Why You Should Outsource the Management of Your Next Giveaway

Online giveaways are a popular tactic for engaging with your audience and increasing lead flow.Their interactive nature combined with the psychology of winning forms the perfect storm of value and virality for your prospective customers.The problem is, giveaways are resource-heavy marketing campaigns.You need to choose an attractive prize, take photos, create marketing graphics, set up a landing page, plan and optimize ad campaigns, write follow-up email copy, and much much more.That’s all while you still have a day job and other deadlines to meet.So despite the magnetic attraction of a giveaway, many brands put them on the backburner due to a lack of time and resources.Outsourcing the management of your next giveaway could solve a number of these issues and let you tap into the many benefits.Let’s take a closer look at why outsourcing giveaway management is a smart choice.

Why You Should Outsource Your Next Giveaway

Here are seven reasons for outsourcing the management of a giveaway campaign:

#1. Save time and money

Naturally, hiring someone else to manage your giveaway it will free up time for you and your team to focus on other initiatives. I’ve listed this benefit at the top of the list because it’s the driving force behind most outsourcing decisions. There just isn’t enough time in the day to do all the things you wish you could, so hiring someone else to help out is attractive.Interestingly, it can actually lower your campaign costs by outsourcing, too. You only pay for what you get, rather than investing in a full-time staff member, extra overheads, and other business-related expenses such as training and team building.

#2. Maintain internal focus

If you’re unfamiliar with running giveaways, the learning curve can be steep. There are a number of moving parts, from design and conversion rate optimization to follow-up sequences and choosing the right price.By outsourcing to someone with experience with this style of campaign, it allows you to focus on the things you and your team do best - you don’t have to wear every hat in the business!Rather than spending weeks learning how to set everything up for underwhelming results, you can circumvent the learning curve by hiring someone with targeted experience.

#3. Customize the experience

Outsourcing giveaway management with the right partner will give you access to experts in a range of disciplines - including landing page development and design. So rather than piecing together an out-of-the-box campaign landing page, you can work with a partner to create something truly unique and customized to your brand.Yes, you could handle this in-house if you have a design and development team. But they probably have numerous other priorities on their list - do you think a standalone marketing campaign will catch their attention?It may be simpler to hand over the reins to a third party for everything campaign-related so you can create a fully customized experience without disrupting the day-to-day productivity of your team.

#4. Unlock a proven strategy and roadmap

Outsourced partners that specialize in giveaways have extensive experience under their belt. They make decisions based on proven results and data from hundreds of campaigns.Even if your brand runs regular giveaways, it would take years to reach a similar level of expertise and knowledge. So why not work with a partner to access this expertise and shortcut the process?You’ll inevitably get better results and minimize the guesswork.

#5. Get a promotional plan

The success of a giveaway is highly dependent on how you promote it. It’s kind of like that old saying if a tree falls in the woods when no one is around, does it make a sound?If you don’t promote your giveaway then no one will know about it.An outsourced partner who specializes in giveaways can help put together a promotional strategy that is proven to explode the reach of your campaign. They’ll recommend the best strategies for social media, content, PR, and ad campaigns.

#6. Have a hands-on campaign manager

Your third-party giveaway manager will be solely focused on the success of your campaign. They won't have other priorities such as this week’s blog post, your email newsletter, or an array of other day-to-day tasks that your digital marketing manager is dealing with.Along with the expertise you need to deliver a winning giveaway, your account manager will cost less than a full-time employee.

#7. Analyze campaign metrics

It’s critical to observe the performance of your campaign once it's live. Analyze the results, test various components, optimize for performance, and measure the metrics that matter to your business. You’ll also want to review your campaign once it’s finished so you can improve next time around.This is a lot of extra work for your internal team if they’re unfamiliar with the data analysis associated with a giveaway. A trusted partner can manage this for you and optimize your campaign’s performance in real-time.

Is Outsourcing For You?

I’ve painted a very favorable picture of outsourcing giveaways. But, of course, it’s not all rainbows and butterflies. There can be complications when bringing a third party into your inner circle.You’ll need to get them up to scratch with your brand guidelines and across all your other campaigns so there are no conflicts. You also have to find a partner you can trust - based on previous experience, case studies, and client recommendations - or risk putting your brand in the spotlight for the wrong reasons.In saying that, I believe the pros of outsourcing giveaway management to the right partner, far outweigh the cons.

How to Outsource Giveaway Management with ShortStack

If you’re comfortable with the idea of outsourcing the management of your next giveaway, consider ShortStack as your partner. They’ve got years of experience running giveaways for brands in numerous sectors and of all shapes and sizes.For example, they ran a campaign for IKEA to encourage customers to post photos showing off their dream kitchens. This involved building a professionally designed landing page that aligned with IKEA’s guidelines, aggregating submissions to the giveaway, and adding social sharing features for increased exposure.

ShortStack's IKEA Giveaway   Another example is Tootsie’s instant-win Halloween giveaway. ShortStack created a custom-designed spin-the-wheel animation, set a limit for daily winners, and automatically notified winners via email.

ShortStack's Tootsie's Giveaway   Outsourcing your giveaway management with ShortStack is simple, too. They’ve simplified the process into four steps:

1. Plan and Focus - Determine a budget, objectives, deliverables, and timeline.
2. Design and Launch - Build your landing pages, follow-up sequence, and ensure you follow platform regulations.
3. Analyze and Boost - Plan the promotion of your campaign.
4. Evaluate and Optimize - Analyze and optimize the campaign in real-time.

You can find out more about ShortStack’s custom services and schedule a call with their team here.