Artem Zmitrovich
Giveaways and small contests are a great marketing idea to promote your store. These are promotional strategies that had been long used by many retailers to attract customers and engage the community as a whole. In the age of digital marketing, the use of this marketing technique is also widely used and is commonly seen in social media sites.
There are many benefits of running a contest and giveaways. Aside from promotional and branding benefits, it is also a great way of gathering consumer data and nurturing seller-buyer relationships. In the last quarter of the year, ride on the spirit of giving and take your eCommerce marketing strategies to the next level, it’s a great time to host contests and giveaways.
In this post, we have looked at common store giveaways and contest ideas that you can take on for your store and start learning how to make a giveaway on your dropshipping store. Let’s get started.
What’s the Best Time to Make a Giveaway or Contest on Your Store?
Black Friday, Cyber Monday, 11.11 sale, big retail holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas season, and of course, New Year’s. These are the times when the spirit of giving is up and people are in the mood to spend and receive freebies, discounts, and coupons. So if you have an online store, these are the best times to start any kind of giveaway so long as it is in line with the theme.
You can use the eCommerce holiday checklist to plan gveaways ahead.
Best Giveaway and Contest Ideas for your e-Commerce
In-Store Giveaways
A good idea it’s to add a giveaway or a little contest at your e-commerce store. For most stores, gift cards are the most common way to do it. While it is common, it works! Start your own gift card giveaway with a twist. Here are other giveaway ideas that you can incorporate to your site.
- gift cards
- coupon codes
- marketing gift cards
- limited edition products
So really, depending on the industry you work in, you can cook up a giveaway regardless if it’s small or big.
Contest Partnership – Find a Similar Niche
Joining up with other small businesses and organizations is an ideal approach to reaching new customers. Look for a partner that works with your brand and find strategies to put together a strategic contest that will benefit both your businesses. While the partnership is not exclusive to brands, you can always team up with influencers in the social media industry. Social Media Examiner shares with us how to partner with influencers for a successful social media giveaway.
Working with the right blogger for a giveaway drives sales and grows brand awareness for your products or services. – Social Media Examiner
For drop shippers, you can always partner up with your source. For example, if your product source is offering discounts and coupons, you can tap into the giveaway that you can likewise give away to your customers. Most of these giveaways come in coupon codes, gift certificates, and even a buy one take one or buy an item get a gift sort of thing.
The Best Story Contest
This is an all-time favorite for many brands and businesses. Encourage your customers to write a story about your product or your service, their experience shopping with you, and etc. The point is you are collecting the best real content from real customers. This content allows you the opportunity to blog about your products and at the same time engage your existing customers. Choose the best entries and feature it in your blog or in your store.
The best place to host a giveaway and contest is where people are going. Social media is the best place to start considering that these sites have millions of active users from all around the world that you can attract and engage with. Sprout Social gives us insight as to why businesses should use social media contests.
Not only does social media help businesses to bond with the millennials, Gen X and emerging Gen Z customers that own the marketplace, but contests can help speed up your ability to build relationships by hacking into the rule of reciprocation. In other words, if you give today’s customer something they feel like they should give you something in return. — Sprout Social
What types of contest or giveaways can you start on social media sites? Engagement contests – there are many methods for you to carry out a social media contest. Depending on your goal, you will want to reward those who engage with your profile, visit your site, comment on your post, share your story, and others like that. The bottom line is that you want to give out a reward to those who engage with your brand or your store.
Are you planning to host a contest on Facebook? Watch the video from CoalCreative to make sure you are complying with Facebook contest rules.
Small Product Ideas You Can Giveaway
For many businesses, the last quarter of the month is all about producing excellent revenue and expanding the business. It is also at this time of the year that you want to prepare giveaways for loyal clients and at the same time attract new customers. However, that doesn’t mean that giveaways work only during the holidays, you can still enjoy its potential throughout the year. Giveaways and prizes can be small items that can really look good when personalized with a logo. Here are small product ideas you can use.
- Keychains. Name a person you know who don’t have keys. Keychains are great giveaways as they are practical to use and affordable. Choose a keychain that can represent your brand. You can have them made or choose a design and customize it with your logo.
- Stickers. Stickers are fun giveaways. Your customers can stick it anywhere they practically see fit. Create your own design using free apps available anywhere online. And it’s among the most affordable giveaway you can think of.
- Refrigerator magnets. Cute and adorable refrigerator magnets are among the many gifts that customers will surely appreciate. It’s versatile and useful around the kitchen.
- Pens. Highly functional and great for any consumer type. It’s handy and useful and anyone who receives a customized pen will surely appreciate it.
- Pocket Notebooks. Another handy and useful product you can giveaway are pocket notebooks.
- Mugs. Adorable customized mugs are among consumer favorites. While this is a little expensive, you can give away a few of this to winners of really good contest ideas regarding your company.
Contests and giveaways are fun activities you can do to promote your brand, product, and your e-commerce store. While hosting a contest require a lot of hard work, the end result is rewarding and beneficial for your business. What other business ideas do you have in mind? Share it with us in the comment box below.
