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How Promotional Items Can Lend a Helping Hand in Social Media

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Promotional Items

Promotional products tend to directly correlate with tradeshows and conventions.  Simple giveaways that help companies promote their business and they work extremely effectively.

According to a study conducted by The Advertising Specialty Institute in 2010, the cost per impression of a promotional product was $0.005, compared to prime time television which was $0.018, national magazines at $0.045 or even spot radio at around $0.058.  That’s cheap, which is all fine and dandy only if that impression sticks.  Fortunately, 83% of recipients could identify the advertiser on the promotional items that they own.  In the marketing and advertising world, you drool over those numbers.

Can promotional products be as effective outside of the trade show setting though?  The simple answer to that question is OF COURSE, who doesn’t like getting free stuff!  It may not be as simple as standing outside your booth and handing out tote bags, pens, stress balls or sunglasses, but with a little creativity promotional products can help grow your brand online as well.

Contests

Contests can be found all over the Internet.  Primarily through social media (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc.), their main purpose is to interact with their customer base, get people “liking”, “tweeting” and “sharing” to gain fans, followers, or get more people in their circle (these terms are getting a little out of hand).

Users usually need an incentive though.  Yes it can be nice to get a few people to share your information for free, but to get the most bang for your buck companies try and reward those with promotional items who take the time to answer your “call to action”.

There are a variety of contests that are effective.  Trivia and mystery photos immediately gain momentum with users’ thoughts and opinions.  Some contests will ask people to write blog posts or make videos about the products or services they provide.

A perfect example of this would be the Doritos commercials during the Super Bowl.  Thousands, if not millions of people submitted videos to try and win a coveted spot on the biggest game of the year (the prize may have not been a promotional product, but you also won’t be coughing up over a million bucks either…and remember what we discussed about cost per impression earlier).

Prospects

Promotional items can be the extra mmmpphh B2B companies need to attract new clients with social media.  While most businesses nowadays are on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn etc, it sometimes takes an out-of-this-world tweet or message to get their attention, if at all.

Sending prospective clients promotional goods and following up through these social networks can help you get your foot in the door a little quicker.

Promotions

Promotions, duh…it’s in the name itself.  Promotional goods are obviously the smart choice when it comes to online promotions.  Something as easy as “The first 100 people to ‘Like’ our new page get a custom golf shirt” immediately gives you a following to present news, offers and upcoming events to.

Promotional products can work in the opposite fashion as well.  Companies like to hand out promotional items at tradeshows, conventions or special events to help promote your social media outlets.  Gaining fans can be as easy as imprinting the Facebook Thumb’s Up logo with the URL underneath on a stress ball and giving them away.

Again, remember we established around 83% of people remember the advertiser on their promotional item.

Branded promotional item(s) can be the perfect incentive for someone to “take action”, a great thank you, or a quicker way of establishing new relationships online.  Because promotional products are such useful gifts, your company stays attached with the user for a time afterwards hopefully gaining a new loyalty and prospering relationship for the future.

About

Matt Powers is an Internet Marketer at Blue Soda Promo, an online promotional products company. BSP imprints logos on items like tote bags, sunglasses, stress balls, koozies and stress balls at ridiculously low prices. We make your brand POP!

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{ 8 Responses }

  1. Sean says:
    I was reading this post and came up with some ideas on how you can use promotional products and social contests. So here they are.. 3 Social Media Contests You Can Start Right Now: 1. Photo Contest Have participants submit a photo of them using your product. Or if you have a service or a lesser known product, have them submit photos of people, places, or situations that would benefit with the use of your product/service. This is great at both getting your brand out there and it encourages people to start thinking about how your service/product can help. Make sure to have them add a hashtag if your running this contest on Twitter. Something like #AcmePhotoContest (Acme being your company name). Then give the winner - or better yet, give the top 10 your free promotional product. 2. Video Contest This is similar to the photo contest above but can preform even better. Reason being that videos stand out more in social media feeds. For example on Facebook this strategy could make your brand reach a very large audience and massive bring awareness to your brand. Pro Tip: Tell participants to add a link to a contest page on your website. This will drive traffic back to your website. Which is both good for direct sales (you'll probably get some from the contest) and good for SEO. A great product to give away for this would be a branded t-shirt or a hat. 3. Caption Contest Here is another goodie! Create a photo or video (even better) that advertises your product in a fun and unique way. Then tell people to write a post a caption for a chance at winning a custom branded promotional product. The best part of these types of contest is they are really easy to organize and operate. Some further information: I run and operate a promotional products company and we've had a ton of experience in assisting companies with developing the exact right promotional gifts to give away for contests and other events. In fact one of the most popular give away items is branded food gifts. Who doesn't like free food!? *** Legal note and other things you want to consider: A quick note on the legality of running a contest. Make sure to check all your state and local laws on promotional and sweepstakes giveaways. Some states and localities have specific laws on how much you can give away, and exactly how you can run a contest.
  2. Souljan Gentry says:
    Hello, Utilizing promotional products is a great opportunity to spread your brand name. Like any marketing activity, this requires research and planning in terms of who you are marketing to and the type of promotional product you use to market your business. Promo products should be something that have longevity and a certain level of usability. Products that are easy to disregard and end up in the garbage are not a good investment, however, using something that does not die or run out and has the potential to be passed along will ensure familiarity with your brand.
  3. Matt Lowe says:
    Great article, but just one word of warning. Contests and giveaways can be great, but often attract freebie seekers who will most likely never be converted into paying customers. The trick is targeting your audience with laser precision, and also be sure you have an additional selling point besides the freebie in your ads. My .02 cents. -Matt
  4. suraj says:
    No doubts, Contest is the best way to promote any items. People always like free things.
  5. Rajnish says:
    Without planned promotion any business can't make profit and hence one of the most advanced and effective way to promote anything for profit can't be ignored.
  6. Samuel says:
    I've been thinking of setting up promotions through Facebook but every time I try to get started it just seems so daunting. To the more experienced people it may seem like nothing, but just keeping up with FB policy is a pain in the rear. This is something that I can't overlook for long though, I've seen how beneficial promotions can be if done right and I really need to get started sooner than later.
  7. Nasrul Hanis says:
    Yeah - these are some of the great ways to promote your business and building your credibility/authority in the eyes of the prospects however the most important thing is how you want to allocate your expenditure and budget for these promotions and the strategies to build profit from the efforts. Thanks for sharing Matt! :D
  8. Jack Sander says:
    Hi Matt, I totally agree with your view. From my own experience, I can say that organizing contests is a great way to engage our reader and to create a viral content. People respond very good to freebies or prizes, therefore this is a great way to create some buzz online.