Now I am going to assume you are already on social media and are happily posting away. But how many social media promos have you run recently?
Some….
A few….
Ummm none?
Well let me suggest you need to run a Facebook promotion every week! Why? Well you will get more engagement, build your community, recruit more followers, increase loyalty, increase leads and make some extra sales in the process.
But if you are stuck as to what to run, well here are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing:
1. Like or Comment
It doesn’t get much simpler than this – tell people to like and/or comment on a particular picture, post, video, status, link for them to win a prize or to go into a draw to win something. Encourage your fans to share with their friends too.
So if there was one particular post you wanted to stand out, such as a special promotion, get people to like, comment or both for a chance to win a free water bottle or some small promo item.
2. Caption Contest
You can really have some fun with this one – post a photo or image and ask people to add a caption and the best answer wins a free cap.
You could have a photo of you with a funny facial expression, a trainer or member doing a funny pose and get people to give ideas as to what the caption could be.
The funniest answer gets a free branded towel
3. Fill in the blank
Again a very simple idea – display a photo or just ask people to compete the sentence – for example:
- When you are training, what are you really thinking __________________
- My perfect healthy meal is ______________________
- The thing I enjoy most about training with you/your gym is ___________________
- The one bad habit I want to kick is _________________________
- One of my New Year resolutions is to __________________________
- 2017 is the year I am going to ___________________________
- My favourite way to train is to ________________________
Give the winner a small gift voucher to use at your facilities.
4. Ask a question?
Give people a simple question and the first correct answer wins a free smoothie – how about:
- Have a before and after photo of a member and ask people to guess how many kilos the person has lost
- Ask what has more calories – wine or beer?
- Ask what class burns more calories – BodyAttack, Cycle or Zumba?
- Get people to guess the age of a person (hmmm may need to be careful with that one)
- Ask people what their favourite class is and why?
- Ask a general question as to why they love training with you or what is their favourite way to stay motivated.
Maybe have a “Trivia Tuesday” where every Tuesday you ask a question to win a free 30 minute PT session or fitness assessment.
5. Post a selfie
Photo contests are always popular, get people to take a photo of themselves either working out, wearing one of your caps or branded items, before or after shots, or their favourite fitness motivation quote or just living healthy to win.
You can ask people to email the photo to you or to post it directly to your Facebook page.
Or show a pre and post workout photo to show how hard they are working.
If you have a branded car, get people to take a snap of your vehicle and post it on a social media network to win. Or if you have your own brand of clothes, get them to take pics of them out and about wearing your brand.
Or just get people to upload their favourite gym/motivation quote for “Monday Motivation.”
Be creative! Selfies not only offer useful engagement but also bring out fun, compelling images!
6. Crowdsource
If you are looking for some ideas, why not run a crowdsource contest?
This is a great way to get fans to participate while also giving you some new ideas to help with a business problem. This contest gets fans to play a role in helping you make your final decision.
It could be as simple as:
- Pick a new logo or tagline for your business
- Suggest new class styles to introduce onto the timetable
- Ask people to name a new smoothie or menu item
- Ask for ways your gym could be improved
By getting people involved, they will feel more connected with you and feel proud that they can add real value to your business.
7. General discounts
Maybe just run a general discount – sign up on a particular weekend and receive 15% off a 12 month membership or get an extra month for free.
Look at working with some local businesses on this one such as a health food store, beauty salon, photographer, supplement store, clothes or sporting store. Offer your fans a local business discount for a certain time period and you do the same for their fans on their Facebook page.
8. Voting
With voting contests, ask users to submit photos to your hashtag and then have other people vote on the best photos through likes or comments. The photos could be of anything to do with your business. Whoever gets the most likes or votes wins! It’s that simple.
This kind of contest encourages users to get more deeply involved with your product, as they have a stake in pushing your reach wider. That kind of investment can offer exponential results.
A voting contest is more involved than other promos so if you want your fans and followers to do something for you, you need to offer something compelling as a prize; the bigger, the better (maybe a free month or three free PT sessions). It’s also critical that you spell out the rules explicitly, include detailed instructions on how to enter the contest right on the image, allowing people to share the contest across platforms without losing the parameters.
9. Flash sale or video live
Now this could work really well with SnapChat or Instagram stories which only last for 24 hours. Hold a “flash sale” or a discount only for 24 hours to create a sense of urgency and excitement.
What you may not know is that Facebook Lives are great for hosting (or promoting) contests and giveaways. It can really generate buzz about your contests. Announce the contest in the description of your Facebook Live, and mention it at the beginning of the broadcast. Viewers must stay tuned to the end to find out how to enter!
10. Hashtags
A lot of social media (especially Twitter and Instagram) is built on hashtags. In a hashtag contest, ask people to post photos and use a particular hashtag. Then you just search for the hashtag and choose the winner.
This kind of contest is particularly good for branding purposes and getting your name out there. The reach doesn’t come from you but from your followers’ audiences (their friends and their friends’ friends). It can also be an effective way to build up the number of your fans and followers.
So as you can see, there is no end to the type of contests, promotions and giveaways you can do on social media. The only limit is your budget and imagination!
