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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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01 oct

Run a Sweepstakes to Help Sell Products Online this Holiday Season

By: Jennifer French | In: Marketing

Let’s face it, the 2020 holiday shopping season will not be like any we’ve seen in the past. With ever-changing local and national restrictions on crowd capacity at big box stores, retailers will need to entice their customers to do the lion’s share of their holiday shopping online. An effective way to capture their interest is to run a sweepstakes to help sell products online this holiday season. 

The key thing a sweepstakes will accomplish is to build and/or strengthen your email marketing efforts. Email is one of the most effective ways to directly reach your ideal audience. When someone opts-in to be on your email list, they are personally welcoming you to reach out, so you will want to be sure to take advantage of their attention. According to Constant Contact,you can expect to receive an ROI of $42 per $1 you spend on email marketing. Here are some additional email marketing statistics.

But, to convince consumers to join your email list so you can ultimately sell products online, you’ll have to first give them something they can get excited about.  This is where running a sweepstakes comes into play. An online sweepstakes gives your audience a fun, interactive experience offering them the chance to win great prizes. This interaction can be incredibly useful because it creates a bond with the consumer and puts you in a good light.

They’ve signed up for emails, now what? This is your chance to reap what you sow, so to speak. The content of your email must be enticing and attention-getting. Here are a few tips from Campaign Monitoron how to leverage your email marketing. 

Consider running a sweepstakes during the holiday shopping season to keep consumers engaged.  Offer a daily prize giveaway that coincides with a theme; 12 days of Christmas, Black Friday, Cyber Monday. Also consider offering a surprise and delight element like a discount coupon or free sample after each person enters. Free shipping is also a huge incentive to drive sales so you should consider it if feasible to your business. 

Reach out to Sync who will help best strategize how to run a sweepstakes to help sell products online this holiday season for your business.


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21 sep

Retail Sweepstakes: How to drive consumers online with a retail sweepstakes

By: Julie Link | In: Marketing

This post is a continuation of my previous post about how to drive consumers in-store with a retail sweepstakes. Due to the current pandemic, retailers have had to shift most of their focus to online sales. Today, I will discuss how to help drive consumers online with a retail sweepstakes. Something retailers need to do now more than ever.

CTA:

At Sync, we always recommend a simple sweepstakes microsite to create the best ROI and traffic to your website. Big Commerce also discusses how simple online sweepstakes are a great way to drive traffic to your website. No hoops, just a simple entry form and a great prize. If you want to go a step further and prompt entrants to shop online, create a call to action after entry. Perhaps it’s a surprise and delight discount coupon good for 25% off a pair of jeans or a code for free shipping. 

Get Trending:

As we all know by now, social sweepstakes are a fantastic way to create user-generated content. In addition, it’s a great way to get trending via hashtag. People are home now more than ever and ready and willing to provide content. Some are begging for it! So why not create a contest that asks consumers to showcase their quarantine style? This is a great way to connect with your consumers and reward them in the process. The more the hashtag trends the more eyes you will have on your brand or products, which in turn will translate into more online sales.

E-gift Cards for the Win:

Prizing is key to drive consumers to enter for a chance to win. While we have discussed prizing many different times, if you are really focusing on online sales, provide e-gift cards as prizing. If budget allows, I would recommends giving away as many gift cards as possible and then having a larger overarching grand prize. We have found this makes a sweepstakes very enticing to enter. Consumers feel as though they have a real chance at winning and the larger grand prize is always appealing. 

With the holidays around the corner, now is the time to run a sweepstakes and drive online sales. Contact Sync today if you want to set up a brainstorming call.


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24 aug

Common Mistakes When Running a Sweepstakes

By: Jennifer French | In: Ask Sync, Ask Sync Marketing, Best Practices, Marketing

Running a sweepstakes is an effective way for a business to obtain new customers. It’s also a great tool for staying connected to current customers and rewarding them for their loyalty. It’s a very cost-effective marketing tool when done correctly. When contemplating running a sweepstakes, there are important things to consider. Below I will discuss some common mistakes when running a sweepstakes.

