Photo Contests
You can’t go wrong with patriotic kids or pets photo contests. Since people have photos readily available on their phone, these contests are easy to enter. These contests can spread like crazy across social media as users are invested in seeking votes from their friends and family – this means a big branding opportunity for you and your advertisers.
This Patriotic Pets Photo contest by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune had over 90 entries and received nearly 5,000 votes. Dogs, cats, and even a chicken sported their red, white, and blue for the camera.
Ballots
People love to be given an opportunity to voice their opinion on topics which matter to them. With a ballot, you can find out all about what your audience loves (and also what they don’t!) And ballots are versatile. When it comes to the Fourth of July holiday, you can create a ballot highlighting all the local activities and events in your area. With categories like the “Best Place to Watch the Fireworks,” “Best Local BBQ,” or even “Best Fourth of July Parade Float,” your ballot can engage your entire community.
Sweepstakes
With tons of parties, barbecues, and fireworks, the Fourth of July is full of great ideas for sweepstakes prizes. Giveaways for a brand new barbecue grill, new lawn furniture, or a grocery gift card could be all the ingredients to the perfect backyard party. Sweepstakes draw in tons of entries, so be sure to include an opt-in to grow your email database.
This sweepstakes by WLUK-TV was sponsored by a local fireworks company – an ideal sponsor looking to get their company’s name out there during the weeks leading up to the holiday. Not only did the sweepstakes receive over 16,000 entries, but the contest also collected nearly 800 emails for the fireworks store’s database.
Quizzes
Running quizzes can be a perfect way to reach your target audience and present a creative idea to advertisers. Everyone loves a good quiz. With lots of ready-to-run, ready-to-customize patriotic turnkey quizzes, you can get a quiz up and running in a matter of minutes. Maximize the revenue opportunity by creating a Fourth of July quiz bundle.
You can even develop a quiz that’s customized for a specific advertiser looking to target summertime spenders. KY3-TV worked with their advertiser, a local go-kart and family fun park, to create a quiz with questions featuring their services. Not only did the quiz provide users with a outcomes for how to spend their Independence Day, but their email opt-in also added 380 users to their database for future marketing campaigns.
There are tons of advertisers who will be anxious to get their branding out in front of summertime spenders, so make sure you’re prepared with ideas to engage your audience and bring in qualified leads for your sponsors. Start planning now and make this holiday a BOOMing success!
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Julie is the Senior Customer Success Manager at Second Street and a former client in local media. Her best advice for driving the most success with your revenue and audience engagement strategy is to include promotions in every business initiative.