What are sweepstakes?
Sweepstakes, also called giveaways, are a promotion in which prizes are given to a winner (or winners) selected only by chance. Giveaways do not require a purchase otherwise they would be considered a lottery (which requires a license to operate), and they are different from contests, which are considered a game of skill.
With sweepstakes, a brand or multiple brands (capped at 8) create a landing page and prepare a prize. The landing page is shared with their audience(s), and anyone who enters for a chance to win agrees to receive marketing communications from the brand(s) running the giveaway. The brand(s) can then market to all giveaway entrants, converting them into readers or customers.
Why run a giveaway?
1. Engage & activate your audience: Giveaways can help liven up your email and social content, give back to your followers and involve them in a digital brand experience. Deepen your connection with existing audiences or re-engage inactive customers with giveaways that showcase your brand’s products or services. Solo Sweepstakes are excellent for generating exposure and driving new purchases from existing customers.
2. Capture first-party data: Collect additional data-points and opt-in options from your email and social audiences. Achieving strong ROI is harder than ever with traditional paid marketing channels like Facebook and Google, forcing businesses to look elsewhere for customer growth and audience development. In the ever-changing landscape of social media platforms and privacy regulations, collecting first-party data directly from consumers through giveaways is a reliable, effective, and economical growth strategy.
3. Grow your audience: Sweepstakes are one of the most capital efficient and expedited ways to grow your brand's email & SMS lists, as well as social media audiences. Team up with like-minded brands in the DojoMojo network to co-market and acquire high-quality leads directly from their audience.
4. Build a highly engaged SMS list: Not only will running giveaways activate your email and social audience, but you can also capture fully compliant SMS opt-ins at an accelerated rate. SMS is a powerful marketing medium and is quickly becoming a top revenue channel for digital brands: An SMS subscriber is worth 3-4x the value of an email subscriber; Consumers who receive SMS marketing in concert with email and other channels are 40% more likely to convert to paying customers. Whether you’re just getting started with SMS or you’re already a text messaging pro, sweepstakes make it easy to find and nurture your best customers faster and more efficiently.