Each Thursday at 11am EST, marketers from around the world join the ExactTarget user community on Twitter for a conversation about trends and campaign ideas across the interactive marketing industry. We call this virtual coffee chat the ExactTarget Café.
During a recent chat, we invited Ben Pickering (@bpicks), CEO of Strutta (@strutta), an industry leading technology for building photo contests, video contests, and social sweepstakes for your Facebook Page. Strutta is a featured Partner Gear within SocialPages.
Here is a recap of the conversation we had during the twitter chat:
@ExactTarget: Q1 What are the primary benefits to running a contest or sweepstakes?
Strutta's answers:
- @bpicks: A1) Lead generation, brand awareness, and user engagement are most common objectives / benefits of a contest or sweepstakes.#ETcafe
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@bpicks: A1) Match your objectives to the type of promotion: Sweepstakes = lead gen + data. Contest = greater engagement. #ETcafe
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@bpicks: A1 cont. E.g., A user generated contest can be used to crowd source great photos or videos you can use for content marketing. #ETcafe
Other's Answers:
- @zaptap360 A1) Reach has to be a big one, especially if you leverage social media properly. #ETCafe
- @jacquipoehlman A1) increase engagement...increase value proposition for being a subscriber/fan/follower..promote sharing amongst advocates#etcafe
- @scottperdue A1) List growth. But very volatile list growth. They're only in it for the freebies, making them of limited use. #ETcafe
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@gina_mueller: A1) They capture the attention of a broader audience and create excitement and buzz around your story + more leads #etcafe
@ExactTarget: Q2 What types of businesses should be doing promotions? Is it only B2C or also B2B?
Strutta's answers:
- @bpicks: A2) Promotions work for all types of companies. As my friend@ekaterina says FB is not about B2B or B2C but P2P (person to person) #ETcafe
- @bpicks: A2 cont. Key is to know your audience and have a premise and prize that appeals to your target. #ETcafe
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@bpicks: A2) you can't limit explicitly but you can target with your offer, your marketing, your prize, etc #ETcafe
Other's Answers:
- @SanketPatel27: B2B and B2C both should be doing promotions, at the end of the day they have the same goal: increase the bottom line#etcafe
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@aerosly: When I do sweepstakes, I always note I will announce winners in a specific newsletter. Ppl hate to feel forgotten.#ETCafe
@ExactTarget: Q3 How would you define a successful social promotion?
Strutta's Answers:
- @bpicks: A3) Success metrics vary for each campaign so it's important to have goals established up front. #ETcafe
- @bpicks: A3) In a social promotion you obviously want to look at social metrics but look beyond just Likes. #ETcafe
- @bpicks: A3 cont. Consider # of shares and amplification due to sharing. This can be really powerful in a voting contest. #ETcafe
- @bpicks: As another resource here is a link to a blog post I wrote about measuring ROI on social media contests: http://bit.ly/iWMkiN #ETcafe
- @strutta: We have also put together a helpful webinar highlighting promotions best practices. http://bit.ly/RXPgNX #ETcafe
@ExactTarget Q4 How does email support a social promotion?
Strutta's Answers:
- @bpicks: A4) The most successful promotional campaigns are integrated cross-channel when it comes to communications. #ETcafe
- @bpicks: A4) Email is a terrific way to drive traffic to a promotion, wherever it is hosted. If you have a list tap in to it! #ETcafe
- @strutta: That's why partnering with @exacttarget makes so much sense! MT@bpicks: Email is a terrific way to drive traffic to a promotion.#ETcafe
- @bpicks: A4 cont. We've seen clients use email to drive significant participation and in the process get subscribers to Like their page. #ETcafe
Other's Answers:
- @jacquipoehlman: A4: #etcafe email is still the most powerful multichannel promotion engine. Doing a contest w/o email = running a Indycar race w/a Pinto.
- @LoisMarketing: E-mail is still key. Remember most are not engaged in social media. If e-mail has value it's saved until it can be read at leisure. #ETCafe
- @indycubsfan: A4: Awareness, then triggered sends & automated follow-up. Move prospect into nurturing program and develop until they are a lead.#etcafe
@ExacTarget Q5: What is the biggest mistake people make with contests on Facebook?
Strutta's Answers:
- @bpicks A5) Biggest mistake = not adhering to the Facebook guidelines: http://www.facebook.com/page_guidelines.php … #ETcafe
- @bpicks: A5) 2nd mistake = inadequate planning. Don't fall victim to belief that "If I build it they will come" #ETcafe
- @bpicks: Annoying and a violation of FB policy RT @SusanPrater: @craigery: making the user share with friends to participate = ANNOYING#ETcafe
@ExactTarget: Q6 Why should companies consider using a platform like SocialPages + Strutta to manage their promotional campaign?
Strutta's Answers:
- @bpicks: A6) Promotions on Facebook must be run through apps so you need a trusted technology partner. #ETcafe
- @bpicks: A6) Both @strutta and @exacttarget are Facebook Preferred Developers so we know the platform and policies. #ETcafe
@ExactTarget: Q7 Any examples of cool Facebook promotions you'd like to share?
Strutta's Answers:
- @bpicks: A7) We have a lot of great client case studies on the @struttaResources page at http://resources.strutta.com/case-studies #ETcafe
- @bpicks: A7) Here is a simple, well-designed sweepstakes for any wine lovers out there: http://apps.facebook.com/riojatripsweeps/ #ETcafe
- @bpicks: A7) Here is a nice looking UGC photo contest: http://on.fb.me/U00SlW . Hopefully these examples inspire some ideas. #ETcafe
Others Answers:
- @spencerabrams: A7 @ETFun ran a FaceBOOk Costume Contest on Halloween and doubled page likes w/ ppl voting for their favs http://cot.ag/SY9kin #etcafe
- @SusanPrater: Here's a Pinterest link to some cool FB campaigns. #etcafe http://ow.ly/fjQ4n
Join the conversation Thursday at 11 a.m. EST. Just follow the #ETCafe hashtag in your favorite Twitter application, and participate by adding the #ETCafe hashtag to your tweet. The person with the best tweets will win a Starbucks gift card!
See you there!
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