How do you measure and analyze the results and ROI of your social media contests and giveaways? (2024)

Focusing on engagement metrics is key when measuring the success of social media contests and giveaways. While generating leads or boosting sales is important, tracking likes, comments, and shares can reveal valuable insights into how your audience is interacting with your content. By identifying which types of content resonate with your audience, you can adjust your strategy accordingly. Don't forget to choose metrics that align with your goals, but also consider the value of engagement metrics.

Clarity on what exactly you're looking for and in what order of priority should be defined clearly before you start planning the contest. So let's say you want followers, reach and engagement, be very clear on what order you want that in. If it's followers above all else, then you can optimise the terms of your contest (for e.g., follow to enter), the promotion of it (skewed strongly towards audience most likely to follow), and then measure the followers you get once the contest closes. Make it a point to go back after a week or two, to see how many unfollowed. That will give you the true number.

Having clear and set goals from the beginning is so important. So many times we don't know how a campaign went because we never established what we were looking to achieve in the first place.

Defining your goals and metrics is like setting a destination on a GPS. If you don't know where you want to go, you'll end up nowhere. Use case for tracking a social media contest could be a fashion retailer running a giveaway to promote a new product line. It can track:*Number of likes, shares, comments on the giveaway post to measure engagement*Number of website visits and sales generated by the campaign to measure conversion rates*Analyze reach of the campaign to see how many people were exposed to their brand via the contest.By tracking/analyzing these KPI's, the retailer can determine contest effectiveness. And make informed decisions for future campaigns, such as adjusting their prize offerings, or targeting techniques.

Selecting the appropriate influencers is vital for the success of your social media contest or giveaway. It's crucial to find influencers whose audience aligns with your target demographic and who have high engagement rates. Ensure that you establish clear guidelines and expectations for the influencers and provide them with the necessary resources to create quality content. Tracking and evaluating the performance of your influencers is also crucial to optimize future campaigns. Choosing the right influencers can expand your reach, increase engagement, and generate leads.

I believe that the information above is incorrect. You can run competitions on Facebook without a third-party app. Mentions are not permissible as an entry requirement for Meta (Facebook and Instagram).See: https://www.facebook.com/policies_center/pages_groups_events/Point 7 says, "Your promotion must not require or incentivise participants to share, repost, tag others or in any other way publicise your promotion." See: https://help.instagram.com/179379842258600Point 2 says: You must not inaccurately tag content or encourage users to inaccurately tag content (example: don’t encourage people to tag themselves in photos if they aren’t in the photo).

Keeping your followers engaged throughout the campaign is incredibly important. You can build your community by engaging, answering questions and reaffirming the T&C's at each point of the campaign. If you are running an ongoing contest / competition, consider sharing your winner or the winnings, this helps build trust and confidence in your campaign.

I strongly recommend including the following text as part of T&C's. "Please be vigilant to potential scams/fake profiles that may try to comment or contact you, particularly when it comes to competitions. We will never ask you to click on a link and will always contact competition winners by direct message."I have encountered 'spamming' situations on more than one occasion whereby a fake page has been set up, and individuals who have followed the entry mechanics have been sent messages and invited to visit a website page where personal details are requested.

Here are some of the reasons why running a social media giveaway is important:Boosts engagement: When people enter the giveaway, they are likely to share it with their friends, family, and followers.Increases brand awareness: When people enter the giveaway, they become more familiar with your brand and what you have to offer.Grows your audience: Social media giveaways can help you reach new audiences and attract more followers. Generates leads and sales: By offering a prize that is related to your business or product, you can attract people who are interested in what you have to offer.Builds customer loyalty: When you give away something of value to your followers, you show that you appreciate their support.

In addition to analyzing the quantitative metrics, it's crucial to evaluate qualitative factors. Gather feedback from participants, examine the quality of user-generated content, and identify common themes or trends. These insights can help refine future campaigns, better understand your audience, and create more impactful, engaging content that resonates.

When evaluating a campaign, I find it extremely helpful to allow the goals set previously to define the level success achieved. All to often naive campaigners might focus on metrics that were not part of original goals to determine success after the campaign wraps. For example: A campaign might have thrived in engagement, but did the campaign achieve the right click-through (a goal)? In my experience I have realized the benefit of also reminding the team (and leadership) of the pre-approved goals as I explain success and ROI. It’s a simple exercise that can pay dividends.