Picture this. You’re sitting in the crowd of a TV show and out of nowhere… You are gifted a brand-new car!
Impossible? Well, not quite. Lucky members of Oprah’s audience experienced this back in 2004.
The excitement and joy they experienced forged lifelong fans of the show and gained fiercely loyal followers. Now, imagine bringing this same kind of joy and exhilaration to your own brand’s customers.
If you’re eager to create unforgettable moments and foster unwavering loyalty among your valued clients, we have the perfect solution. Ecommerce giveaways!
Of all of the ecommerce promotion ideas, this is the one that has been the first choice of big and small brands.
It also brought a lot of gains to our agency clients – which we’ll talk about later.
So keep on reading and find out how to set this ultimate marketing action that helps increase lead acquisition and even immediate revenue.
Why Should Your Ecommerce Brand Run Giveaways?
Running a giveaway can be a game-changer for your brand. It offers numerous benefits that can significantly impact your business:
a) Boost Brand Awareness: Ecommerce giveaways create buzz and excitement around your brand, reaching a wider audience through social sharing and word-of-mouth.
b) Increase Customer Engagement: Engaging contests and interactive entry mechanisms encourage customers to actively participate with your brand.
c) Attract New Customers: Giveaways attract potential customers who may not have otherwise discovered your brand.
d) Strengthen Customer Loyalty: Rewarding loyal customers with exclusive prizes fosters a stronger bond and encourages repeat purchases.
e) Grow Email List and Social Media Following: Entry requirements often involve following your social media accounts or subscribing to your newsletter, helping you expand your online community.
f) Generate User-Generated Content (UGC): Encourage customers to share content featuring your products, providing authentic testimonials and reviews.
g) Drive Sales and Conversions: Ecommerce giveaways can lead to increased sales, especially if you offer exclusive discounts to participants.
Set Up Ecommerce Giveaway: A Step-By-Step Guide
If you want your online store giveaway to be successful—by that we mean bringing new customers, engaging your previous audience, and increasing revenue—you need more than just a giveaway post.
Here’s how to set up, run, and monitor an effective ecommerce giveaway:
- Define Your Marketing Objectives—Determine what you want to achieve with the giveaway – increased sales, social media growth, or brand awareness. That makes it easier to be sure if the strategy worked and can be repeated.
- Choose the Right Prize—Select a prize that aligns with the interests of your target audience and motivates them to participate.
- Decide on Entry Mechanism—Choose a simple and engaging entry method, such as liking a post, sharing content, or subscribing to your newsletter.
- Set Entry Rules—Establish clear guidelines for eligibility, entry periods, and any additional requirements.
- Plan Promotion Strategy—Promote your store’s giveaway across your website, social media, email newsletters, and other marketing channels.
- Monitor and Measure—Track the performance of the giveaway, including the number of entries, engagement, and traffic generated.
- Select a Winner— Randomly select a winner and announce it through an exciting reveal.
- Follow Up—Engage with participants after the giveaway, express gratitude, and consider offering a discount code for future purchases.
- Analyze Results—Assess the impact of the giveaway on your brand’s objectives and use the insights for future improvements.
- Repeat and Improve—Repeat successful giveaway campaigns, incorporating lessons learned to optimize future efforts.
Ecommerce Giveaway Ideas
What do we talk about when we talk about ecommerce giveaways?
Because, we’ve dealt with more than one type as an ecommerce agency. And there’s something for whatever your industry is, or whatever your resources are.
So let’s dive in.
Collaborative Influencer Giveaways
Influencer marketing is a powerful tool for increasing brand visibility and engagement.
Collaborate with influencers within your niche to host giveaway campaigns. This not only expands your reach but also boosts credibility and trust among your target audience.
💡 Use Case: Fashion brand Revolve collaborated with multiple fashion influencers to host a giveaway.
Each influencer featured a unique outfit using Revolve’s products on their Instagram, and participants entered the giveaway by following both the brand and the influencers and tagging friends.
The grand prize was an all-expenses-paid trip to Coachella, where the winner attended VIP events with influencers.
User-Generated Content (UGC) Contests
Encourage participants to share photos or videos using your products with a branded hashtag.
The allure of winning a prize motivates customers to create authentic content, promoting your brand to their followers and beyond.
💡Use Case: GoPro launched a UGC contest called “Million Dollar Challenge,” encouraging users to submit their best action and adventure footage captured with their GoPro cameras.
The winning entries were featured in GoPro’s annual highlight reel, and the winners received a share of the $1 million prize pool.
Referral Reward Giveaways
Leverage the power of word-of-mouth marketing with referral reward giveaways.
Encourage your existing customers to refer friends and family in exchange for exciting prizes. This creates a viral loop, driving new customers to your eCommerce platform.
