How to Use Sweepstakes to Boost Your Business

If you’re looking for an attention-grabbing way to drum up interest in your business and attract new customers in 2022, a sweepstakes promotion could be the way to go. This might seem like an old-school approach to some, but a number of leading brands regularly make use of sweepstakes to boost awareness and engage their target audiences in new and exciting ways. Some use sweepstakes to signal-boost a product or campaign, while some use them to expand their email lists and others use them to increase customer loyalty. If you want to use sweepstakes to boost your business, here’s what you need to do to make it happen.

Promotion is Key

With any successful sweepstakes campaign, promoting the competition effectively is essential. Make sure that your customers all have an opportunity to participate by signposting to the sweepstakes at your online or in-store checkout. Run campaigns across all social media channels with details about the sweepstakes, cost of entry, and promotion. Better yet, encourage sharing by offering additional sweepstakes entries to anyone who posts about your competition. You could also partner up with another brand to amplify your sweepstakes competition and attract a broader audience.

Learn from the Pros

Did you know that there are dedicated sweepstakes websites where customers can enter into sweepstakes games for a shot at a collective pot of cash? So-called sweepstakes casinos allow customers to spend virtual coins on sweepstakes entries, which can be used on slot games, sporting event wagers, and more. These are different from most business sweepstakes since they involve customers wagering a stake that goes towards a collective prize pool. Nonetheless, if you’re setting up your own sweepstakes, you should read this expert guide to how sweepstakes casinos work, as it nails down all of the best ways to curate a competition that people will actually want to participate in.

Provide Bonus Entries

With any worthwhile sweepstakes, never stop at one entry per person. People always want to have the best shot at winning, so give them that chance by offering additional entries for certain tasks. For example, you could offer an extra entry for any person who successfully gets a friend to join. You could even offer multiple options, such as 5 entries for anyone who shares your sweepstakes announcement on Instagram, plus 10 free entries to anyone who tags a friend. This way, players can feel like they can increase their odds of success, while you get some more free promotions.

Give a Prize That People Want

This might seem obvious, but it bears repeating. Too many businesses will use a sweepstakes competition to get rid of unwanted stock or showcase low-value items. Instead, you should do your research to find out what your best-selling items are and which items your customers are most likely to go the extra mile for. Invest in a prize package that offers multiple top-shelf items or free services that will not only grab the attention of existing customers but also pique the interest of people that have never purchased from you before.
Running sweepstakes is not just a way to promote your business, it’s also a lot of fun. Make sure to keep things lighthearted and use the opportunity to give something back to your customers.