No Official Rules

This is probably one of the most important mistakes to avoid. We find that many company’s in-house legal teams do not necessarily specialize in marketing law, so a lot of times, this critical element is neglected. There are a lot of intricacies, especially when it comes to running a sweepstakes on social media platforms, which change their policies frequently. There are also state regulations to also be aware of that may affect your promotion. They are also crucial for entrants as they outline the details of the promotion such as in eligibility, run dates, prizing, etc. Here is an article on the importance of drafting sweepstakes rules. 

Weak Prizing

Nothing kills the excitement of a sweepstakes than an insignificant prize. Would you take the time to enter for a branded water bottle or beach ball? Well most likely, neither will other consumers. If you are going to ask people to do something, give them something worthwhile in return. Consider a cash prize or shopping spree if you are in the retail sector. Also, awarding multiple prizes gives people the sense that the have a better chance to win.

Over Complicated 

You may be promoting an exciting brand or product, are offering amazing prizes and have your legal buttoned up but you are asking entrants to do too many things. The more you ask from the entrant, the higher the risk of drop off. This is especially true in the age of online scams and hacking. People are just not comfortable providing their personal identifying information (PII). Consider just asking for name and email address. This is also true about the entry process. We’ve seen promotions asking people to upload photos, answer essay questions, create a video, etc. Depending on what you are trying to accomplish, sometimes less is more.

Choosing the Wrong Platform 

If your goal is to obtain email opt-ins, a simple online entry is the best way to go. You wouldn’t want to run a social promotion in the instance because emails are not typically collected. The opposite runs true if you are looking to get your message to go viral. A social sweepstakes would be a good choice in that case. Again, it’s important to keep in mind the different policies on each social platform. Here is a good reference

Poor Timing

It’s always a good idea before running a sweepstakes to check the calendar for critical dates that may conflict with your promotion.  Knowing that a lot of people with children travel during spring break, you may want to wait until afterwards to run a promotion aimed at that sector. The length of campaign is also important.  Too short and you run the risk of people missing the promotion. Too long and the momentum may be lost. Typically, a two-four-week campaign is ideal.

Poor Marketing

If you build it, they will come does not always apply in marketing. You can have the coolest sweepstakes concept, but if people don’t know about it, your entry numbers will be low. This article gives helpful suggestions for promotion your sweepstakes. 

No Follow Up

So, your campaign was successful, and you obtained a good number of email opt-ins. If you don’t follow up with these potential clients, it’s definitely a missed opportunity. Consider sending a thank you email after they enter. You can even include a “Surprise and Delight offer like a discount coupon or free sample.

When done correctly, there are many great benefits to running a sweepstakes. Consider hiring an agency like Sync Marketing, who can guide you through the process and help you prevent making common mistakes when running a sweepstakes. Contact us today


28 jul

How to Get Customers Excited to Shop Online

By: Sync Marketing | In: Marketing

While there has been a significant shift in consumer shopping habits due to COVID-19 as discussed in the Quantcast Blog, some consumers need more of a push to shop online. Today, I will discuss how to get customers excited to shop online by running a sweepstakes or contest.

Prizing

One of the most cost-effective ways to get customers excited to shop online is to incentivize them with a chance of winning a prize. What better way to do this than running a sweepstakes where your customers can win a gift card to your company or store? Many big box retailers have started  running sweepstakes to entice their customers to come online for a chance to win. While there, the hope is that they will see something they like and that it will translate into a sale.

In order to make the entry process “worth it,” it’s important that your prizing is up to snuff. We would recommend giving away several small gift cards (possibly one or more a day) with an overarching larger grand prize. This makes customers feel as though they have a better chance to win. Also, by giving away gift cards, you are encouraging them to shop online, and in most cases, they will buy more than what the gift card is worth. 

