Find the perfect prize for your social media contest! Check out this list of 106 incredible prize ideas that will make your contest a hit.
Ana Gotter
December 5, 2017
Discover 106 social media contest prize ideas, including gift certificates, product packages, cash, and themed prizes for different seasons and holidays.
You already know you want to run a social media contest. Excellent! You even know when you want to run it, and you've decided on a couple of goals you'd like to meet. And now you have to choose a prize. Is this decision holding you up? Choosing a prize for your social media contest can be surprisingly difficult. You want to offer something that’s valuable enough to get lots of people to participate, but is still relevant enough that you’ll actually attract people from your target audience. If your prize is creative and cost-effective, even better. Coming up with a prize that ticks all those boxes, can be easier said than done, however, so we wanted to help you choose prizes as incredible as your contest itself. Evidence: this list of 106 social media contest prize ideas you can use or draw inspiration from. We’ve got prize ideas based on time of year, holiday and even business category. Make sure to bookmark this one so you can have it on hand year-round!
Year-Round Crowd Pleasers
If you’re in a pinch and not sure what will work for your audience, know that there are three things that are sure to be crowd pleasers every time:
gift certificates to your business
a package of your best-selling products
cold, hard cash
Holiday gift set giveaway The first two on that list are guaranteed to attract people who are interested in your business, even if they've never purchased from you, while the last will appeal to pretty much everyone (which might not actually be the best option).
Prizes Based on Seasons
Choosing a theme for your social media contest based on the time of year is a great way to increase interest, shares and entries.
Winter
Go Travel's Winter Escape contest
A cold-weather care package, with items like blankets, hot chocolate mix, and fuzzy socks
Gift certificates to stores like ToysRUs and grocery stores to help prepare families for the holidays
Tickets to holiday events, like ice skating or the Nutcracker ballet
Winter vacation activities like skiing or snowboarding
Beach-vacation destination prizes for those who want to escape the cold
Spring
Contest on Facebook ran by Noxon Orthodontics
A landscaping package to be used when flowers are starting bloom
Professional home-cleaning services for literal “spring cleaning”
A shopping spree for an updated wardrobe
Tickets for baseball's spring-training events
Summer
Summer contest by Georgian Bay
Dream vacation for a family
Tickets to a family-friendly place, like a theme park
Tickets to an outdoor concert
Travel-related prizes, including plane tickets, rental car vouchers or hotel stays
New patio furniture, or construction of an outdoor fire pit
Camping equipment package
A grill or outdoor cooking equipment
Pool-cleaning services for a year
Lawn care services for one month
Golf lessons, greens fees or membership to a golf club
Fall
Fall giveaway from Jach's New York
Tailgating gear -- like portable tables and chairs
Fall food package, including cheeses, seasonal fruit, and apple cider
Football tickets
Shopping spree for winter clothes
Gift certificates to grocery stores for Thanksgiving
Electronics
Prizes for Popular Holiday Contests
Holidays already generate a lot of buzz on their own, and you can capitalize on some of that conversation to help promote your holiday contests.
New Year’s
Champagne giveaway for a New Year’s party (for customers over 21, of course)
“New Year, New You” package, which can include things like a shopping spree, makeover, gym membership, cooking classes, etc.
Invitation to a New Year’s event
Valentine’s Day
Empire State Building Valentine's Contest
Vacation or spa weekend for two
Jewelry giveaway
Flower giveaway
Box of chocolates
Date night package, including gift certificates to a restaurant and movie theatre
Bottle of special wine (for customers over 21)
Mother’s Day
Spa treatments
Massage gift certificates
Jewelry giveaway
A girlfriend’s getaway
Shopping spree
"Mom's the Balm" UGC contest by Benefit Cosmetics
Father’s Day
Kids Stop Press Father's Day contest
Tickets to a big game
A nice watch
Gadgets or tools related to your business (garden tools for landscapers; golf apparel for golf course or golf shop)
Wedding Season
Button & Wilde Twitter contest
Wedding favors
A package of thank-you notes
A wedding-planning guide
Gift certificates to popular wedding vendors (like a local florist, photographer, and dress alterations specialist)
A honeymoon get away
Wedding dress giveaway
Jewelry for the bride
Back to School
Mabel's Labels Back to School giveaway
Two backpacks filled with school supplies
A shopping spree for back-to-school clothes
A classroom makeover
Scholarship or tuition money
Payment for a student’s college books
Dorm room makeover
Halloween
Tickets for entry to local corn maze or haunted house
Pet costumes
Services to pick up scary amounts of leaves
Thanksgiving
Cooking class
Catered meal
Gift certificate for grocery store or florist
Cookbook
Christmas / Hanukkah
Christmas lights installation
Holiday-themed dishes or decorations
Tickets to local special events -- like Polar Express train ride, Nutcracker or other musical performance
Gift certificate for gym or personal trainer
Donation to local charity your business supports, e.g., food bank or animal shelter
This was built using ShortStack's Multi-Day Giveaway Calendar
Prizes Based on Your Industry
In many cases, focusing in on your particular business, audience, and what industry you fall under is the best way to go.
Subscription-Based Businesses
Several months of membership
An upgraded membership (like silver to gold, or having more free classes) for a certain period of time
Items from the business that customers would typically have to purchase like clothing
B2B Businesses
Several sessions of coaching or consulting
Several months of a membership, if applicable
Membership to complementary services, like a social media marketer giving away a year of ShortStack
Free marketing materials, like customized business cards
An upgraded website
Restaurants
Reservation to an exclusive event, like a New Year’s tasting menu
Catering for an event (this can be small like a Thanksgiving dinner or enormous like a wedding)
Free appetizers or drinks for a year
A “dinner and a movie” package, including gift certificates to your restaurant, a local bar, dessert, and a local movie theater
Parenting
A year’s worth of diapers
A gift bag of everything new parents need, including bottles, swaddling blankets, and bibs
A family-friendly vacation
Baby-proofing kit or services
A shopping spree at a store like Target or ToysRUs
Essential furniture like a changing table or a toddler’s bed
Health and Fitness
A tool or accessory that’s relevant to your business, like a yoga mat carrier, a new pair of boxing gloves, or a set of kettlebells
An exercise-focused tool, like a FitBit
A package of nutrients or supplements, like quality protein powder or protein shakes
Gym or studio membership for several months
Personal training sessions
A subscription to home workout plans or videos
Pet Care
Petsitting Photo Contest
A box of pet toys
A subscription to a service like Barkbox
A gift certificate to a business like PetSmart or Chewy
An engraved, leather collar or leash that will fit their pet
Pet training sessions
A puppy-preparedness kit that contains things like puppy-safe toys and bitterapple
A photoshoot with the winner and their pet
Pet Valu Wishlist contest
Real Estate & Home Décor
A gift certificate to home improvement stores like Lowes or Home Depot
Furniture, like an outdoor table and chairs or a kitchen table set
A landscaping plan and installation package
High-quality appliances
Professional cleaning service for three months
If you were stumped on what prize you should offer in your next social media contest, hopefully this list helped bring about some inspiration. In many cases, keeping the time of year and your target audience in mind can help you create an incredible prize that will make social users ecstatic about entering your contest.
If you're looking for tools to help you build your next contest, ShortStack offers over 100 customizeable templates to help you get started.