With the boom of Twitter also comes the muddy areas of figuring out exactly how to use it to one’s benefit. Some do not care as it is an outlet to tell the world that they just flossed or that their car is in the shop. Others, have found that is a very effective and powerful tool that is free to use and exponentially spread the word about their products, services, or organization. There needs to be a strategy, however.
“When I get 5,000 followers, I am giving away a prize.”
I have seen something similar to this several times over. Having more followers means spreading your message even further, extending your virtual reach. Let’s say you have 5,000 followers and then have 1,000 of them retweet that message. Think about how drastically different your impact is. So it makes sense to seek as many followers as possible.
But to what end?
Let’s say that you reached your goal. You have selected some prize or something worth giving away and now have 8,000 followers. You can easily sift through the followers and pick someone to give the prize to. In the process, you have now basically built a mailing list at the cost of whatever the prize was. But what is going to be done with this new found fame? Is it going to be used to tell 8,000 people that there is nothing on TV or that your yard needs mowing?
Do you have a plan?
One great example that I stumbled upon was the marketing plan executed by Papa John’s Pizza. There is a contest running giving away free pizza for a year. By “passing the pie” you could be selected to receive free pizza. In order to qualify you have to register on their site, passthepieatlanta.com, and then pass along the message via Twitter or Facebook. Granted, this does not require you to follow them on Twitter, but it does rapidly send out the message.
From my perspective, this is extremely effective marketing for the following reasons:
- This is done at a very low cost to Papa John’s. The costs for them are the free pizza and whatever employee hours were spent with the website, tracking, etc.
- They now have a great mailing list, Twitter trend & following, and Facebook group. This “database” is perfect for them because by filling it out, they have information from people that they know are interested in their pizza. Why else fill it out, right? This was done without purchasing a mailing list, using direct mail, etc.
- Others are now aware of their social media presence that were not previously aware and should they follow Papa John’s, they can now receive news and updates.
Another example is a local illustrative designer, Scott Thigpen. According to Scott, he is running a contest where he will give away three custom prints. The guy has skills and I have no doubt that the recipients of the prints will be very pleased. I found out about the contest a couple of different ways, which to me shows planning on Scott’s part to get the word out. I read about it via an email blast, read it on Twitter, as well as Facebook. So it is clear Scott thought out the delivery of this contest and what it could do for his potential marketing reach.
All notifications point back to his blog here, which is also tied to his site. Great way to get people back to your site, reading about you, your services, and viewing your portfolio. On top of that, they get a chance to win something for nothing. Well, probably should not say “nothing”, especially since part of the contest requires posting on Facebook as well as Twitter. This will help Scott’s online presence and notify others of the fabulous service he is capable of providing. I would be interested to hear from him about the percentage increase in subscribers and how that translates to an increase in business.
Lastly, I recently won a Twitter contest help by Artistic Photo Canvas. I won a $50 gift certificate for their printing services. In a way I was shocked because I had to do very little to win. What I found was a new worthwhile Twitter feed to follow, but more importantly to their company, I was made aware of who they are and what they do. Prior to the Twitter contest, I had not heard of them. I would venture a guess that others who participated, or even just read the Tweets from others, were made aware of APC that were not previously aware. All of that from $50. Imagine the cost of a printed mailer and the low return rate? Imagine direct calls, email blasts, or other previously used marketing methods that may or may not have worked. I guess the simple fact that I have posted something on Twitter about them and now included them in this blog post could tell you something, right? Twitter is a powerful venue but the real power is in harnessing that to your benefit. I cannot wait to pick out a canvas print and it comes at a great time as we are opening a photography studio, which means these services are even more important to me and my own clients.
Summary
If you are planning on using a contest to boost your Twitter following, or other social media presence, have some type of plan. Figure out what you are going to do with the data. Think about the information you are putting out and what value is carried with it. Do not waste the potential, because the potential is too great to be wasted. It reminds me of a great quote, and I really wish I knew who said it so that I could give proper credit, but here it is: “Knowledge is not power. The use of knowledge is power.”
How are you using what you know?
By the way, if you are not already following me, you should be twitter.com/dubtastic because you never know when I might start up my own contest!
