Using competitions to drive traffic

Using competitions to drive traffic (0)

| 11/07/2008

Running a competition is a quick way to drive traffic to your site. Prizes can be as varied as one of your company’s goods and services to something incredibly lavish. Assuming the marketing is well done, the larger the giveaway – the more traffic you’ll drive to your website.

When considering a competition, here are a few tips to help you take full advantage of the traffic potential. One good piece of advice is to create an online submission form instead of receiving entries via email. The form can be tailored to maximize the information you gather for marketing databases and tracking purposes like postcode, gender, likes and dislikes.

Plan the competition far enough in advance to build some buzz and exploit the promotional and public relations opportunities. Make sure you send out traditional press releases as well as the usual announcement on the website. Since competitions draw in new customers, it is very important to highlight the brand and the company’s message on all related materials both online and off. You may want to consider partnering with other companies to lower the overall cost and pool resources.

Don’t forget to write the fine print. Consulting the local laws regarding competitions is a sound action. You may be surprised with some of the rules and regulations you will need to accommodate.

Finally, keep in mind that the most popular competitions are fun. This will build the free marketing that comes with word of mouth.

tags: Web 2.0 ,  Online Marketing ,  Web Strategy