In an effort to grow your social media presence and drive sales for specific products, have you considered the viability of social media contests? Theyve risen in popularity over the years and tend to provide a pretty decent return on investment. But there are a few things you need to know before getting started.

In order to understand the value and efficacy of social media contests in the current marketplace, you have to first understand gamification and how it moves people to action.

Gamification is essentially the process by which game-like elements are used to get people to perform certain actions or engage in particular activities. As the name suggests, it comes from the word game, in which players are engaged in an experience with the purpose of accomplishing a goal and being rewarded with some sort of prize or recognition.

One of the simplest forms of gamification is getting a stamp every time you buy a coffee. Collect ten stamps and you get a free drink. Its like completing a level and getting a reward, copywriter Ben Brown says. Online, it could be the use of gaming elements like leaderboards, progress bars, and loyalty points. These tricks tap into our natural instincts: competition, exploration, curiosity.

But why does gamification work? What is it that draws people in and makes them willing to participate? There are a number of elements in play:

Gamification can be used in any number of ways. One of the more traditional examples is an airline frequent flyer program or a punch card you get at an ice cream shop. But todays leading brands powered by the internet and new technologies have taken gamification to new levels. Specifically, theyve turned to social media contests as the perfect solution for engaging audiences and enhancing visibility.

Social media contests have quickly become an industry best practice and for good reason. As digital marketing expert Mikey Moran explains, its a good way to get some serious marketing power behind a new product launch. And it works even better for big brands with established audiences. But what makes a contest successful? Lets break it down into 5 Ps for easy recall.

If youre able to get each of these five things right, youll thrive with social media contests. Its not easy, but theres a clear path to success if youre willing to follow it.

Now that you know which factors matter the most, lets turn to the real meat of the issue. Which types of contests provide the optimal level of participation and visibility? Check it out:

Its 2017 and theres nothing quite like a good selfie to get people excited. Over the past couple of years, selfie contests have become quite popular. These contests generally revolve around entrants taking a selfie in a certain situation or environment and then tagging that image with a contest hashtag. Entrants love these contests because theyre trendy. Brands love them because theyre highly personal. When an entrants followers see the selfie in tandem with the hashtag, theyre more likely to have a positive view of the brand.

The Axe 2014 Kiss for Peace campaign is a good example. They called on social media users to post selfies of them kissing and tied it into their make love, not war slogan. It was highly successful and the winners were given a trip to Berlin.

Trying to get pictures and videos from people isnt always easy. Some of your audience will oblige, but there are others who wont no matter the prize. In these situations, something a little more casual can produce better results.

Voting contests are very popular. They dont require a whole lot of effort on either side and usually get high participation rates. They also allow you to get to know your audience better through how they vote on particular topics. Lays has had success with this in the past, letting customers vote on new flavors.

The more you can get people involved in the contest, the more value it will provide. Think about it. If youre just asking someone to repost an image, there isnt much effort involved. But if you actually ask your followers to take the time to create something, theyre much more vested. Artistic contests subscribe to this theory that more involvement is better.

The classic example of an artistic contest is the Starbucks White Cup Contest. The contest, which has been held a couple of times, asks customers to take the iconic white cup and add their own unique design, uploading to social media with the hashtag #WhiteCupContest. This contest has been hugely successful over the years, largely because it requires such an investment from each entrant. As a prize, the winners cup was turned into a limited edition Starbucks reusable plastic cup. Could you do something similar?

Gamification triggers a dopamine rush. Its that simple, Brown believes. Leveling up, gaining a reward, getting feedback or achieving something all gives you that little rush. Thats dopamine in your brain. Its your mind telling you to do it again because it feels good! And thats when addiction kicks in.

While there are plenty of ways to gamify your audience, social media contests are one of the best. Not only do they engage your followers and give them something to be excited about, but contests serve the purpose of enhancing visibility and expanding your brands reach. Your followers may think its about them, but it serves the ultimate purpose of strengthening your brand.

Study what other successful brands have done and be honest with yourself: What can you realistically do with your resources and audience? Start small and work your way towards bigger and better contests. With the right foundation and a proper understanding of gamification you can take even the smallest business to great heights.

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Give These 3 Social Media Contests a Try to Boost Sales - Small Business Trends