Surprise and Delight

Want to encourage more online sales? Offer a surprise and delight coupon to every person who enters the sweepstakes. Make the discount worth it at 20% or more.

Social Media Contests

Another way to get customers excited to shop online is to run a social media contest. Engaging with your customers is more important than ever.  Perhaps you can ask your customers to upload their favorite “lounge look” to Instagram for a chance to win. Julie Link Co-Founder of Sync Marketing wrote

“It’s not business as usual. Businesses are struggling to find ways to connect with their consumers while we are forced to “social distance” by staying home. So how do brands interact with consumers? How do they connect? A great way is engaging consumers with sweepstakes and contests.” 

Another way to encourage engagement is by including a call to action after entry. One way to share the sweepstakes and encourage engagement is to offer entrants extra chances to win by sharing on social media.

As we all try to navigate these times it’s important to continue to assess your goals and think of cost-effective ways to engage with your customers in a positive way. Sweepstakes have always been a great way to do that. If you want to brainstorm ideas on how a sweepstakes might benefit your brand, reach out to Sync today.


22 jul

5 Social Media Sweepstakes Ideas to Engage Customers

By: Jennifer French | In: Marketing

Running a social media sweepstakes or contest is an easy and cost-effective way to promote your brand or company. It is also a great way to create buzz and collect meaningful user-generated content from consumers.  Below are 5 social media sweepstakes ideas to engage customers.

#1 Photo Upload

Crate and Barrel Sweepstakes
Crate and Barrel Sweepstakes

A simple Instagram or Facebook photo upload contest is a great way to capture user-generated content all in the name of fun. Think cute babies, furry friends, or fabulous food creations as a few examples. Crate and Barrel ran a wedding registry sweepstakes where they asked entrants to upload a photo of their wedding prep. Daily prizes were awarded throughout the month of February. 

#2 Twitter Hashtag Sweepstakes

Tide Pods Sweepstakes
Tide Pods Sweepstakes

This is probably one of the easiest social sweepstakes you can run. All you need to do is post your message on Twitter and ask for entrants to tweet you back with your campaign hashtag.  Tide did just that in the fall of 2019 to promote their partnership with the NFL for their Tuesday Night is Laundry Night campaign. Select NFL players tweeted on their own Twitter accounts asking for fans to tweet back for a chance to win limited edition Tide PODS. 

#3 Like and/or Comment 

#AcedIt Sweepstakes
Acer’s #AcedIt Sweepstakes

This is another easy and effective sweepstakes idea.  Entrants are required to like and or comment on your Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram post for a chance to win. Acer uses this sweepstakes concept to promote their partnership with the LPGA. Their yearly #AcedIt Sweepstakes offers entrants a chance to win an Acer lap top every time an LPGA pro hits a hole-in-one during the season.  The hole-in-one becomes a triggering event and entrants have 48 hours to comment on Acer’s Facebook or Twitter post for a chance to win. Due to the stoppage of all sports during their 2020 campaign, Acer got creative and worked with the LPGA to hold virtual golf matches pitting pros up against one another on a computer golf game.

#4 Tiktok Contest

TikTok Contest with Claire's
TikTok Content with Claire’s

Tiktok is the new gold standard for creating fun videos. Because proms were canceled this year, Claire’s Stores wanted to give high schoolers a chance to win prizes through a Prom-themed contest. They ran a PJs to Prom contest on TikTok asking entrants to show their PJs to Prom looks. 

#5 Vote to Win

A great way to gage consumers interest in your products is by asking them to vote on their favorite while offering them a chance to win a prize. Specialty Materials™ ran a Facebook sweepstakes where they asked entrants to vote on their favorite pattern of fabric for the chance to win a 20-sheet prize pack.

Now you have some social media sweepstakes ideas , but you are not sure which platform(s) to choose. Here is an article that may help you narrow it down. Also, before you decide to run a sweepstakes or contest on a social platform, you need to be aware of the rules and limitations of each platform first. Our Legal team has hands-on knowledge and experience running promotions on all social media platforms.  Here is a link to Sync’s legal services we offer to help you with your next sweepstakes or contest. 

