell sportswear, you can collaborate with sports equipment manufacturers.
Online conferences and webinars
Another way to procedurally attract attention is to participate in online conferences and webinars. I held competitions directly during such events, which increased the trust of the audience and increased their involvement. Using such formats helps create a closer connection with participants and provides them with tangible value.
Best Practices Review
| Helpful | Not recommended |
|---|---|
| Conducting competitions in popular social networks | Hold a competition only on the store website |
| Cooperation with bloggers and public pages | Ignore small but targeted communities |
| Posting on news portals and topical sites | Contact irrelevant press |
| Cross-marketing | Limit yourself to a narrow circle of partners |
| Participation in online conferences and webinars | Rely only on standard methods |
When I used these methods, the results were immediate. The increase in engagement and sales became evident. I highly recommend you consider these contest platforms and watch the success of your campaign.
Options for holding competitions for online stores
Method No. 1: 📢 Repost - get a prize
One of the simplest and most effective ways to hold competitions in an online store is a repost competition. How did I do this? In my experience, I created an advertising post in which I disclosed the conditions of participation, attached attractive images of products, and provided links to cards of these products, which were prizes. For example, I included significant discounts and gift certificates in the post. The participant who reposted this post on his page automatically became a participant in the competition. The results were summed up using popular applications to select the winner, which gave a reasonable and fair result.
Pros : 🎉
- A quick way to gain subscribers👍
- Increases traffic 📈
- Participants do not need to make much effort - just repost.
Cons: ❌
- The method is popular and unoriginal
- May attract non-target audience
| What to do | What to avoid |
|---|---|
| Use colorful and attractive images | Hold such competitions too often |
| Come up with exciting and interesting conditions | Confusing conditions that may discourage participants |
Method No. 2: 🌟 Invite a friend - get a prize
Another effective way is to invite friends. I held such a competition when it was necessary to increase the community audience. Participants invited friends to the group, and whoever brought the most new members became the winner. Alternatively, you could offer registration on the site through a referral link. The number of registrations was counted automatically and the winner was easily determined.
Pros : 🌈
- Increase in potential clients💥
- Additional base email addresses for newsletters 📧
- Increase in registrations on the site 🌐
Cons: 😕
- Many will join only for the sake of the prize and will not be active in the future
- Mass unsubscribes are possible after the end of the competition
| What to do | What to avoid |
|---|---|
| Prepare a high-quality referral program | Use similar prizes that do not attract attention |
| Clearly explain the terms of participation | Too complex and confusing rules |
Method No. 3: 📝 Competition for the best comment
When it was necessary to increase activity in the group, I held a competition for the best comment. The essence of the competition was that I published a post with a photo, for example, of a new product and asked subscribers to leave an interesting comment. The winner was chosen personally, guided by the criteria of originality and humor. It is definitely worth indicating in advance that it is the management of the online store who decides who will be the winner.
Pros : 👍
- It's easy and fun to participate
- The competition format is unobtrusive and does not require much effort
Cons: 👎
- There will definitely be unsatisfactory results. It is important to specify the selection criteria in advance to avoid conflicts
| What to do | What to avoid |
|---|---|
| Set clear criteria for selecting the winner | Rely only on the number of likes |
| Consider originality and creativity of comments | Select winners at random |
Method #4: 📸 Photo contests
Photo contests are A great way to engage customers who have already purchased your products. I've had successful experiments asking participants to take creative photos of products from an online store. For example, photographs in unusual places, interesting compositions or creative collages. Once we invited participants to take photos on a trip with the products of our online store, and it was a huge success.
Pros : 🎨
- Promotes creativity of participants
- Large volume is created unique content
Cons: 📝
- May require significant effort from participants, which reduces engagement
| What to do | What to avoid |
|---|---|
| Offer varied and interesting photography topics | Publish too complex or specific terms |
| Stimulate creativity | Limit opportunities for participants to express creativity |
Method #5: 🎥 Video Contests
Video contests are a great way to stand out from your competitors. I launched a competition where I asked participants to create short videos about our online store - be it a story about a purchase history or an original review of a product. This not only helped to stand out among competitors, but also produced a lot of interesting content that could be used in the future.
Pros : 🚀
- Modern approach, little used by competitors
- Great content for further promotion
Cons: ⏳
- Difficult for participants, creating videos requires more time and effort and requires decent compensation.
| What do | What to avoid |
|---|---|
| Encourage originality and creativity | Offer overly complex or loaded technical requirements |
| Encourage the creation of interesting and unique videos | Ignore potential difficulties among participants |
Method #6: 📚 Literary competitions
If you want to go beyond the norm competitions, then literary competitions can be a great option. I held competitions where participants came up with stories or poems mentioning our online store. This not only promoted original content, but also differentiated us from our competitors.
