First things first: why run a Christmas contest on social media?
- Socia media has more than 4.59 billion active users worldwide. That’s a big potential audience.
- Christmas giveaways are a tried and tested method of increasing engagement with your online community.
- A Christmas social media contest is fast. Fast to create, fast to run, fast to select the winners. If you need a quick and easy campaign idea, then this is the place to start.
Christmas contest ideas: Comment based giveaways on Facebook and Instagram
We’ve already mentioned the importance of engagement. But that doesn’t just mean likes and follows. In fact, the Facebook and Instagram algorithms reward you for high-quality interaction instead: comments, photos, and original ideas.
However, it’s easy to improve the quality of your interactions with users. Getting original comments is as simple as asking your followers an open-ended question. Take a look at these Christmas contest ideas.
James Deakin collaborated with a dessert manufacturer looking to promote their products right in time for Christmas. James ran a quickly and easy Christmas Facebook contest for his online community. “Who would like to light up their Christmas table with this?” was the question which Facebook users had to answer. Easy, right?! It was a great engagement booster and a fantastic example of product promotion.
Another creative example comes from a local church:
They asked their followers to share their favorite part of the Christmas story. Everyone has a different answer to this question, which was designed to appeal to churchgoers. Next, the brand used the Facebook Giveaway app by Easypromos to choose one comment at random. The lucky winner received a free ticket to a Christmas show.
If you have time to plan a more complex giveaway, then check out this posrt with more Christmas promotion ideas. Learn how to run seasonal surveys, photo contests, and challenges online.
- Choose an image to post: a cheerful Christmas scene, or a photo of the prize.
- Then ask an open question that will get your followers’ attention.
- Remember to choose a desirable prize. Think of Christmassy treats, a sample of your products, or tickets for a seasonal event.
Share a festive video to get your Christmas contest going
Everyone loves Christmas music, right? Whether it’s carols or the traditionally terrible pop songs, we all have a favorite soundtrack for the season. Not to mention festive poems like The Night Before Christmas, or iconic video adverts such as the annual Coca Cola campaign.
Share a song, story, or animation with your Facebook followers. This style works especially well for promotions aimed at kids and families. For example, check out this post from baby products brand Chicco, to see a great example of a Christmas Facebook contest.
Looking for longer lasting engagement? How about an Instagram Advent calendar with daily giveaways? Here’s how you can launch yours, Easy!
They created a cute animation with the Chicco Christmas elves. For a chance to win one of three teddy bears, their followers had to watch the video. Then they answered a question about the video in the comments. The giveaway brought some Christmas magic to Chicco’s Facebook page and was hugely popular with customers.
Apart from boosting their social media engagement and attracting new followers, the brand also strengthened customer relationships.
Look closely and you’ll see that Chicco included a short link to terms and conditions in their post. Every online giveaway must include legal details. Fortunately, Easypromos has a free tool that will create and host your T&Cs in minutes.
Set a Christmas challenge
One more of our Christmas contest ideas, this one a bit more competitive! It’s easy to share puzzles, riddles, and guessing games. Just create a post with an attractive image, that sets the challenge and explains the prize. Then choose your winner from among the comments which get the answer right.
We loved this example from French chocolate brand De Neuville. They ran a series of Christmas puzzles throughout the festive season. In the example below, they posted a panoramic image on their Facebook page. Users could “look around” the panorama to help Santa Claus find the correct Christmas route.
The panorama “map” was marked with different emoji. So once users knew which way Santa Claus should go, they commented with the emoji he should follow to stay on track. And of course, they had the chance to win some delicious festive treats. It created great engagement within the online community and really entertained the audience.
Organize a Voting Christmas Contest and boost your brand
A Christmas voting contest is a great idea and there are plenty of topics to carry it out. For example, every year the home decor and Christmas tree brand Balsam Hill runs its Christmas Photo and Video Contest. Participants have to send a photo or video of their decorated Christmas tree for the chance to win up to £250 in gift vouchers. When filling out the registration form, users have to specify the Christmas tree model in the photo, as well as a brief description of how they decorated it. It is also worth mentioning that Balsam Hill is running similar contests in all the countries where the brand has a presence: the UK, the Philippines, and Australia.
Check our Christmas contest DEMO below. It’s easy to set it up and it will help you boost brand awareness and also to associate your products with the Christmas campaign. With a Voting Contest app, people can enter and submit their images, videos, and stories, or just access the gallery with all the content and vote for the best one.
So now you know: Make a Christmas contest on social media is easy! Contact us vialive-chat if you have questions about Christmas Facebook contests, our team is ready to inspire and assist!
