Tuesday, October 16, 2018

8 basics of High Converting Websites

Nowadays, conversion is perhaps the most crucial aspect of online marketing. Despite the fact that almost everyone already seems to have a preference and another company which they have aligned themselves with, it is critical to convert visitors to your brand. It is always a tight race and competition is tough. Therefore, a good website—one that is eye-catching and piques the interest of a visitor—plays a pivotal role in business success.
Your website is the heart of all your marketing efforts and the core of your online presence. Attracting potential customers is excellent, but you need to have a strategy to convert them into a paying customer once a visitor lands on your website. To increase the chance of conversion, you must understand:
  • your ideal customer
  • their intent
  • their challenges
  • what they expect from your website
Every customer’s journey starts by researching online, and your brand’s website must guide potential customers through their journey. You should design it to tell them an engaging story, to highlight a problem, to provide the solution, to call them to action, and to promise a happy ending.
To design a marketing-activated website that converts visitors into customers, try to keep these 8 best practices of high-converting websites in mind.

  1. Provide fresh and relevant content

Developing a solid content strategy is key to ensuring your website stays relevant and valuable to your audience. To create valuable content, you must first understand what your target audience needs. Consider creating content that answers questions which are already asked by your visitors. Use sincerity, authenticity and emotion to connect and empathize with your audience.  If you want to make your content noticeable, it is crucial that you make sure your posts and pages are SEO-optimized with metadata, smart keyword usage, and other on-page elements.

  1. Showcase your offerings

Even if you don’t do anything else, you should at least, showcase your services and products on your landing page. You have only a couple of seconds to make the first impression, so make it count. Professional photos and a clean copy will help you put your brand’s ideal version forward. Descriptions and pictures of products should be useful, detailed and appropriate. Potential customers will think again about buying a product from you if the photos are fuzzy even though your website design is great. Still, you should be careful about not overloading your website with graphics. Select a few good images and feature them on the homepage.

  1. Design for customers, not for designers

If web designers are left to their own devices, they will craft a website for design’s sake, not necessarily for the customer.  Nevertheless, in the new era of SEO and mobile-friendly sites, those websites can’t deliver what is required in the market. A user-friendly website has an impressive yet simple design. It’s easy to navigate, quick to load, and efficient in guiding the customer towards conversion.

  1. Place visible calls-to-action

If the website is missing a strategically placed call-to-action (CTA), it will still fail to convert visitors into customers even if it has the perfect piece of content balanced with flawless SEO tactics will. Visitors will read your fantastic content, but unless you push them in the right direction, they might go to a different website where your competitor will be pleased to assist them. A well-located CTA will drive visitors to take the next step. It is wise to use only 1 CTA per page to avoid confusion. Don’t forget that the CTA should create a sense of urgency that compels readers to act.

  1. Do not compromise on speed

People are not patient, and slow-loading web pages will most probably result in a higher bounce rate. Pages which take longer than 5 seconds to load, make visitors frustrated, and it gives them a reason to search elsewhere.
If you want your web pages to have better loading speed, you should consider removing any unnecessary content, such as large images or videos which take extra time to load. Compressing images will also reduce loading time. Finally, utilize browser caching for storing cached versions of static resources to speed up your pages significantly.

  1. Aim for user-friendly navigation

Easy navigation can make a tremendous difference in your customer’s journey, and conversion usually depends on whether visitors can find what they are looking for or not. When designing your website’s navigation, place each section where it feels natural and will be most comfortable to see. Try to restrict the number of menu items to 7 or fewer. If your brand logo is in the header (where it should be), link it to your homepage so that visitors can revisit it without difficulty.

  1. Establish trust and credibility

Potential customers are less likely make a purchase or to enter their contact information if they suspect that your website is not that secure. Show your trustworthiness by highlighting reviews, your privacy policy, case studies, security badges and customer testimonials. Make sure visitors can find your contact information easily so that they know how to reach you. All of these measures will help you establish credibility and trust as a reputable brand.

  1. Communicate your value proposition

Use compelling language to demonstrate and to convince readers how your brand will resolve their problems or add value to their lives. What benefits can customers expect to enjoy by signing up for your service making a purchase? What features make your products better than others in the market? You will see an increase in your conversion rates if you can attract your visitors with your value proposition.

