As a pet living expert and influencer, product giveaways are one of my favorite ways to help pet-friendly brands reach new audiences and win new customers. When done right, they’re great for generating traffic and links back to your site, boosting social engagement, and creating word-of-mouth buzz for your brand.
For example, I recently worked with both World’s Best Cat Litter and Tuggo Dog Toys to create giveaway campaigns that resulted in a total of over 1,000 new email subscribers between the two brands! In addition to the opt-ins, we were able to drive traffic to their Pinterest and Instagram accounts, and create conversations about their brands.
However, a successful giveaway doesn’t “just happen.” It requires time, thought, and planning. To make sure your giveaway is a win-win-win for you, your giveaway partner(s), and their audience, take time to answer the questions below before you start.
What is the goal of the giveaway?
Before doing anything else, ask yourself what the purpose of the giveaway is and what you want to accomplish. For example, is your goal to increase sales or just create awareness for a new product? Are you looking for more fans on social media or more traffic to your site? Pinpointing specific goals will help you when choosing partners, deciding on the giveaway criteria, and measuring outcome.
Who should you partner with?
Within the pet space, pet brands have the opportunity to work with a huge variety of bloggers and other social influencers, ranging from large, media-sponsored influencers to specialized micro-blogs. While it may be tempting to just target those with a high number of page views, don’t overlook smaller bloggers who have the attention of a particular niche you’d like to reach. Just as important as numbers is whether they have a highly engaged audience, and whether that audience aligns with your overall marketing goals.
Also, keep in mind that running a giveaway can be complex and time-consuming. So it helps to work with a blogger or influencer who has experience in managing giveaways. Before signing on the dotted line, make sure you understand their terms and conditions, and whether they require compensation.
What product will generate the most interest?
Unless you’re using the giveaway to promote a new product, give serious consideration to which of your products will generate the most excitement. Not surprisingly, high value items are usually the most popular. However, price isn’t the only factor, especially if your company has a truly unique product or if it’s considered a “must-have” amongst pet parents.
How will the giveaway be promoted?
Work with your giveaway partner(s) to clearly establish how the two of you will promote the product together. Understand where, when, and how often the influencer will promote the giveaway. And remember, successful giveaways are a team effort; so offer to help promote it on your own site and social media channels too. Provide your partner(s) with talking points, images, and suggested social media posts. Not only will it make their life easier, it will help keep your message clear and on-point.
How will entry criteria be established and tracked?
One of the things I love best about giveaways is that they offer so many ways to drive engagement on a variety of platforms. Using a giveaway app or online software allows you to designate different ways people can enter. For example, if your goal is to increase your Facebook fans, offer additional chances to win whenever someone likes your page.
There are a number of giveaway platforms available, and most bloggers have their favorites, but I personally use Gleam. It’s easy for both admins and entrants to use, and it offers a detailed report at the end of the giveaway with statistics on opt-ins, engagement, and more. Great information for measuring the outcome of your efforts!
Ready to reach thousands of new pet lovers with a successful and effective product giveaway? I’d love to help! Click here to learn more and get started.
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