Contact us today.


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25 jun

Why Should I Run a Sweepstakes?

By: Julie Link | In: Marketing

Why should I run a sweepstakes? Running a sweepstakes (or contest) has a plethora of benefits ranging from increasing brand awareness to engaging new and current consumers. Let’s break down the main benefits to see if this marketing tactic is right for you and your brand or service.

Customer Acquisition: Are you looking to grow your email database? Sweepstakes are one of the simplest ways to do so. The sweepstakes should either have an auto opt-in or ask entrants if they want to opt-in. If you’re collecting entries in California, you will need to be aware of CCPA. You can learn more about that here. At the end of the campaign, Sync Marketing will securely send you the email opt-ins to use for future marketing outreach.

It’s Cost Effective: Sweepstakes are extremely affordable compared to other marketing strategies. Using a platform like TurnkeySweeps by Sync allows you to run a full-service sweepstakes at an affordable price. While brands can put money into ad campaigns on social media, a great way to get free advertising is to ask entrants to share the sweepstakes for extra entries. While sweepstakes are cost-effective and provide great ROI, this article gets into the specifics of the best solutions for running cost-effective sweepstakes.

It Boosts SEO: If you are giving away a big prize and your sweepstakes garners a lot of views, it can significantly increase your SEO. Go a step further and tie your sweepstakes to a hashtag for another significant boost. The Content Factory agrees that sweepstakes are good for SEO:

“When a popular website links to your company, your site’s search engine ranking is improved. Ditto for tweets and Facebook updates about the contest that link back to your website. When more people are finding your website when the search online, more people are buying your products.” – Content Factory

It Creates Positive Interactions with Consumers: This is probably the most important. Especially during these times, it’s important to have positive interaction with your consumers. By giving away either cash, an experience, or a gift card, your consumers will appreciate your generosity and will continue to engage with your brand. Contests are also a great way to have a positive interaction with your consumers. By creating a skill-based promotion to win a prize, they will feel connected and invested in your brand.

If you have any additional questions about if you should run a sweepstakes, contact Sync Marketing at info@syncmarketing.net. We will answer any questions, provide pricing, and examples. We look forward to hearing from you!


23 jun

How CCPA Law Affects Running a Sweepstakes or Contest

By: Jennifer French | In: Marketing

Today I will discuss how CCPA law affects running a sweepstakes or contest. If you have considered running a sweepstakes or contest, you have probably heard of CCPA, but what is it exactly? CCPA is a new law in California that went into effect on January 1, 2020 that is designed to give Californians more control over their own data. If your promotion excludes California, this is not something you will need to worry about. If you plan to collect personal identifying information (PII) from people in California, you may be affected. More specifically, if you will need to be accountable if your business falls within the following parameters:

  • Business possesses the personal data of more than 50,000 California residents, households, or devices per year
  • Business earns at least $25 million in annual revenue
  • Business earns more than 50% of annual revenue selling the personal data of California residents

A good summary of what is considered PII under CCPA can be found here.

So, what rights do consumers have under the CCPA? In short, California consumers now have the right to request access to or delete any personal information you have collected from them. The CCPA also allows California consumers to request that a business not sell their personal information to third parties. The full information can be found here.

Clearly CCPA is something to consider when running a sweepstakes or contest in California since collecting PII is part of that process. Below are steps to ensure you are running a legally compliant promotion:

Right to Notice

Your business must inform consumers at or before the point of collecting PII what categories of PII are going to be collected and for what purposes this information will be used.

Right to access

You will be required to provide users a way to request access to the data you have collected. Essentially you should provide them with an easy way to contact you to submit a request for access to this data. Keep in mind you should respond in a timely manner.

Right to request deletion of PII

Consumers in California have the right to request deletion of all PII that you have collected.

Right to Opt-Out

Consumers must have the ability to easily request to opt-out of receiving correspondence from you.