Getting visitors to convert to your brand is not an easy or a small achievement, but rest assured, the 8 practices mentioned here will definitely give you some headway towards that goal. But even after you’ve followed all of these practices, review your website regularly to create a list of changes and optimizations. Be innovative in delivering the best experience possible, and never stop iterating. Optimization is an ongoing process, but the rewards are well worth the effort.

24 KEY CHARACTERISTICS YOUR FACEBOOK AD IMAGES SHOULD HAVE

When it comes to the creative aspect of your Facebook ad images, it is important to note that it does not necessarily need to be all about the offer. Make sure your creative reflects the marketing message that is in your copy.
Visuals such as images and videos are what grab our attention while swiping and scrolling through our News Feed. Reaching people on Facebook means being able to communicate visually, and to do so quickly. Facebook favors visual content over written content because time has proven that visuals are what users want to see. Plus, visuals are more easily remembered, and they are far more likely to be shared.
Ads grab your attention with bright, complementary colors and an artfully eye-catching arrangement of your products.
Moreover, your ads and images must be relevant to the audience viewing them. If your ads do not resonate with your audience, there is little chance they will take a 2nd look at your ad, let alone engage with it. Irrelevant ads are a complete waste of money and time. Tell your audience why they must engage with your ad. What value are they going receive and what makes your offer better than the rest? Your value proposition is the “why” behind the action you request.
In addition to that, including a clear and relevant CTA (call to action) in each ad in order to motivate your audience is also necessary. You cannot blame them for not taking action if you do not ask them to do so. Make sure you make it direct, clear and, if possible, include a sense of urgency by using words like, “buy now,” or, “shop today and save 25%.”
There is a lot of thought that goes into this process, and there are a number of important things to think about whenever you are working on your creatives. We have gathered 25 essential characteristics that Facebook ad images should have.

1. SHOW PEOPLE USING YOUR PRODUCT

Your ad should look like it belongs in someone’s news feed. If your audience is used to seeing updates from friends and family, make sure your ad does not alienate them before they have a chance to see what it is you are offering. Show people using your product rather than merely displaying your product by itself.

2. CREATE DIFFERENT FACEBOOK AD IMAGES FOR DIFFERENT PERSONAS

If you have not created buyer personas, start there. If you have, make sure to create separate Facebook ad images for each of your different personas. Personas will definitely help you to understand exactly who it is you are trying to reach and how to do so most effectively.

3. USE TARGETING TO NARROW YOUR AUDIENCE

This can seem out of place when talking about images, but listen up: You have defined a clear target for your audience (or at least you should have). Now it is time to create imagery that is ideally suited to that target. One-size-fits-all does not exist in Facebook advertising. Custom targets call for custom Facebook ad images.

4. USE IMAGES OF FACES


Facebook will tell you itself that ads with faces in them receive a lot more engagement. That is also true for Instagram, and almost anywhere we post images. We seem to relate more with ads when we can see people’s faces. It is where most of us look when we first meet a person, and it helps us to connect with them straight away. It does the same for Facebook ad images.

5. URGENCY

As a general trend, people tend to hate missing out. This instinctive loss dislike helps us to take advantage of opportunities in our surrounds, but it also gives us an uncomfortable feeling when we might be missing out. Setting a deadline on your offer and even including the words “limited-time offer” can help those sitting on the fence to make decisions.

6. KEEP YOUR FACEBOOK AD IMAGE FREE OF EXCESSIVE TEXT

Facebook used to suggest advertisers include less than 20 percent text overlay on their images. Their updated recommendations advise against using any text overlays at all or using as little as possible to get your point across.
While some advertisers do not need text overlays to reach their audience, many find it more useful to include at least a short message. We recommend including a small amount of text and using Facebook’s tool to test whether or not your image will be approved, penalized, or disapproved. Just upload your finished media file, and Facebook will give you a level of approval based on its guidelines.

7. MAKE YOUR MESSAGE THE FOCUS

There should be an especially important part of your image that communicates your message, and you should make sure to crop tightly around that part of the image to ensure your audience sees it.
Ask yourself, “Without reading any copy, would you understand what this image is advertising?”

