The Foolproof Way to Enhance Your Online Promotion

….Make it a competition

So I’m still actively participating in the Chevy Warriors promotion, and I must say it’s been an enjoyable experience thus far.

There’s been a fair amount of activity, but the buzz isn’t near what Ford’s Fiesta Movement generated, which in my mind helped garner the company Ad Age’s 2010 Marketer of the Year.

Now, that isn’t to discredit Chevy’s efforts. In fact I discussed some of the things I thought Chevy was excelling at about a week ago. Both companies are doing it right, just different. (And Chevy has made HUGE strides in social in the last couple of years.)

But here’s 3 reasons why I think some level of competition has the ability to take online promotions to the next level.

1.) Appeal to the Ego

97% of bloggers inherently have some level of inflated egos. Yes, many of them do it to help people, to educate, to increase influence and a number of other reasons, but the point is they’re writing — they’re putting their thoughts out there.

There’s a small subset of people that do that. Why? Because chances are we think what we have to say is important enough for other people to hear it.

Most bloggers, whether they’ll admit it or not, like receiving recognition and seeing their name on a list.

Giving bloggers the opportunity to compete gives a relatively vocal crowd more incentive to be vocal and ensure that they’re getting recognition and feeding the ego. It’s a cycle that works.

2.) Increases Accountability

We’re all very busy, and it’s easy to tell yourself you’ll get to it later, but if your missions are posted publicly or if there’s a scoreboard somewhere chances are bloggers will find time to get to it on time.

Nobody wants to be at the bottom of the leaderboard. If the readers don’t know that everyone has completed their missions on time but Susie, there’s no skin of Susie’s back. But if Brad and Jill have 6 check marks next to their name and Susie has two, she’s going to be more inclined to finish her missions because she doesn’t want the public to realize she’s slacking – it’ll adversely affect her own brand.

3.) Tiered Incentives

3rd prize is a $100 dollar gas card.

2nd prize is a $150 dollar gas card and 3 free car washes.

1st prize is a trip to the moon in a rocket shaped liked a Silverado.

You get the point…You can keep the compensation the same, but instead of everyone getting equal amounts make everyone scratch and claw to receive the top prize.

If everyone gets a trophy for winning, the second someone falls behind they’re content setting the cruise control. If the top prizes really stand out as something special, you will typically have contestants going all out to one up each other AND be more inclined to spread the word and get others involved.

————————-What do you think? Would these three reasons increase the likelihood of you amplifying your efforts in an online promotion? What other ways have you seen competition enhance an online promotion?

The Chevy Warriors experience is being sponsored by local Houston-area Chevy dealers who provided chosen bloggers a 2010 Chevy Silverado to drive for a month, complete various missions, and blog about our experiences using the vehicle. The opinions posted here are 100% authentic. We are given gift cards that enable us to complete certain missions and showcase various features of the truck; however, I would never compromise my integrity in lieu of the truth.