Protection of consumer privacy and data is increasingly becoming more important so we should expect other states to follow suit. Consider contacting Sync Marketing for your next sweepstakes or contest. We will we navigate you through all the up-to-the-minute legal changes that may affect your sweepstakes or contest. We also, pride ourselves on our secure platform and will ensure your consumers’ PII is protected. Contact Sync today.

Disclaimer: This is article is not intended to be legal advice but is provided as general information. To learn the full impact of the CCPA, please consult with a legal professional.

 

 


20 jun

Engaging Consumers with Sweepstakes and Contests

By: Julie Link | In: Marketing

It’s not business as usual. Businesses are struggling to find ways to connect with their consumers while we are forced to “social distance” by staying home. So how do brands interact with consumers? How do they connect? A great way is engaging consumers with sweepstakes and contests.

Fashion brands are finding creative ways to engage with their consumers while they sit at home. PAPER Magazine discusses how Fashion Brands are taking advantage of their consumers staying home.

Fashion brands and designers are among those leading the way in getting everyone to participate and have fun thanks to recent contests popping up online. Below, see full details for some of the challenges you can get involved in now. – Papermag

Furniture and office supply brands can definitely jump in on the contest bandwagon. Are your consumers now working from home? Let them show a photo of how they are making it “work.” Qualifio speaks to creative ways brands can engage with their consumers by working from home.

You can also imagine a particular photo contest for the ones doing homework. Encourage them to share their home office space, homeworking memes or even the most awkward homeworking situations. Let them share their experiences with others and enjoy the moment! – Qualifio

All brands can figure out a creative way to engage consumers through sweepstakes or contests. Sweepstakes and contests are cost-effective ways to engage new and existing consumers, gather user-generated content and reward consumers. Kick Off Labs discusses why contests work in this article here.

If you’re thinking of running a cost-effective sweepstakes or contest in order to engage consumers, contact Sync Marketing today.

Engaging Consumers with Contests

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11 jun

Retaining Customers with Sweepstakes

By: Julie Link | In: Marketing

Retaining customers with sweepstakes is an extremely cost-effective marketing strategy you should seriously consider.

One of the most important benefits of running an online sweepstakes is retaining your current customers. Based on today’s current climate, now is a more important time than ever to retain your current customers. According to Business.com,

“Retaining customers is important for the long-term success of your business, because it is far more expensive and difficult to acquire a new customer than it is to retain a current one. For example, SignalMindreports that the probability of a sale from a new customer is only 5% to 20%, whereas the probability of converting an existing customer is between 60% and 70%. Additionally, repeat customers spend an average of 33% more than new customers.”

Sweepstakes are a cost-effective way to retain customers. How you ask? Try opting to run a sweepstakes that are marketing only to your email subscribers. This will make them feel special and connected to your brand because you are providing them this opportunity to win. This an easy way to spark the relationship and keep your clientele engaged in your company or brand.

First, you need to figure out what type of prizing to award. There has not been a better time to offer gift cards for your products or services. You already know that your customers enjoy purchasing your products based on their behavior, but they just might not feel they can afford to  do so right now. This will incentivize your customers to enter so they can continue to use your product or service. In addition, another great incentive is to offer everyone who enters a surprise and delight discount coupon.

Business2Community agrees that sweepstakes and contests are an effective strategy if done right.

“Engagement, traffic, and now sales are low, which means you might be ending the month far worse than you started it. It’s time to come up with something quick and effective to recover your numbers: why not run a giveaway or contest? When giveaways are done right, they can bring massive results and even help your brand to go viral. One way to ensure your own giveaway does just that is to make it a foolproof lead machine.”

If you are thinking of running a contest or sweepstakes even if you have a small budget and/or short turnaround, Sync Marketing is here to help. Our TurnkeySweeps by Sync solution is fast, affordable, and effective. In addition, our TurnkeySweeps 2.0 has upgraded security features to keep all of your consumers’ data secure. Contact us today.