8. INCLUDE SOCIAL PROOF

Social proof means using real-life testimonials, and including these in your ads can be very powerful. Use well-crafted customer testimonials—gleaned from blog post comments, tweets, reviews, and Facebook posts—to create compelling and unique ads which show what real people think of your product.

9. ONLY USE HIGH-RESOLUTION IMAGES

Nothing looks worse than a low-quality picture in your ads. For this reason, make sure to use the highest quality images possible to help your ads seem their best.

10. SIMPLER IS BETTER

Think about how fast users are scrolling through their news feeds. Then think about how long time do you have to communicate your message. Therefore, the simpler the image, the faster you can get your point across. Do not miss out on opportunities by making your audience think too hard about your picture.

11. EFFECTIVE FACEBOOK AD IMAGES DISPLAY BENEFIT

Remember the fundamentals of effective Facebook ad mentioned above? This is a critical point, and it applies to the image as well. As your image is the first thing your audience will see, it must display the benefit quickly and precisely.

12. KEEP YOUR COPY AND GRAPHICS CONSISTENT

That’s a problem we see all the time. You would be surprised how many Facebook ad images have nothing to do with their copy and vice versa. You are trying to create a cohesive ad that influences your audience to take action, so make sure that there is not any disconnect between what they are seeing and what they are reading.

13. LIMIT YOUR ADS TO ONE CTA

This can sound confusing, but let’s tie this back to the introduction section above. A call to action is necessary, but using more than one in a single ad can be confusing. Do not offer a free e-book to download and ask your audience to “shop now.” Choose the appropriate call to action when constructing your ads as well.

14. PEOPLE LOVE FREE STUFF

People quickly take notice of the word “FREE” in any advertising. We love the idea of getting something for nothing, so use it in your ad imagery as much as you can. Do not worry about giving your product away for free though! Something as easy as including a FREE download, a FREE consultation, or FREE shipping could be enough to improve the engagement rates of your ads dramatically.

15. USE NUMBERS TO GET YOUR POINT ACROSS

Most of us are conditioned to pay attention to numbers in ads to help them understand its value more instantly. Make sure to use any number that helps support your ad’s benefit such as: “3 for 1” or “10% off!”

16. USE A SCROLL TEST

When you are coming up with ad creative, make sure to see what competitors are doing well and what you want to avoid. Try a “scroll test.” Scan your feed to see what ads make you want to stop and look. Note the reasons you stopped on each and try to replicate their success in your images.

17. TEST A VARIETY OF COPY

The copy in your ads may be letting down otherwise stellar Facebook ad images. Be sure your copy resonates with your audience by testing various versions before you change your images. That is especially true for the text overlays, as it is the copy which people react to first. Try running several variants simultaneously (A/B or split testing) and devote your budget to the most successful one.

18. TRY USING MULTIPLE IMAGES

In some instances, the use of multiple images can improve the efficiency of your ads. This is especially true of e-commerce ads where various products can be tastefully grouped to create a compelling Facebook ad image.

19. IMMEDIATELY DISCERNABLE MARKETING MESSAGE

While an outstanding image may capture someone’s attention, a compelling ad image must also get your marketing message across instantly. There should be zero time between catching someone’s eye and their understanding of what your ad is presenting.

20. USE COMPLEMENTARY/CONTRASTING COLORS

Try using contrasting or complementary colors to get people’s attention when crafting your Facebook ads.  Using 2-3 complementary colors will help your ad stand out. You can also want to shock someone into looking at your ad by using deeply contrasting colors. Remember, the whole point is to get attention. That is said, once you have it, you only have a short time to get your marketing message across. Make the most of your attention-grabbing colors by using text overlays, an image, and copy that keep people hooked.

21. STICK TO 1-2 FONTS

Too many fonts can make an ad image feel confusing, hard to read at a glance and overwhelming. Viewers tend to shy away from things that make them feel uncomfortable, even if they cannot pinpoint exactly what is causing them to feel that way. Stick to a single font or add a complementary secondary font.

