I have come across several blogs on Twitter Contests; most bloggers love the idea of running a hashtag contest in order to increase brand visibility, expand follower base and enhance engagement. However I have a mixed bag opinion over this one. While bigger brands manage to achieve their objectives, most times smaller brands end up inviting contest freaks who little care about their brand. As a plethora of success stories with bigger brands are already available online, my blog will be focused on edifying smaller brands.

Who are Twitter Contest Freaks?

A typical contest freak is the one who includes the following phrases in his/ her Twitter bio – ‘Contest Lover’, ‘Contest Freak’, ‘Contest Sharer’, ‘Love Contests’, ‘Contest King’, ‘Trends Contests’ and so on. They follow handles that sent out contest alerts. Most times they have more than one handle; one is exclusively reserved for participating in contests. Over time, they create buddies who are also contest lovers. As per Followerwonk, over 400 Tweeple in India have the keyword ‘Contest’ in their bio.

What do Twitter Contest Freaks Do?

Every morning they scan for terms like ‘contest alert’, ‘RT to win’, ‘contest coming soon’, ‘upcoming contest’ and so on. They will check the contest timing and prizes being offered. Based on their convenience and attractiveness of prizes, they will decide to participate. They will actively tweet, RT and invite their contest buddies. They make best efforts to invite about 35 – 40 participants so that they can easily trend the contest. If contest participants increase (over 100), a few of them decide to drop out (why work in a competitive environment?). However, if there are many prizes (in terms of numbers) and an expensive grand prize they will hold on! In addition to prizes, contest freaks love short-duration contest (60 - 90 minutes) with fewer questions (5 – 10 questions).

They will tweet very highly about the brand and will keep reminding the admin that they deserve to win. They are generous with RTs and they may send out tweets where they include contest hashtag multiple times. Together they manage to create a trending topic and will notify as soon as they spot the hashtag on Twitter Trend Chart. If they are unable to trend the contest, they may start tweeting that the brand is trending in their hearts (LOL… they really do that!). They eagerly await contest results and once winners are declared, a few of them will unfollow the brand handle; a few will complaint over losing; a few may even tweet negative about the brand.

How does a Hashtag Contest Help Smaller Brands?

Most times the brand manages about 100 – 120 quick followers; however not all shall participate! Many of these drop out to participate in other contests which are more attractive. Usually the last question will see a drop in participation when compared with that of the first question. If the contest trends successfully, the brand can expect regular twitter users to explore tweets using the trending hashtag. Twitter algorithm is so designed that it lists the handle that has created maximum mentions/ impact for a particular hashtag and hence your brand handle will show up prominently. This will further encourage regular twitter users to visit your handle and learn more about you or socialize with you. These are the users who are important to the brand. Once the contest is over, within a few minutes the hashtag will fade away from Twitter Trend Chart; however if the hashtag is creative more Twitter users may participate and the hashtag will continue to trend a little longer. However the handle of your brand will slowly fade away from hashtag search. Now here is a BIG dilemma – should a smaller brand coin a creative hashtag or should they include their brand name in the hashtag?

While many emphasize on creativity, I would recommend brand name inclusion in the hashtag. It’s simple, bigger brands can afford creativity but smaller brands should be focused on creating awareness! A creative hashtag will stay longer on the Twitter trend chart; however your brand name hashtag will create better awareness.

And the Final Word…

I have penned this blog after studying over 100 contests run by smaller brands across industry sectors. By large, what I have summarized is applicable; however as far as marketing or social media goes, there is no rule of thumb. Smaller brands should definitely use Twitter contests; however they should be more informed while allocating budget and realistic with desired outcome.