How to Market and Promote a TapKat Sweepstakes with Social Media
The more people who know about your TapKat sweepstakes, the more successful it will be, which means that your job is to find creative and motivating ways to share it with as many people as possible.
Don’t worry — there’s no need to reinvent the wheel on this journey! Plenty of nonprofits have found stunning success as they market their sweepstakes, and today, we’ll look at some top strategies to market and promote your TapKat sweepstakes via social media.
In our last blog post, How to Put Together a Successful Email Marketing Campaign for Your TapKat Sweepstakes, we took a look at why email marketing is the most effective way to solicit donations for your sweepstakes, and how to plan your email marketing campaign.
→ For information about email marketing, be sure to read our previous blog post.
Today, let’s shift gears and tackle the social media component.
The most successful sweepstakes are those that consistently market their campaign through multiple avenues on an ongoing basis throughout the duration of the sweepstakes, so remember: we’re playing the long game here!
The most successful sweepstakes are those that consistently market their campaign through multiple avenues on an ongoing basis.
How to Leverage Organic Social Media
For the purpose of today’s post, let’s zero in on organic social media engagement. “Organic” social media engagement is any interaction that occurs without a paid promotion, meaning that you’re not paying to advertise, “boost”, or promote your posts — and you’re not running ads.
(Side note: running ads is a very, very good idea and can be incredibly effective at raising funds with the sweepstakes. However, this post is not about paid social media promotions.)
Leveraging your nonprofit’s current social media accounts is a cost-effective way to raise awareness for your sweepstakes, and it uniquely presents the opportunity for your posts to be shared beyond your existing audience.
Sharing your sweepstakes on social media uniquely presents the opportunity for your posts to be shared beyond your existing audience.
Of course, the level of engagement you receive with your sweepstakes posts will depend on how active you are on social media and how engaged your followers are already. At a minimum, we recommend weaving in 1-2 social media posts per month, although this can change based on the platform you’re using.
Facebook and Instagram: Posting 1-2 times monthly on your Facebook and/or Instagram pages is a good way to keep the sweepstakes top of mind without overwhelming your followers. However, if you use the stories feature, you can post as often as once per week (stories disappear off your profile after 24 hours).
Twitter: This platform demands a much higher frequency of posting in order to be impactful. If you’re already active on Twitter, you can post up to 2-3 times per week, just as long as the sweepstakes isn’t the only thing you’re posting. If you use Twitter less frequently, 2-3 times per month is best.
LinkedIn: Plenty of professionals on LinkedIn are looking for ways to support nonprofits and important causes. On LinkedIn, emphasize the positive outcome the sweepstakes is having for your organization, and post any time you have news to share (such as hitting a landmark raise amount, announcing that there is limited time left to enter before the winner is pulled, revealing a new promo code, etc.) In general, posting on LinkedIn 1-2 times a month is a good guideline.
TikTok: If your organization is already using TikTok, you can post as frequently as once per week about the sweepstakes.
Remember, these are just our recommendations. No one knows your audience better than you do, so make adjustments as you see fit.
How to Use Hashtags to Attract New Followers
For a social media newcomer, hashtags can seem strange and confusing. Isn’t the “pound sign” something that’s only supposed to live on a telephone keypad? Not anymore!
Include hashtags in every single post to help new people find your content.
One of the most exciting aspects of social media is the power of hashtags to attract new people to your content. Virtually every social media platform allows users to “follow” hashtags of their choosing so they can connect more easily with content they find relevant.
What does this mean for your sweepstakes?
Include hashtags in every single post to help new people find your content.
Be thoughtful about which hashtags you choose, and look them up before you use them to make sure that the hashtag means the same thing to you as it does to others.
Good examples of hashtags for sweepstakes include:
#philanthropy
#charity
#nonprofit
#fundraising
#fundraiser
Be sure to also use hashtags that are relevant to your nonprofit. If your nonprofit is an animal shelter, explore hashtags like:
#animalrescue
#rescuedog
#rescuecat
#petrescue
And use hashtags that are specific to your prize. If you’re doing a drawing for a Ford Mustang, think:
#FordMustang
#Mustang
#Mustangfanclub
#Mustanglife
...you get the idea.
If you’re not sure where to start with hashtags (or where to go after you’ve established a few good ones), try visiting Best-Hashtags.com for research on most-used hashtags that are similar to the ones you’ve already selected. Whichever ones you select, be sure to type them into Instagram and Twitter to check that they’re relevant to your content.
In all social media posts, be sure to include:
A compelling image or video of your prize…
Copy that clearly explains what your prize is…
Language that encourages the viewer to take action and enter…
A link back to your TapKat sweepstakes page.
And for bonus points, include…
Hashtags to help new people find your content...
Explain how their donation will benefit the organization (who it will help).
To the right is an example of a successful Facebook post by the Sprint Car Hall of Fame, which ended up raising over $723,000 with this particular sweepstakes —>
Notice how the image clearly communicates the prize and the date? The language is concise and directs the reader to enter the sweepstakes. They get bonus points for including text on the image itself so readers don’t have to put much effort into understanding exactly what is being promoted.
Make your posts clear, colorful, and easy to read, and you’ll see organic results when you market your TapKat sweepstakes on your social media channels!
Interested in seeing other examples of social media posts that work? Reach out to the TapKat team to learn more about how social media can support your sweepstakes, and what our platform can do for your nonprofit.