22. APPEAL TO BOTH RATIONAL AND EMOTIONAL JUDGMENT

Most of us use the mix of our rational and emotional judgment to make decisions. That said, your Facebook ad images should appeal to both sides to be most effective. Let’s look at an example.
An ad for an e-commerce shoe store can advertise, “countless winter styles to look your best on any time,” to appeal to their audience’s emotional side while including, “plus quality and prices which will make you a certified Smart Shopper” to appeal to their rational side.

23. EMPLOY THE PSYCHOLOGY OF COLOR

Most top creatives understand the physiological stimulus generated by each color. Different colors create specific feelings when we see them. Also, particular demographics tend to appreciate specific colors. You can reach your audience more profoundly by using the colors they prefer to look at. While this isn’t a foolproof plan, the concept is backed by plenty of studies and is worth testing in your images.

24. LOCATION-SPECIFIC GRAPHICS

This tip is extraordinarily powerful for local businesses. When people see places they know in Facebook ad images, they’re far more likely to connect with them. Therefore, showcase your area in your local ads and help viewers to take notice of your local business. Location-specific pictures can also be helpful when porting travel or destination-based products.

CONCLUSION

Designing incredible Facebook ads is not as complicated as you might have thought. While it’ll take months, possibly even years, of tweaking and testing before you have a fully optimized campaign, you will find the effort worth it. By implementing these simple techniques, you will see your Facebook campaigns and, by extension, your business, flourish.

Sunday, October 14, 2018

11 Sneaky Ways To Cheat At Sweepstakes Slots

Sweepstakes slots machines are some of the most productive games on the casino floor for both the gamblers, the house, and cheaters. Even though they are electronic, sweepstakes slots bring as many cheaters as the traditional table games like roulette.

Sweepstakes slots can rake in the most money from posts, but they can also read some of the most massive jackpot payouts. That’s why it’s right that niches can target these machines cheats to get a big win.

Let’s check out some of the naughty tricks used by those cheeky scum bags to beat the casino:

Cheat Code

Gambling authorities are there to ensure that the gaming industry is operating correctly and fairly.

Engineers design gaming machines so that they can be monitored and audited while also delivering quality gameplay. However, what happens when an engineer decides to rig the codes for their advantage?

The infamous slots cheat Ronald Dale Harris is what happens. The Nevada Gaming Commission engineer did precisely that.

For years, he cheated machines by knowing the source codes, and it wasn’t until his partner won $100,000 on a keno game in 1998 that the scam was discovered.

Shaved Coins

Everybody loves a good; clean shave don’t they? Well, cheats adore it when coins are cut.

As technology advanced, slot machines began to use a light sensor to register payment. In a large number of devices, the optic sensor worked separately from the physical comparator.

That meant that if a shaved coin were sent down at the same time as an object that matched the shape and size of the required stake coin, the shaved coin would be returned while the other purpose would land in the machine and start play.

Fake Coins

Fake coins were used by con artist Louis “The Coin” Colavecchio to scam casinos for years until his capture in 1998.

He was released in 2006 and quickly re-started his cheating. It was a matter of months before he was unsurprising, sussed again.

Yo-Yo

No, you do not want to take this one literally. I mean, a yo-yo would never fit down a coin slot.

However, these slots cheat is all about the technique.

A string is connected to the coin, the coin is sent in the machine until it triggers the source of the game, and then the member brings the currency back up using the line. Now, this technique is all but irrelevant thanks to the march of technology.

It’s a real classic though.

Light Wand

Tommy Glenn Carmichael is the person of the most famous slot cheats in gambling records. He is tied for the light caduceus.

Sorcerers such as David Copperfield, Dynamo and David Blaine might have the capacity to create the image of something happening, but Carmichael would use his small wand to make jackpot wins magically grow out of thin air.

The light wand would completely blind the visual sensor on slot machines so it would be weak to work out how many coins had been inserted into the computer so would not know when to give out or how much.

This meant Carmichael could turn base wins into massive payouts.

Piano Wire

This is an oldie, but a goody in the world of sweepstakes slots cheats.

A group of men worked together at the Caesars Boardwalk Regency casino in Atlantic City back in 1982. One man opened the targeted slot machine and attached 20-inch long piano wires to the whirring guts of the game.

