Everybody loves getting a chance to win products and services from the brands they love and one way of doing this is by running a contest on social media. They allow businesses to reach larger audiences while generating buzz around your brand. According to a study by Tailwind, including contests in your strategy can help you grow your following 70% faster on platforms like Instagram.

In this article, we’ve created a list of seven fun social media contest ideas to implement for the holiday season – check them out!

1. Ask your followers to share their best holiday snaps

Transform your followers into ambassadors of your brand! Engage them to submit their best holiday snaps based on a certain theme. For example, host a holiday recipe contest where participants must upload a photo of their favorite dish or recipe for the season. Another way is to invite your customers to dine in your restaurant and upload photos of themselves wearing ugly sweaters to join the contest. This will encourage them to show some Christmas spirit and create buzz around your restaurant.

Make sure to clearly explain the mechanics of the contest, such as how the final winner will be chosen. You can get more visits to your page by having people vote for their favorite entries with the most likes or comments, leading participants to even share the photo with their social circles to like their photos to win.

2. Add an element of humor and pick the most unique caption

The caption contest is an effective way to showcase your brand’s personality and attract followers that are potentially interested in your company. Share a funny photo related to your product or service and ask your customers to come up with interesting captions.

It’s important to clear up exactly what type of caption you want from your followers, and this may include things like length or general theme. Don’t forget to award and share the best one on your social media accounts. Further increase engagement by encouraging your other followers to “like” the comment that they feel best represents the image.

3. Encourage your customers to get creative with your products

People love winning prizes and they’re willing to promote your brand in order to do so. Getting social media users to share brand content on your behalf will help you boost visibility, raise awareness, and keep your brand on top of their minds.

In 2016, Starbucks launched the ‘Red Cup Design Challenge’, inviting their followers to showcase their creativity by designing the brand’s plain red holiday cup and posting their entries on Instagram. A total of 13 designs were selected from 6 countries that were later launched on the holiday cups served in 75 countries.

4. Build excitement with a 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway 

A multi-day Christmas giveaway for 12 consecutive days can build momentum and anticipation for your brand’s seasonal offerings and gifts as you select a few lucky winners. Generate buzz about your giveaway by posting about it as early as the first week of December. Give people an idea of what you’ll be giving away each day, such as a free dessert, coupon, or a limited-edition product you’ll be offering for the season.

In order to build more interest in your page, you should create entry requirements such as following the page, tagging friends, and reposting your posts. People who are tagged by someone are likely to look at your page and later join the contest by tagging family and friends too. In fact, 94% of social media users share the content right after entering the contest.

5. Team up with another brand to create the ultimate prize basket

If you want to leverage your Christmas giveaway, why not join forces with a brand that has complementary products. For instance, a foot apparel store can get together with a cosmetics brand to motivate users to create the perfect Christmas look!

Boost your reach and number of participants by combining your resources to offer more valuable and compelling prizes than you might have been able to offer separately. Start a hashtag that your followers can use to enter your giveaway and make your brand trend.

Final Thoughts

The holiday season is one of the most important periods for all businesses. It’s a good idea to build hype around your contest before it launches and give people enough time to participate in your social media contest and giveaway.

From the Como team, we wish you a wonderful holiday season!