Pros : 🌟
- Original and unusual
- Opportunity to stand out among competitors and get additional PR
Cons: 🎭
- There are no obvious disadvantages. Such competitions have always attracted attention and created a positive response
| What to do | What to avoid |
|---|---|
| Suggest interesting and creative topics | Keep participants within strict limits |
| Encourage originality and skill of participants | Ignore feedback and comments from participants |
Method No. 7: ❓ Questions and answers, riddles
Question-and-answer competitions are a great way to increase activity and engagement. I held competitions where I published photos and asked questions, for example, about the origin of the product. The first one to answer correctly received a prize. Also, such competitions can be held in a quiz format, accumulating points for each correct answer.
Pros : 🌟
- Opportunity for participants to show their erudition
- Minimum costs for organizers
Cons: ⏳
- Not detected. Such competitions always attract a large number of participants
| What to do | What to avoid |
|---|---|
| Ask interesting and focused questions | Post assignments that are too complex or broad |
| Encourage active participation and communication | Not provide enough hints and information |
How to avoid mistakes when holding competitions
I, as the owner of an online store, have extensive experience in holding various competitions to attract an audience and retain existing customers. Therefore, I want to share with you my rules and recommendations that will allow you not only to avoid mistakes, but also to get the maximum effect from your events.
So, based on my experiments and projects, I have broken down a few key aspects, which should be considered when organizing competitions:
1. Clearly define the purpose of the event
Before announcing the competition, I always defined for myself its purpose. If I needed to increase the number of subscribers, I organized repost competitions. I used cross-marketing to strengthen relationships with partners, and creative competitions to improve relationships with clients.
2. Offer a meaningful prize
It is very important to motivate participants with a meaningful prize. If you have one winner in mind, don't skimp on the big prize. When there are a lot of prizes, wisely manage the rewards depending on the place you take.
3. Make detailed rules
I have learned from my own experience that clear and detailed competition rules play a significant role. Make sure they are easy to understand but still require some effort to participate. Rules that are too complex will scare away potential participants, while rules that are too simple will make the competition trivial.
4. Avoid “prizolov”
Prizolov are people who participate in competitions for the sake of prizes and do not become your regular customers. I recommend including restrictions in the rules that exclude the participation of such users, for example, those who have more than three reposts of competitions on their wall in the last month.
5. Connect with members
I've always tried be sociable and friendly. Be sure to congratulate all winners and keep in touch with them after the competition. Publish customer reviews, invite them to participate in future competitions, and notify them about new products and discounts.
6. Balance between complexity and simplicity
When I started running competitions, I noticed that finding a balance between complexity and simplicity is extremely important. The tasks themselves should not be too difficult so as not to scare away the participants, but not too simple so that participation is not too formal.
Here are the main points that I think will help you run successful competitions in your online store:
I had to experiment with different kinds of tasks, and the most important thing was to understand my audience and their capabilities. This is the only way to create an interesting and exciting competition that would attract users.
Results and recommendations
Do not forget about the following important aspects:
| What to do | What to avoid |
|---|---|
| 💥 Determine the purpose of the competition. | ❌ Ignore the audience. |
| 🎯 Choose meaningful prizes. | 🛑 Offering too simple tasks. |
| 📜 Make clear rules. | 🐒 Let everything take its course. |
| ✅ Fight the “prize-catchers”. | ❌ Neglect communication with clients. |
| 🤝 Keep in touch. | 🛑 Do not monitor the quality of subscribers. |
So I highly recommend you can use these methods and strategies in your competitions to increase customer engagement and therefore increase sales. Constantly analyze the results and adjust your actions, and success will definitely come.
Alcatel Experience
Alcatel has long established itself as a leading manufacturer of mobile devices and accessories. Thanks to high quality standards and innovative solutions, Alcatel has managed to attract many loyal customers and is constantly expanding its audience. The main goals of the company are attracting new audience and retaining existing customers. To solve these problems, a set of activities was developed and implemented, including holding various competitions and promotions on the Alcatel online store platform.
Main goals and objectives
The main goals of holding competitions in the Alcatel online store are the following:
🟢 Increasing traffic to the website store.
🟢 Increasing brand awareness of among new audiences.
🟢 Increase conversion and sales by stimulating user activity.
Main problem
The main problem that needed to be solved for the company was lack of engagement users and low level of interaction with the content of the online store. This meant that potential customers did not always turn into actual customers, and the loyalty of existing customers was not at a high level.
Target audience
The target audience of the Alcatel online store are young people aged 18 to 35 years old, actively using mobile devices and social networks. These users are often interested in new technology and are open to interacting with brands.
Audience interests and characteristics
📱 Constant access to the Internet and social networks.
📷 Passion for photography and video.
📚 Interest in new technologies and gadgets.
👥 Willingness to participate in various activities and competitions, especially if they are related to your favorite brands.
Key points
To achieve the set goals, a number of competitions were developed to attract the attention of the target audience:
🟠 Repost - get a prize: Participants were asked to repost an advertising post about new Alcatel smartphone models on their social networks. For this they participated in a drawing for a new product.
