Small businesses are always looking for ways they can garner the attention of new customers. If your online and social media marketing campaigns are not working the way you would like, try to spruce them up by launching a giveaway.
Who doesn’t like free stuff? A business giveaway is any idea or promotion where a company gives away a complementary product or service to a customer. While you won’t see a profit from the customer that wins your giveaway, the hope is that the sweepstakes creates more customer interaction and gets your product or service more attention.
While there are a few laws to consider, we’re sharing nine of the best small business giveaway ideas you can use to drum up interest in your company.
1. Caption a Photo
Popular on Instagram, photo caption contests are a practical and fun way to have people engage with your business.
Start by posting a photo on the platform of something relating to your business. It could be a funny picture or a behind-the-scenes shot of your staff. You’ll then ask your followers to respond with the most humorous caption they can think up. Whoever creates the best caption wins whatever prize you are offering.
To get the most out of your photo caption contest, make sure the rules are transparent and be sure to follow up with all the participants. Responding to captions is an ideal way to show potential customers that you care and have a sense of humor.
2. Photo Contest
Alternatively, you can turn the tables and have potential customers send you pictures. There are many different forms of photo contests that you can run.
If your small business has a sizable following, create a contest where your customers can submit pictures of themselves using your product. This contest is ideal for developing a stronger bond with your existing clients.
You may also ask for photos from non-clients to show how bad they want the prize you are offering. When people see several posts of customers craving your product or service, they’ll most likely check it out for themselves. If you have a photo contest that goes viral, you can potentially bring in batches of new customers free of charge.
Or, you can choose to pay to promote your contest on social media to ensure your content is visible to your target audience.
3. Limited Time Offers
Nothing creates urgency like a limited-time offer. We all see businesses running ads for limited-time offers every day. Customers often see a promotion they like, store it in the back of their mind, and then quickly forget about it.
A limited-time offer stresses the importance of getting in on the deal as soon as possible. Customers will be more likely to set reminders on their phones if they know when your promotion runs out.
Limited time offers can include buy-one-get-one-free deals or a sizable sale on a premium product. Make a show out of it with a countdown timer that you can post on your website to keep your giveaway on everyone’s minds.
If you have access to a billboard or sign outside your building, that’s another practical way to spread the word about your LTO. Many businesses will coordinate limited-time offers with holidays and other special occasions.
4. Create a Game
Feel free to get creative with your giveaway. The only limit to your promotion is your imagination (and a few legal requirements, but that’s where we come in).
A popular small business giveaway game is Spin the Wheel. Give potential customers hope for a free prize with a wheel you can post on your website. The grand prize could be a complementary product or service, but you can also load the wheel up with smaller deals and discounts to make this game fun for your website visitors.
Note that you should never let your customers leave your website because they lost out on the prize. Put a call-to-action after they spin the wheel to direct them towards a section of your site. There are several apps and websites where you can create a custom wheel design to implement on your site.
5. Referral Program
Referral programs are a fantastic way to expand your company’s reach, particularly for B2B and subscription-based companies. Allow your existing clients to spread the word about your business in exchange for a reward, whether it’s a complementary product or a free month of service.
You always want your existing clients to tell their connections about your product. It’s an organic way to branch out and deepen your connection with the client who refers your business to their friends.
You could also run a referral program the reverse way, meaning you can give away a free prize to the customers your existing clients refer to you.
6. Promote a Hashtag
A hashtag promotion is an excellent promotional method to spread the appeal of your product or service organically. Twitter and Instagram are the most popular social media platforms for this type of giveaway.
Tell your customers to post a picture of them using your product or wearing your merchandise. Then, have them all use the same hashtag. With enough traction, you may trend in your local community, which will bring more viewers to your company. You can then choose at random who receives your grand prize. Put a time limit in place to add a sense of urgency and ensure compliance.
This method is practical for companies trying to attract more millennial and Gen Z customers.
7. Promote a New Product
If you are launching a new product, try out a product launch promotional giveaway. This promotion heightens the anticipation of your upcoming release. Center the giveaway around sending out a copy of your product in advance to one lucky customer.
The key to successfully pulling off a product launch sweepstakes is proper promotion. Perhaps you can run a paid ad on your most popular social media platform.
Facebook Giveaways is another ideal platform to use to run a launch sweepstakes.
8. Let Customers Pick a New Logo
Another intriguing way to get customers to engage with your company is to let them assist in picking the new logo for your business. If you are in the middle of a rebranding or are in the mood for change, it’s practical for you to get people to invest in your endeavor.
List a selection of designs in a poll format and let the public vote. Those who select the winning logo will be eligible for your grand prize. Or you can provide everyone who chose correctly with a small discount to use on your website.
Better yet, let the people design your logo for you. Thousands of talented designers would love to help create a logo for you. Reward the winner of your logo design contest with a large grand prize.
9. Slogan Contest
Similarly, you can let customers vote on the new slogan for your company. Post a poll on Twitter or other social media platforms to encourage participation. You can find multiple crowdsourcing and random slogan generators online to give you some useful options.
Alternatively, you can have people come up with a slogan for you. Let entrants know what you would like your slogan to represent and any keywords you’d like them to incorporate.
A slogan encapsulates the essence of your business. By running a slogan promotion, you’ll see what customers think about your business.
Ask the community to vote on the best slogan for your company and reward the top five vote-getters with a free product or cash.
Get Help With Your Sweepstakes
We hope you can make use of some of our small business giveaway ideas. Giveaways are charitable ways to bring your audience together and increase engagement in your brand. We think you’ll find that sweepstakes can add excitement for both your customers and your staff. Have fun with it and enjoy the results.
National Sweepstakes Company helps hundreds of small businesses each year with our promotion management expertise. We know the best methods to help you achieve your promotional goals while ensuring legal compliance. Our company can administer your promotion, collect entries, create giveaway games, and much more.
If you require assistance for your business giveaway, contact our Rochester, NY office at (888) 744-3217!