Caption Contests
Caption contests are a fun way to engage your audience and spark creativity.
Post a captivating image and ask followers to submit their most creative captions. The winner receives a prize, and you gain increased interactions on your posts.
💡 Use Case: Online retailer ModCloth ran a caption contest on social media, posting a humorous photo of one of their products.
Participants left funny and creative captions in the comments section. The winning caption was turned into a slogan for the product, and the winner received a shopping spree on ModCloth’s website.
Daily Flash Giveaways
Generate a sense of urgency and excitement with daily flash giveaways.
Offer small but desirable prizes to winners selected randomly from participants who engage with your daily posts. This strategy keeps your audience coming back for more.
💡Use Case: Amazon Prime Day is a prime example of a flash giveaway event.
Amazon offers limited-time deals and discounts on various products for 48 hours, encouraging customers to make purchases during this short period.
Anniversary Celebrations
Mark your eCommerce store’s milestones with special anniversary giveaways. Reward your loyal customers with exclusive offers, discounts, or even free products. Express gratitude and build long-term customer loyalty.
💡Use Case: YouTube celebrated its 10th anniversary with a “A Decade of YouTube” campaign, inviting users to create videos highlighting their favorite moments on the platform.
The winning video was featured on YouTube’s official channel, and the creator received a trip to VidCon and exclusive access to meet famous YouTubers.
Quiz-Based Giveaways
Educate and entertain your audience with quiz-based giveaways. Craft industry-related quizzes that are not only fun but also informative. Participants with the correct answers are entered into the prize draw, encouraging participation
💡 Use Case: National Geographic hosted a quiz-based giveaway to promote their documentary series.
Viewers were invited to answer questions related to the series, and the winners received a National Geographic Expedition trip to a destination featured in the documentary.
Seasonal Giveaway Extravaganza
Celebrate special seasons and holidays with a giveaway extravaganza. Tailor your prizes and themes to suit the occasion, capturing the festive spirit and drawing more attention to your brand.
The most fruitful season to run giveaways has to be Christmas season. We’ve written more about running Christmas giveaways, so check out some more examples there.
💡Use Case: Starbucks’ holiday-themed giveaway, “Starbucks for Life,” allowed customers to earn game plays and collect virtual stickers by making purchases during the holiday season. Customers had the chance to win free Starbucks products for life or other instant prizes.
Social Media Giveaway: Tag a Friend
Boost your organic reach and following by hosting tag-a-friend giveaways. Instruct participants to tag their friends in the comments to enter the giveaway. This extends the reach of your content and introduces your brand to new potential customers.
💡Use Case: Outdoor gear brand “The North Face” ran a tag-a-friend giveaway on Instagram, where participants tagged friends and shared outdoor adventure photos with the brand’s hashtag. The winner received a fully paid expedition trip to a famous national park, accompanied by a well-known outdoor enthusiast.
Behind-the-Scenes Access Giveaways
Offer exclusive behind-the-scenes access to your eCommerce operations. This gives your audience a unique insight into your brand and fosters a deeper connection. The feeling of exclusivity encourages participation and engagement.
Use Case: Disney offered behind-the-scenes access to the making of one of their animated movies. The winner and a guest received a tour of the animation studio, met the voice actors, and even got a voice role in the movie.
Partner with Complementary Brands
Collaborate with complementary brands to host joint giveaways. By pooling resources, you can offer bigger and more enticing prizes, attracting a larger audience and maximizing exposure for both brands.
💡 Use Case: L’Oreal and Vogue partnered for a joint giveaway. Participants entered the contest by following both brands on social media and sharing their beauty transformation stories using L’Oreal products.
The winners received a VIP experience at a Vogue fashion event, including meeting top designers and receiving a luxury beauty package.
Charitable Giveaways
Demonstrate your brand’s commitment to social responsibility by hosting charitable giveaways. For every entry or share, donate a portion to a worthy cause. This not only helps the community but also enhances your brand’s reputation.
💡 Use Case: TOMS Shoes conducted a charitable giveaway called “One for One.” For every pair of shoes purchased, TOMS donated a pair to a child in need.
Customers were incentivized to participate in the giveaway, knowing that their purchase would contribute to a good cause.
Limited Edition Product Giveaways
Create a sense of urgency and exclusivity by offering limited edition products as prizes. This motivates your audience to act quickly and increases the perceived value of the giveaway.
💡 Use Case: Apple launched a limited edition iPhone giveaway to celebrate its 10th anniversary. The exclusive iPhone featured unique design elements and was signed by Apple’s CEO. Only a few lucky winners received this highly sought-after collector’s item.