🟠 Invite a friend - get a prize: For each referred friend who makes a purchase in the online store, the participant received bonus points that could be exchanged for discounts and gifts.
🟠 Photo and Video Contests: Participants posted photos or videos of Alcatel products. The best works received valuable prizes and gifts.
🟠 Competition for the best comment: Active users who commented on posts on the online store’s social networks participated in a prize draw .
Specific results
As a result of the implementation of these activities:
- Social media followers increased by 25%.
- User engagement increased by 30%.
- Product sales based on competition results increased by 15%.
Results table
| Goal | Result |
|---|---|
| Increase in the number of subscribers | Increase by 25% |
| Increased engagement | 30% increase |
| Increased sales | 15% increase |
Thus, holding competitions in the Alcatel online store made it possible to significantly increase user activity and strengthen customer loyalty, which led to increased sales and popularity of the brand.
Frequently asked questions on the topic: Increase your sales - 7 best methods for holding competitions in an online store
What are the benefits of holding competitions for an online store?
Where can I hold competitions for an online store?
What types of competitions are most effective?
Why are repost contests popular?
How to conduct the "Invite a friend - get a prize" competition?
What is a competition for the best comment and how to organize it?
How to organize a photo competition for an online store?
What are the benefits of video competitions?
What are literary competitions and how do they work?
What are some competition tips for success?
Thank you for reading and gaining new experience, reader! 🧠✨
And now, you are an expert in the art of running competitions for online stores! 🎉 Now you know how to increase influx of customers, improve audience engagement and increase customer loyalty. Try it, implement it, and the results will surprise you! Don't forget to share your thoughts in the comments - I'd love to hear your stories and examples. Good luck to you in the Internet space!
Leonid Vlasov, independent expert of the Elbuz team
- Glossary
- Advantages of holding competitions for online stores
- Where to effectively conduct competitions for an online store?
- Options for holding competitions for online stores
- How to avoid mistakes when holding competitions
- Alcatel Experience
- Frequently asked questions on the topic: Increase your sales - 7 best methods for holding competitions in an online store
- Thank you for reading and gaining new experience, reader!
Article Target
Increase the level of knowledge of online store owners and marketers about conducting competitions, help them choose the best techniques to increase customer engagement and sales growth
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Owners of online stores, marketers, sales managers
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Discussion of the topic – Increase sales: 7 best methods for holding competitions in an online store
Introduction to the reader, explanation of why holding competitions is important for an online store. Informing about the benefits of attracting new audiences and retaining existing customers.
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Leonid Vlasov
Top 7 effective methods for conducting competitions in an online store: 1. Like and Comment, 2. Share with a friend, 3. Photo competition, 4. Creative tasks, 5. Quizzes, 6. Omnichannel competition, 7. Loyalty program. What's your favorite? 🏆
Thomas
I really like the quiz format! They not only entertain, but also attract the audience. We did one last month and increased sales by 15%. Has anyone tried anything else interesting?
Amelie
Thomas, we also had success with creative tasks. People love to be creative and share their creations. Plus, it's great content for social media. Anyone want to share the results of using the loyalty program?
Olga
Amelie, we have been using the loyalty program for a year now and see a constant growth in our customer base. Repeat purchases increased by 20%! Who has experience organizing omnichannel competitions?
Hans
Olga, our team recently tried an omnichannel competition. It just ended yesterday, and we are already seeing an increase in the number of subscribers on all our social networks. 💪 Does anyone know what prizes are best to motivate people to participate?
Isabel
Hans, we have the most success with gift certificates and unique items that are not on sale. It really works! 🛍 Has anyone tried holding photo competitions?
Luca
Isabel, photo competitions were great for us last year. A little tip: set clear rules to avoid misunderstandings.
Tomasz
How smart everyone is, but for me it’s all a waste of time! People pay more attention to the quality of the product rather than to toys and competitions. 🤨
Sophia
Tomasz, I disagree, now competitions attract attention and stimulate engagement. Leonid Vlasov, what prizes do you recommend for quizzes?
Leonid Vlasov
Sophia, certificates, discounts on popular products and free shipping always work for quizzes. I recommend alternating different prizes to maintain the interest of the audience. 👍
Emily
Leonid Vlasov, what about themed competitions for the holidays? Does anyone have experience?
Petro
Emily, we did a contest for the New Year, and it was cool! The audience responded well, everyone was in a festive mood and actively participated. 🎄 Has anyone tried quests on social networks?
Élodie
Petro, yes, we had a Halloween quest and it was a huge success! People love solving riddles and looking for clues to win prizes. 🕵️♂️
Isabel
Élodie, great idea for a quest for themed holidays! Does anyone have experience holding competitions with invited guests, for example, bloggers or influencers?
Luca
Isabel, we invited a blogger for an event - the results were amazing! 📈 I recommend trying it.