The lines could then be used to jam the timer that held the wheel rotations.

This enabled the group to form the spins. They hit the $50,000 but, sadly, their whole scam had been filmed, and the winning member was caught before he left the premises.

Top-Bottom Joint

This is one of the most intelligent ways of cheating at slots and was big with scammers in the 1970s and 1980s.

They used a special tool that was split into two parts. A top (a metal rod with its end bent in the shape of a “q”) and a bottom (a long wire).

By putting the bottom in through the coin chute and the top through the coin slot, the cheats were able to jam the machine and force the game to release all the coins it had stored.

Big wins ahoy!

Monkey Paw

It’s that man Carmichael again. He was a total genius! In cheating terms, apparently.

He was the author of the “monkey paw.” After examining out new programs on a video poker machine, he finally built the right contraption. It was amazingly easy.

He got a guitar line and connected it to a bent metal rod. He would push it into the machine’s air drain and wiggle it around until he snapped the trigger switch for the coin hopper. Cue the flood of coins.

Bill Validator Device

A handy yet straightforward slots cheat. This is a little thing that is wrapped around a recommendation to fool the sweepstakes slots machine into believing it is accepting a $100 bill when in reality it is just taking a little $1 statement.

This is the scam that was thought up in a seedy bar out in the Nevada wilderness by Billy-Joe and Uncle Fuzz.

Computer Chip Replacement

Dennis Nikrasch changed the slots cheating game with this concept.

He bought a slot machine and messed about with it in his garage to figure out its flaws. He worked out the computer chips inside the devices could be re-programmed to be manipulated to pay out jackpots on tap.

Nikrasch ordered a load of these chips, hired a team of scammers, got hold of a bunch of slot machine keys and started a reign of scamming that would bleed casinos dry for years. And he did it all just by switching the independent chips for his manipulated chips.

Software Glitch

How many times have we seen a casino decline to pay out a jackpot due to a ‘software glitch’?

The most famous incident happened in 2015 when 90-year-old grandmother Pauline McKee, from Illinois, won $41 million on a Miss Kitty slot machine at the Isle Casino Hotel Waterloo.

She tried to claim the casino initially in 2012, but her final request was denied three years later. Unfortunately, historical examples are the reason for the casino winning this event.

Cheats have manipulated software glitches for decades. By playing a specific pattern of stakes and games members could throw the machine and trigger a bug that pays out the jackpot.

Many sweepstakes slots cheat served from this over the years, but now many jackpot conquerors are also being denied their amounts because of it.

Enter Online Sweepstakes Games Like a Pro: How to Get Started

01  Getting Started: Your Primary Steps to Entering Online Sweepstakes Games


Are you new to the online sweepstakes games hobby and looking for some tips on how to get started? If you can try the fun and lucrative sweepstakes games hobby, this guide will make it easy! And if you are already a sweepstakes games fan, keep reading; these tips force help you win even more awards.

What Elements Do You Need to Start Entering Online Sweepstakes Games?
The popular opinion about entering sweepstakes games online is that it’s so easy and cheap to begin, and the payoff can be so significant! You only need three pieces to get started entering sweepstakes games online:

  • A computer.
  • An internet connection (the faster, the better).
  • Sweepstakes games to begin.

Optionally, you may want to get a form-filling application similar Roboform to speed up your sweepstakes games entries. It’s not necessary, but it makes entering quicker, more accurate, and more enjoyable. Roboform has a free choice that you can try to understand if you like the program.

Step 1: Think About the Information You will Use to Enter:

Before you dive into entering online sweepstakes games, take a moment to consider the data you will be joining those sweepstakes games forms.

For instance, you can avoid obstacles having your winning affidavits approved if you use the same name on your record form as on your official ID (like your driver’s license or state identification card).

Most people use their home locations to enter. P.O. boxes should be avoided when feasible because some sweepstakes games disallow them, and many prizes cannot be transferred to them.

It would be better if you also began a dedicated email address for sweepstakes games entry. This can help you recognize sweepstakes games win more efficiently, defend your privacy, and avoid scams.

For more information and more things to think, check out how to fill out sweepstakes games entry forms.

