When clients approached us about new social contests, eight times out of ten they asked for a photo contest. At the time of writing, a particularly popular variation was the “selfie contest“.
These photo contests can encourage sharing around a brand or product, combining several characteristics of effective social contests:
- user-generated content: images uploaded by participants
- content interactions that can increase campaign visibility, such as photo sharing, image posts, effects, filters and masks
- a clear creative concept that helps people take and upload photos using their smartphones
- the potential to involve different social channels; the original article considered Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
The following metrics help assess performance and return from this type of campaign:
- registrations
- number and quality of images uploaded
- shares
- votes and likes
- views of uploaded content
- time spent by participants
- images per registered participant
- invitations to friends
- tweets generated by the contest
We have seen photo contests missing an important element: a registration form.
In those cases, the brands appeared more focused on published images and hashtags than on acquiring leads.
Where lead generation matters, registration is important for several reasons:
collecting participant data creates contacts for future, permission-based activity through channels such as newsletters
without an email address, follow-up depends on the social platform’s messaging permissions and limitations. The original 2015 article highlighted the restrictions then affecting Instagram and Facebook pages
a structured entry journey records acceptance of the terms, image permissions and any declarations required by the campaign, helping reduce disputes
