I’m seeing a lot more contests popping up on Twitter but to be honest most of them seem to be pretty uninspired. Yes a ReTweet contest will get your brand in front of more eyes. It will get your more entries but what else? Are you nurturing leads for the future or are you just focussing on short term goals?
[Tweet “Are you nurturing leads for the future or are you just focussing on short term goals?”]
Binkd is an app that allows you to set up simple Twitter contests that capture email addresses. This is a great way to build a mailing list. You will probably get less entries but you will gain leads that could prove valuable in the future.
It’s free to set up a basic Twitter contest with Binkd. In this video I show you how.
To customise your contest you will need to create a couple of graphics. I used Canva, here’s the ideal sizes:
Header image: 810 pixels x (whatever size you require)
Prize image: 790 pixels x (whatever size you require)
To use the email addresses you collect in the future you will need to add a custom opt in field to your competition. I didn’t’ show you how to do this in the video. You will find the option under the ‘Advanced tab’. See below:
Another cool feature is the ability to connect your Mailchimp account (and soon Aweber too) so that entries will be added directly to your mailing list. This is a massive time saver.
I like this app. It’s a quick solution for setting up more effective contests on Twitter. The free option is quite extensive too and well worth trying out.
I’d happily pay for an app like this and some of the premium options look interesting. For me the downside is the confusing pricing. There is a set up fee and a daily fee. You also need to commit at least $40 to your contest.
I’m OK with the cost. It’s good value particularly if you are collecting leads but I would prefer an all in monthly fee rather than the three tier model.
This is a small criticism however and I would highly recommend giving this app a try the next time you run a Twitter contest. If you do use it let me know. I’d love to hear about your results.
