Contest management software is used by marketers and others to run sweepstakes and competitions for awards, for promotional purposes.
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Contest management software is used by businesses to market sweepstakes and competitions that offer rewards and benefits. These products are mainly used by marketing teams for promotional purposes. They allow businesses to engage with existing and potential customers, which helps build a stronger connection with them. Additionally, creating a competition can help reach a wider audience and attract people who hadn’t heard of your business or product before. News of your competition or sweepstakes can spread online or by word of mouth and bring in new participants. This helps increase overall brand awareness.
Being able to host competitions through your platform is also a useful tool in that it allows you to capture and store customer data. Participants will likely answer a variety of questions including if they’ve ever shopped or heard of your business before. This data can be used to inform marketing and promotion strategies for your product or service. Contest management platforms are typically user-friendly for marketing and IT end-users alike.
Many of the products, such as Award Force and OpenWater, offer sweepstakes, contests, raffles, and award programs. They are user-friendly for both the business and those participating which allows for high levels of interaction and retention. They also do most of the work when it comes to the distribution of contests through different outlets and devices which is incredibly time-saving for the business.
Most contest management software will offer the following features:
Awards Management
Blind Judging
Campaign Management
Email Marketing
Entry Fee Processing
Entry Management
Forms Management
Fraud Detection
Judging Management
Scoring
Skills Contest
Social Promotion
Support
Sweepstakes
Voting Management
Additionally, the types of customer interaction contests offered by most vendors include:
Voting Brackets
Video Upload contests
Sweepstakes
Referral contests
Polls
Ballots
Surveys
Before investing in a contest management platform, consider the following factors:
Ease of Use. It's important to have a contest management software program that's easy to use and understand. This applies to both the business using the software and the customers entering the competition. If the platform is too confusing, this may sway individuals away from using it again, which could result in lost potential customers. Be sure the software is easy to use and understand.
Social Media Integration. Today’s digital age is dominated by social media. This means there’s a strong chance the general public will learn about your competition on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Therefore, the contest management software you choose must be compatible with different types of social media platforms.
Contest management software products offer a variety of different pricing ranges and options. Some vendors, such as ShortStack and Wishpond, offer free versions. They will have certain limitations such as the number of leads generated from contests.
If you’re looking to pay a little more to access advanced features, prices range between $34 to $500 per month. Most, if not all, vendors will offer a free trial version which is highly recommended to try before purchasing.
Some of the best contest management software products include:
