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25 nov

5 Reasons to Run a Quiz with a Sweepstakes

By: Julie Link | In: Ask Sync Marketing, Marketing

Taking a personality quiz or participating in a poll is all the rage these days. Who doesn’t want to be told if you are an introvert who likes to cuddle up next to a fire or an extrovert who is always keeping busy? Quizzes are very popular, especially on social media sites, so it makes sense to take advantage of this marketing tool. While running a quiz on its own is a great marketing tool, in this article I outline why adding a sweepstakes component  has exponential benefits. Here are my 5 reasons to run a quiz with a sweepstakes.

1 Data Collection

You can learn so much about consumers and potential consumers when running a quiz. The information you receive from the quiz can be used for future marketing opportunities for your brand. And, you can target all of the new email subscribers you obtained through the sweepstakes and tailor your messaging to their specific likes. Second street also believe data collection is a benefit as they mention in this blog post.

2 Engagement

Quality engagement is so important when running a sweepstakes. If a consumer is willing to go to the effort to fill out a quiz, you know they have some curiosity for your brand. An effective add-on to any quiz with a sweepstakes is to offer a surprise and delight coupon after entry. This will lead to further engagement and traffic to your website, ideally leading to a sale.

3 Reach

As previously discussed in my post, “5 Ways to Increase Email Subscribers with a Sweepstakes,” people inherently want to share things about themselves to others. A quiz in no different. After you get your result, it’s common to want to share it with the world. This is an effective way to increase your reach when running a sweepstakes. You can even offer entrants extra entries for sharing their result with their friends on social media.

4 Reward

Make sure the prize is grand. At Sync Marketing, we always recommended including several smaller secondary prizes and a larger overarching grand prize. The smaller prizes give entrants the feeling that they have a better chance to win and the larger prize can be eye catching and tend to motivate people to participate. Whether it’s cash, a trip or a gift card for your site, make sure it’s worth the effort for your consumers to enter. As with all the reasons, great prizing is a fantastic way to increase the number of people who enter your sweepstakes and take your quiz. 

5 Fun!

Since quizzes and sweepstakes are so popular, offering them allows consumers to have a fun and positive association with your brand and/or products. Plus, the more memorable engagement you have with consumers, the higher chance they will return to your site again and hopefully purchase something while there.

In conclusion, running a quiz with a sweepstakes is a fun and effective way to gather consumer information, email opt-ins and create a positive interaction with current and potential consumers. Here is a current quiz Sync is running. For more information on Sync Marketing’s quiz with a sweepstakes feature, contact us today.


19 nov

Sweepstakes Rules and Legal Requirements

By: Jennifer French | In: Marketing

Running a sweepstakes is a highly effective way to grow your email database, reward your current clientele, and promote your products or services. There are many things to consider when adding a sweepstakes to your marketing plans. Not only do you need to identify the type of campaign you will run, prizes you will award, platform where the promotion will live, but you will need to ensure it has accurate sweepstakes rules. While we always recommend that you speak with a legal professional before running any sweepstakes campaign, below are some basic sweepstakes rules and legal requirements to consider.

Official Rules

The official sweepstakes rules are essential to create for all campaigns. This document is the outline of the sweepstakes or contest. It should contain the campaign eligibility such as age requirements, participation areas, entry method, the dates of entry, prizes and values and how the winners will be selected, notified and verified. The sweepstakes rules are where entrants will find all the required information. Here is some additional information on official rules

Eligibility

When setting up the eligibility for the sweepstakes you should consider what the age of majority is for each state. There are also several states that deal differently with respect to marketing and collecting information for people under the age of 13. There are also states that have different requirements for alcohol companies. A sweepstakes agency can guide you on what each State’s Attorney General requires.

Marketing Materials

You want to ensure that all the marketing materials you produce to advertise the sweepstakes are accurate from a legal standpoint and that they are not misleading. You also want to be sure to always state that no purchase is necessary. Here is a good reference from the FTC.

Campaign Platform

Will you be hosting an online entry form and collecting people’s personally identifiable information (PII)? You will need to consider what you do with the PII and how you keep it protected. There are also laws in states like California (CCPA) that require you to delete a person’s PII if they request for it to be deleted. Here is a reference about CCPA. What if you are you planning to host an Instagram contest? Social media platforms have their own promotion guidelines, and they are constantly changing. Here is the most current for Instagram for example. 

Bonding and Registration

Depending on the total ARV of your prize, some states require that you bond and register the sweepstakes. In addition to this, some states require you to file a final winners list at the end of the promotion. Knowing each state’s requirements and timing is critical to avoid being fined and/or having your sweepstakes removed.

Creating well drafted sweepstakes rules and following all the legal requirements is crucial when running a campaign. We would highly recommend consulting a sweepstakes legal expert like Sync Marketing to guide you through the process and make sure you are following all of the requirements. Contact us today. 


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11 nov

5 Things to Consider When Hiring a Sweepstakes Administration Company

By: Jennifer French | In: Sweepstakes, sweepstakes company, Turnkey Sweepstakes

Your company has made the decision to include a sweepstakes or contest in your marketing plans, now what? You need to find a sweepstakes administration company. There are a lot of elements to consider when running a campaign and it can be overwhelming. You may feel your team is able to handle the promotion in house, but before you make that decision, it’s wise to know some of the pitfalls of going it alone. As I reference in this article, it’s a smart business decision to hire a sweepstakes administration company to guide you through the process and ensure your campaign will run seamlessly. But there are other factors at play as well. Outlined below are 5 things to consider for when hiring a sweepstakes administration company. 