Step 2: Find Prizes You would Like to Win

Following, you will need to find sweepstakes games to enter. You can find lots of online sweepstakes games right here. You might enjoy starting with these sweepstakes games lists:

  • Top 10 Sweepstakes to Enter Right Now
  • New Sweepstakes games
  • Car Sweepstakes games
  • Cash Sweepstakes games, or
  • All Sweepstakes games to Enter
You can also visit the Sweepstakes Games Directory to see all of the giveaways sorted by award type, or my article, 15 Reliable Places to Find and Enter Online Sweepstakes Games for more ideas on getting new opportunities to win.

Step 3: Find Out What to Do If You Find Difficulties.

Seldom, you’ll get across sweepstakes games that are difficult to enter. The problem may be with your computer setup, or the patron may be having the production problem. If you are having trouble, report your question to the sponsor.

Step 4: Enter, Enter, Enter.

Enter daily, and don’t lose patience. The secret to winning sweepstakes games is patience, perseverance, and a positive approach. Mainly when you have never won a prize, it can seem like a loss of time to keep entering if you don’t win as soon as you would hope. But that’s when you need to dig in and focus on the many concrete information about entering sweepstakes games if you want to be a winner.

Sometimes, people win within days of beginning to enter, and sometimes it takes months. But if you keep at it, you will succeed. If you are starting to feel depressed, you can read about how to beat sweepstakes games burnout.

Step 5: Claim Your Prizes:

Make sure you don’t miss any prize wins. It doesn’t do you any good to win if you are not able to maintain your rewards! See the next articles for more information:

  • What to Expect After You Win
  • How Sweepstakes Games Notify Winners
  • What Do Winning Emails Look Like?
  • Why You May Have to Fill Out an Affidavit When You Win
More things about how to get prizes

This should give you everything you need to get started with online sweepstakes games. If you would prefer to find out how to win more frequently, check out Getting Started with Sweepstakes games Part 2: Sweep More Effectively and Win More Awards.


02  Getting Started Part 2: How to Win More Online Sweepstakes Games


So if you have read Part 1 of Getting Started with Sweepstakes Games, Your First Steps to Entering sweepstakes games online, you know how to find online sweepstakes games to enter, how to fill out the entry forms safely, and how to know when you’ve won.

Now it’s time to go beyond the basics of entering and start entering sweepstakes like a pro. Here’s what you need to know to be a more effective sweeper and to win more prizes.

Is Winning Sweepstakes Games Just a Matter of Luck?
When I talk about the prizes I’ve won, people tend to say, “Oh, you’re so lucky!” It’s true that luck plays a significant role in who wins sweepstakes, and there are real, scientifically-proven ways to improve your success.

But as Thomas Jefferson said: “I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.”

So let’s not rely just on luck. Here are some tips on boosting your odds when entering sweepstakes, and winning more prizes.

How to Win More Prizes when you Enter Online Sweepstakes Games:

Step 1: Organize your sweepstakes entries. You can save a lot of time with your entries if you create a strategy for which sweepstakes games you will enter daily. Here is an example of a winning sweepstakes strategy.

Step 2: Decide which sweepstakes are worth your time. I like to have a good mix of sweepstakes, some with large prizes, some with more significant possibilities of winning.

To make sure you have a good mix, learn about the best sweepstakes to start and which factors control sweepstakes games odds. Remember that it pays to be picky about the sweepstakes you enter.

Step 3: Enter as often as you can. The more entries you have, the better your odds of winning. To cut down on time, it takes to enter sweepstakes, visit how to come sweepstakes games faster. If you have trouble fitting sweepstakes into your schedule, see how to find time to enter sweepstakes.

Step 4: Make sure you are not doing anything that might hurt your chances of winning. Some sweepers shoot themselves in the foot by making these simple sweepstakes games mistakes. It would be better if you also read about how to fix some common reasons for not winning.

Step 5: Keep a log of your wins. Winning a prize might seem unforgettable, but after several months, it is apparent to forget exactly what you earned, whether you are waiting on any awards you haven’t received, and how much you’ll owe on taxes. Here are some articles that will make tracking your rewards leisurely:

  • Good Reasons to Track Your Wins
  • How to Track Your Wins
  • How to Create a Prize Scrapbook
  • Free Prize Spreadsheet to Download

Tools and Programs to Help You Win More Prizes:
Once you have gotten beyond first sweepstakes games entry, some devices can help you win even more. Here are a few of my favorites.

