However, as you look to implement contests or giveaways, always seek to:
Segment your new contest- or giveaway-acquired SUBSCRIBERS, FANS, or FOLLOWERS wherever possible. This allows you to gauge performance and response versus similar audiences not provided with incentives.
Balance your cost to acquire a new SUBSCRIBER, FAN, or FOLLOWER versus their LCV. You never want to find yourself upside down, paying more to acquire an audience member than the potential value they’ll deliver to you as a CUSTOMER.
Align prizes, giveaways, and incentives with your brand. Cash awards and iPads will undoubtedly attract a lot of new audience members; however, what you want are quality JOINERS who will convert. Prizes aligned with your brand or products do this better than generic ones.
Test different prizes, giveaways, and incentives. Sometimes the promise of something bigger (one prize of $1,000) is more motivating than everyone receiving $5.
As your contests and giveaways generate SUBSCRIBERS, FANS, and FOLLOWERS, be sure to communicate with them immediately and regularly after registration. There’s nothing more wasteful than watching a brand spend the time and money building a proprietary audience only to let it atrophy from lack of engagement. You should encourage entrants to become AMPLIFIERS of the contest while it’s ongoing and become CUSTOMERS during and after the promotion.
Resource Recommendations:
About.com (@AboutDotCom)—http://contests.about.com
ePrize (@ePrize)—www.eprize.com/engage/blog/
Tactic #24: Hashtags
Back in August 2007, while Twitter was in its infancy, open source advocate Chris Messina (@ChrisMessina) suggested that people use the number/hash symbol (#) as shorthand for associating topics on Twitter.16 In the years, since, the lowly hashtag has joined “@” as one of the can’t-live-without symbols of the social media era. It has jumped from Twitter to Instagram to Facebook, and now exists as cultural shorthand around the globe.
Hashtags can benefit your Proprietary Audience Development efforts by:
Exposing you to bigger audience. Hashtags for events enable attendees and sponsors alike to join the conversation and gain some FOLLOWERS from those who follow the hashtag and like what you say (e.g., #SXSW).
Connecting conversations. FANS and FOLLOWERS can propel their favorite TV shows to far greater notoriety through the use of hashtags. The Game of Thrones (@GameOfThrones) episode featuring the infamous “Red Wedding” on HBO (@HBO) generated the network’s highest recorded number of social interactions—largely thanks to tracking the #GoT hashtag.17
Fueling creative campaigns. JELLO (@JELLO) did this with its provocative #JELLOfml hashtag. The campaign surprised consumers who tweeted #fml (“fuck my life”—a commonly used hashtag among people having a really bad day) with a reply that encouraged them to “fun my life” (hence the #JELLOfml hashtag). A website in support (www.jellofml.com) showcased all of the AMPLIFIERS and garnered a lot of media attention.18
Hashtags can also backfire. Just Google “hashtag PR disasters” and you’ll see what I mean. What you need to know is this: Hashtags alone do not create proprietary audiences. However, as part of a well-constructed creative campaign, they can drive SEEKERS, AMPLIFIERS, and JOINERS into your arms.
Resource Recommendations:
AllTwitter (@AllTWTR)—www.alltwitter.com
Social Fresh (@SocialFresh)—www.socialfresh.com
Tactic #25: Events
What better place to build and engage proprietary audiences than events that draw audiences all their own? Chances are that your company participates in one or more of the following types of events:
Community events
Concerts
Conferences
Networking events
Parades
Sponsored events
Sporting events
Tradeshows
Tweet-ups
Webinars
You can build proprietary audiences at events by:
Providing entertainment. Nearly every professional sports team now engages ATTENDEES with opportunities to see their texts and tweets up on the Jumbotron. These aren’t just time-fillers; they’re a great way to create SMS SUBSCRIBERS and Twitter FOLLOWERS.
Offering clear CTAs. Events are a form of Paid or Owned Media. As such, you want to leverage them in all the ways you would your commercials or website—with appropriate CTA encouraging ATTENDEES to become website VISITORS as well as SUBSCRIBERS, FANS, and FOLLOWERS.
Participating in the social conversation. Use official event hashtags in your Facebook posts, Instagram photos, and tweets to attract AMPLIFIERS as well as potential new FANS and FOLLOWERS.
Providing a service. There’s no better way to disseminate information at large events than SMS. Consider providing a time-limited SMS program where ATTENDEES can opt-in for agenda, safety, and weather updates via SMS. While short term, these SMS SUBSCRIBERS can quickly become AMPLIFIERS due to the value of the service you provide.