Monthly Subscription Giveaways
Entice your audience with monthly subscription giveaways. Offer free access to your premium services or products for a limited time, giving potential customers a taste of the value you provide.
💡Use Case: Birchbox, a beauty subscription service, offered a monthly giveaway where subscribers could win a year’s worth of free subscription boxes. The winners received a curated selection of beauty and grooming products each month for an entire year.
Giveaway Platforms: Should You Use It?
There’s only one answer—a resounding yes.
Having a giveaway platform is crucial for several reasons:
- Efficient Management: A dedicated giveaway platform streamlines the entire process, from setting up the campaign to selecting winners and delivering prizes. It saves time and effort compared to manually managing entries.
- Professional Presentation: A well-designed giveaway platform enhances your brand’s image and professionalism. It provides a polished and user-friendly interface for participants, increasing trust and credibility.
- Easy Entry Mechanisms: These platforms offer various entry methods like social media actions, email subscriptions, and user-generated content submission. This flexibility attracts a broader audience and encourages higher participation.
- Automated Validation: A reliable giveaway platform automatically verifies entries, ensuring compliance with rules and eliminating fraudulent or invalid submissions.
- Data Collection: Giveaway platforms gather valuable participant data, such as email addresses and social media handles, which can be used for future marketing efforts.
- Seamless Communication: The platform enables automated winner notifications and announcements, simplifying communication with participants.
- Fair Random Selection: A reputable giveaway platform ensures fair and unbiased winner selection, boosting transparency and trust among participants.
- Real-Time Analytics: Comprehensive analytics provided by the platform help track the performance of the giveaway, offering insights for future campaign improvements.
- Integration with Marketing Tools: Many giveaway platforms integrate with popular marketing tools, allowing seamless data transfer and audience retargeting.
- Compliance and Legal Considerations: A reliable giveaway platform can help ensure compliance with regional laws and regulations governing sweepstakes and contests.
Which Giveaway Platform Should You Use?
Okay, we must be a little biased here.
Many of our clients have great experiences with Vyper.io—a giveaway platform created by our CEO Jack Paxton.
This giveaway platform helps generate awareness and helps you generate everything from the landing page to key performance indicators.
With Vyper.io, it’s possible to increase your leads with a simple click of a button.
As said, giveaways can increase sales, generate immediate revenue as the giveaway participants also become email subscribers, entering a proper e-mail flow and get discounts on products, making them save money and increase brand loyalty.
If all this information wasn’t convincing enough, we’re about to show some practical examples.
Ecommerce Giveaway Case Study: Three In-House Examples
If you’re dwelling on hosting a giveaway, we’d recommend you to stop and just do it.
We’ve had tremendous success with hosting giveaways for our clients and we’ll share just a couple of examples.
The process was simple:
- Plan the eCommerce giveaway strategy and think of the prizes (usually first, second, third prize)
- Set up a sweepstake (can use a platform like Vyper)and create a landing page
- Promote it using paid social ads, influencer marketing, and content marketing
- Watch as your eCommerce giveaway starts organically spreading and going viral, with users hopefully resharing it, posting videos, and more
- Pick a winner and make sure that winner shares the prize with the community
Now, are you ready for some in-house ecommerce giveaway examples with results?
Keep in mind that below we’ve picked some of the currently smallest brands with the main goal of growing their email lists and user base – which they can later retarget with pinpoint email campaigns.
#1 Ecommerce Giveaway Example: Lot22 Olive Oil Co
With a delicious bucket of prizes, this olive oil & balsamic company reached thousands of contestants.
Results:
Number of Entries: 3079
Conversion rate: 6%
E-mail open rate: 56%
Ecommerce Giveaway Revenue: US$5.386,54
#2 Ecommerce Giveaway Example: Surf’s Up Candle Giveaway
What’s best for a scented-candles brand to giveaway multiple products and get new ones out there, collecting more customers? That’s what Surf’s Up Candle did.
Results:
Number of Entries: 3144
Conversion Rate: 7%
E-mail Open Rate: 34%
Ecommerce Giveaway Revenue: US$783
#3 Ecommerce Giveaway Example: Nastee
Nastee is an Australian apparel brand committed to fun, parties, festivals, and good college life. Their giveaway was irresistible, with giveaway prizes including festival tickets!
Number of Entries: 791
Conversion Rate: 7%
E-mail open rate: 37%
Ecommerce Giveaway Revenue: $2859
Give Giveaways a Go!
Ready to start running ecommerce giveaways for your own brand?
Remember, giveaways aren’t just about freebies. They’re the secret sauce to brand buzz, loyalty, and even making your competitors go green with envy.. ocassionally. They can also be an element of promoting a noble cause, why not?
Time to turn those clicks into customers, engagement into excitement, and followers into fans!
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