The paid version of Roboform. You only pay once, and you can store an unlimited number of sweepstakes forms and identities, making it much faster and easier to win. You can also check out these other great form-filling programs.

TweetDeck, a free program to help you organize Twitter sweepstakes entries.

Diigo, a free program that lets you track which online sweepstakes games you’ve already entered.

Your favorite method of receiving Sweepstakes Games News.
Do you have any tips on how to take your sweepstakes hobby to the following level? Or any arguments? Visit our contact page, About Sweepstakes Games, to chat. And be sure to continue to Part 3 of Getting Started with Online Sweepstakes Games: Entering Social Media Sweepstakes.


03  Getting Started Part 3: Entering and Winning Social Sweepstakes


If you’re new to the sweepstakes hobby, this series has covered the mechanics of entering with How to Begin Entering Online Sweepstakes Games and how to boost your chances of regularly winning with Beyond the Basics – How to Win More Sweepstakes Games.

Now, it’s time to learn how to succeed with an increasingly popular method of offering sweepstakes: social media.

More and more companies are turning to social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and more to run their competitions. If you have not tried these sweepstakes games, you could be missing out on some great prizes.

If you think that trying a new way to enter is intimidating, don’t worry; many people find entering social sweepstakes even easier than online sweepstakes. Here are tips on how to get started with social media sweepstakes.

Understanding Twitter Online Sweepstakes Games

If you have ever been a discussion by text message, you have some idea of what it’s like to use Twitter.

Twitter is a way of communicating with friends, businesses, professional contacts, celebrities… just about anyone, much like a blog. What sets Twitter apart is that each post must be short – 140 characters or less, similar to a text message.

So start by creating a free account at Twitter.com. You can then start following your favorite brands and sweepstakes sites like mine (like @ContestsGuide on Twitter) to find giveaways to enter. Get more details on how to start winning Twitter contests.

Twitter has some jargon that might seem strange when you first get started. If you want to make sure you know how to follow the instructions in the rules correctly, check out my  Twitter glossary for beginners.

Twitter parties are another fun way to win prizes through this social media site. Companies organize chats around a specific topic. Examples of some issues from Twitter parties I’ve attended include sharing budget travel tips (hosted by a hotel booking website) and a chat about raising babies (organized by a diaper company).

Throughout a Twitter party, prizes are given away to the participants. The titles usually fit with the theme of the chat. Some parties also give away awards to people who Tweet about their giveaways in advance. You can find out more about Twitter parties here.

Of course, it’s always smart to know how to stay safe when you enter any sweepstakes. Before you start, learn how to recognize scams on Twitter.

Entering and Winning Facebook Contests

Facebook is an incredibly popular way to connect with your favorite people and companies. Using Facebook, you can share pictures, find old friends, and yes, enter contests.

Once you have your account (and remember, you should only have one), check out the right way to enter Facebook sweepstakes.

If you’re not sure where to find Facebook sweepstakes, following About Sweepstakes and your favorite companies can help. You can also check out my list of current Facebook sweepstakes to enter.

It’s a good idea also to know how to defend your privacy on Facebook and how to avoid Facebook page scams.

And don’t forget to occasionally do some maintenance on your Facebook account by removing app permissions you don’t need and unliking pages that you don’t want to follow.

Everything You Need to Know about Blog Contests

A blog is an online publication that is usually run by a single person, and often focuses on a specific topic like political opinions, parental advice, or computer game reviews. Many blogs offer sweepstakes to expand their readership. Blogs contests tend to receive fewer entries, and have better odds, than most online sweepstakes. Here are some tips on how to win blog contests:

  • Boost Your Odds of Winning Blog Contests
  • Where to Find Blog Competitions to Enter
  • Advantages of Entering Blog Contests

Conclusion:

How do you feel about social sweepstakes games? Do you have any unanswered questions about them? Visit our page, About Sweepstakes, to share your opinions.