Today, our Business Analyst and former Support Team manager, Shannon Kelley, answers another common question that we hear from clients.
Help! I’m on a budget and need free or low-cost contest ideas. What types of promotions can I run?
Shannon: Excellent question! Running local contests and sweepstakes on a tight budget is a common concern, and one that can be easily solved. Here are a few suggestions to help you run engaging campaigns without breaking the bank.
One great way to secure prizes or additional funding for a contest is going to be to pull in sponsors. This gives you an opportunity to build or maintain a relationship with a provider that you could work with again in the future. Sponsors such as local businesses can help provide prizes and bring in revenue for your station in exchange for the advertising that will be shown to your existing database. You can even sell multiple sponsorships for one promotion and offer a your audience items in a prize pack with a common theme, such as wedding packages and travel packages. For example, you can work with a florist, a photographer, a caterer, and/or a venue to put together a high-value prize package that’s sure to get lots of attention from soon to be brides and grooms.
If you haven’t secured a sponsor or want to offer something more personal to your brand, consider experiential prizing. Your audience listens to you on the air, opts into your emails, participates with your website, and goes out to events that you advertise because they like and trust your brand. Your diehard fans will jump at the opportunity to get station swag, be featured on the air or on your website, or win a tour of the station with a meet and greet with your personalities.
If you’re unsure what your audience might like best, just ask them! Post a poll of ideas on your site and have them vote on what they’d be most excited to win. Their answers may surprise you and give you even more great prizing options that won’t break the bank.
For more ideas on ways to save time and resources when creating online content, check out this recent blog post.