Size

Bigger isn’t always better in this case. Companies tend to work with large agencies because they feel they are “safe” – they have the infrastructure, resources, and experience. Small agencies actually offer the same skills as larger ones but have the advantage that they can work more closely with you to achieve your specific goals all at a fraction of the cost. You often speak to the owners of the company who have extensive experience in the area and a pride of ownership. 

Specialties 

Consider working with a company that specializes in sweepstakes and contests only. Specialized agencies tend to offer focus that some larger agencies often lack. Large agencies work with a variety of clients, and, as a result, tend to use a one size fits all approach which can be diluted. A company that has a grasp on a particular specialty will lead to better results for your campaign. 

Client Relationships

This is a key component when selecting a sweepstakes company. The first test is how quickly did someone respond to your inquiry? Larger firms may have bragging rights when it comes to their roster of clients, but we’ve found that sometimes this leads them to neglect their other clients that aren’t on the “A Team.” Chose a company that feels like an extension of your team and that wants to see you succeed. You should hire a company that is just as invested in your campaign and results as you. 

References

Who better to give you insight on a sweepstakes company than their client references? In addition to speaking to their current clients, I would also recommend asking for a few names of clients that no longer work with the sweepstakes administration company. Also ask for a reference from a client that has or had a similar scope or size to your upcoming project. It’s sometimes helpful to ascertain performance with an apples to apples comparison. Here is an article that lists key questions to ask when talking to an agency.

Portfolio of Work

Does the work speak for itself? Who are their past and present clients? A company should wow you with their most impressive work. Set up a Zoom call and ask to see a capabilities presentation. Also, ask for any current projects that you can explore.  Successful creative campaigns are not limited to agencies with a large staff and big budget. Small agencies are usually more willing to explore creative ways build your business and aren’t afraid to do things differently.

We hope the above 5 things to consider when hiring a sweepstakes administration company helps guide you to find the perfect team. Here is some additional reading to consider before you set out to find the perfect fit. 

Why not consider Sync Marketing for your future sweepstakes and contest needs? Sync is a boutique, award-winning sweepstakes administration company that is ready to help guide you on all the best practices to run a successful sweepstakes. 


10 nov

5 Ways to Increase Email Subscribers with a Sweepstakes

By: Julie Link | In: Best Practices, Contests, Marketing, Sweepstakes, sweepstakes company, User Generated Content

Sweepstakes are a cost-effective tool for increasing your email subscribers. It’s important to note that not all subscribers are created equal. You want people who are truly interested in your brand to sign up. While the number of email subscribers is important, it’s also more important that you obtain subscribers who are truly interested in engaging with your brand. Today I will discuss 5 ways to increase email subscribers with a sweepstakes.

Know Your Audience

Running a sweepstakes specific to your brand will increase engagement and build your email subscribers list with authentic and quality opt-ins. A recent example of this was a dog food company that ran a photo contest where they asked entrants to upload a photo of their dog dressed up in a Halloween costume. The fact that it was very specific to dog owners and thematic to a holiday, lead to quality engagement. It also created fantastic user-generated content as well as increased email subscribers.

Incentivize

Incentivizing entrants to share the opportunity for more chances to win is an effective and free way to promote your sweepstakes. While this could be a separate blog post all on it’s own, it’s important to consider a few factors if you want to incentivize entrants. People inherently want to share things that tell others more about them. That share could be from a quiz result, a charitable cause they hold dear, or anything else that evokes emotion. Try to tie one of these reasons for entrants to share into your sweepstakes concept. One example is to consider running a sweepstakes with a quiz component. People love sharing their results. And if it’s for an extra chance to win, this will increase tenfold. Here is an example of a quiz Sync recently completed for Aerie. 

Offer an Exclusive Opportunity

It’s often all about the prize. Offering an exclusive opportunity is a great way to get many quality entries. This could be a VIP experience at the Super Bowl, a meet-a-great at an awards show, or a red carpet experience at a movie premiere. Last year our client Paul Stewart offered exclusive prize packages. They partnered with a home rental company to give away weekend trips to different locations in New York and added on a custom fitting to their Paul Stewart store in New York.

Share Share Share

A great way to increase engagement and therefore increase the chance of signing up email subscribers is to offer multiple chances to win. Try offering weekly entry periods with an overarching grand prize. When an entrant first enters, give them the opportunity to opt-in. You can also offer them the chance to receive email reminders about the sweepstakes. Each week you will have an opportunity to tell them about that week’s prize, getting them to continuously engage with your brand.

Create a Landing Page

While running a social media sweepstakes is great to collect UGC, you won’t have the opportunity to collect email opt-ins. Therefore, we always suggest running a sweepstakes that has a dedicated landing page vs. a social sweepstakes. Whether potential email subscribers enter on your landing page or just get information about the sweepstakes, a landing page allows you to have a dedicated spot for consumers to get all of the information they need. It also increases traffic to your site. If you are running a social sweepstakes, you can still have a landing page with all of the information in one spot. On the landing page, give entrants the opportunity to opt-in directly on your page to get more information about the sweepstakes and other opportunities.

In conclusion, there are several effective ways to increase email subscribers with a sweepstakes. If you need some ideation help, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us for some ideas! 


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