#Contests and Giveaways

[tixilytickets]

Ignite Buzz and Boost Engagement: How Running Contests and Giveaways Can Supercharge Your Event Marketing

When you’re gearing up to promote your event, it can feel like you're just one voice in a sea of noise.

With countless events happening every day and endless marketing strategies to choose from, how can you stand out and ensure your event gets the attention it deserves?

The answer could lie in something simple yet incredibly effective: running contests and giveaways.

Contests and giveaways are far more than just fun perks for your audience—they are powerful marketing tools that can generate excitement, foster engagement, and spread the word about your event in ways that traditional marketing often can’t.

By offering a chance to win something valuable, you immediately spark interest in your audience and create a buzz that can snowball as more people share and talk about it.

In this post, we’re diving into how you can harness the power of contests and giveaways to boost interest, engage your audience, and ultimately drive ticket sales and attendance for your event.

1. Contests and Giveaways Can Spark Initial Interest

Imagine this: you’re scrolling through your social media feed, and suddenly, you see a post about an upcoming event that includes a giveaway.

Maybe it’s a free ticket to the event or a cool item related to the event’s theme.

Whether you’re a casual observer or someone who's already interested in the event, there’s something about the idea of winning something for free that naturally grabs attention.

In a world where we're constantly bombarded with ads and promotions, a contest or giveaway stands out like a beacon of excitement.

By offering a prize or exclusive access, you immediately create a reason for people to engage with your event.

It’s that simple hook that can pique curiosity and encourage people to learn more about what you’re offering.

Even if they're not sure about attending yet, the chance to win something will lead them to explore your event further, giving you an opportunity to convert them into attendees.

2. Increased Social Media Engagement

Social media is the epicenter of event marketing, but simply posting your event information might not be enough to get people talking.

You need to give them something worth engaging with—and that’s where contests and giveaways come in.

Contests are a powerful way to drive interaction on your social media platforms.

Whether it's Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or TikTok, people are more likely to comment, share, and tag friends if there’s something in it for them.

Here’s how running a contest or giveaway can increase engagement:

Sharing for Visibility: Most contests require participants to share the post on their own social media profiles or tag friends to enter. This tactic helps you extend the reach of your event beyond your followers to their networks, allowing you to tap into a larger audience.

Building a Viral Effect: The more your followers share and tag people, the more likely your event’s post will appear in their feeds, creating a viral effect. This is one of the most cost-effective ways to reach people who might not yet be familiar with your event.

Commenting and Interaction: A giveaway often encourages people to leave comments, whether it's to say why they want to attend or what their favorite part of your event will be. This not only boosts your engagement rates but also creates a more interactive and lively discussion around your event.

Hashtags and Trend Participation: Running a contest or giveaway often means using specific hashtags. These hashtags can trend, bringing your event to the attention of people who might not have seen it otherwise. This can build even more momentum and spread your message even further.

3. Building Anticipation and Creating FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)

One of the most powerful ways contests and giveaways help market your event is by building anticipation.

When people hear that there’s a chance to win something cool, it creates a sense of excitement that makes them eager to be part of the event.

But it’s not just about excitement—it’s also about creating FOMO (Fear of Missing Out).

The idea of missing out on the chance to win or the opportunity to attend something exclusive can be a huge motivator.

Contest participants might not have planned on attending the event initially, but after seeing all the buzz and realizing they could miss out, they���ll be more likely to buy a ticket or share the event with others.

When they see their friends or social media connections engaging with the event, it creates a psychological pull to join in and be part of the experience.

FOMO drives people to act quickly—whether it’s buying tickets before they sell out or participating in the giveaway to ensure they don’t miss their chance.

This creates a sense of urgency that can directly impact ticket sales and registrations.

4. Targeting Your Ideal Audience

One of the biggest advantages of contests and giveaways is the ability to attract your ideal audience.

Running a contest allows you to tailor the prizes and the messaging to specifically target the type of person most likely to attend your event.

If you’re hosting a fashion show, for example, you can offer prizes related to fashion or VIP access to the event, which will naturally attract individuals who are interested in that particular industry or niche.

You can also require participants to follow your social media accounts, tag people who would be interested in the event, or share a post about the event.

These actions help create a more engaged audience and ensure that the people who enter your contest are more likely to be your actual target demographic.

Not only does this help you find people who will engage with your event, but it also allows you to build a list of highly targeted leads that you can follow up with later to push ticket sales, promote future events, or build lasting connections.

5. Encouraging User-Generated Content

User-generated content is one of the best forms of marketing because it’s authentic and relatable.

When people participate in your contest or giveaway, they often have to create content themselves—whether it's posting a photo, video, or written response.

This user-generated content then serves as a powerful promotional tool for your event.

For example, you could ask participants to post a picture or video showing why they’re excited to attend your event, and in exchange, they get a chance to win a prize.

Not only does this provide you with free content to share on your own channels, but it also allows your audience to be a part of the event narrative, making them feel more connected to the experience.

User-generated content can also be a form of social proof.

When potential attendees see their peers excitedly talking about or engaging with your event, it builds trust and credibility.

It’s a reminder that your event is not only worth attending but that others are already talking about it.

6. Boosting Ticket Sales and Event Registrations

While the primary goal of a contest or giveaway is to generate buzz, it can also be a direct driver of ticket sales.

Here’s how you can use contests to push attendees toward making a purchase:

Exclusive Perks: Offer winners special access, like VIP tickets or behind-the-scenes passes. This makes people who are interested in your event more likely to buy tickets in order to gain access to similar perks if they don’t win.

Discounts and Promotions: Include a limited-time discount code as part of the giveaway, encouraging participants to buy tickets while the offer lasts. Discounts create a sense of urgency, pushing people to commit before the window closes.

Early Bird Specials: You can also run a contest early in your event planning process and offer early bird tickets as a prize. This incentivizes people to register for the event right away while giving you an early boost in ticket sales.

In short, contests can help bridge the gap between casual interest and commitment to attend your event.

By offering something valuable, you nudge people toward actually purchasing a ticket, which will help boost your revenue and ensure a larger turnout.

7. Building Long-Term Relationships and Brand Loyalty

Contests and giveaways aren't just short-term tactics—they also provide a unique opportunity to build long-term relationships with your audience.

When participants feel like they're getting something valuable in exchange for their engagement, it creates a sense of goodwill toward your event and your brand.

Even if someone doesn’t win, they’ll remember the excitement and positive experience of entering your contest.

This kind of interaction builds trust and loyalty over time, turning casual attendees into dedicated followers.

They’ll be more likely to purchase tickets for your future events, share your promotions with others, and even encourage their friends to join in.

Over time, this kind of engagement helps turn your audience into a community—people who feel connected to the event and are invested in its success.

They’ll be more likely to advocate for your brand and help spread the word for future events.

8. Track and Measure the Success of Your Event Promotion

One of the hidden benefits of running a contest or giveaway is that it provides clear metrics you can track to measure the success of your marketing efforts.

You can monitor:

Social Media Analytics: Track how many people shared your contest, tagged others, or commented on your posts. This will give you insight into which platforms and types of content resonate the most with your audience.

Lead Generation: By requiring entrants to sign up for an email list or follow your social media accounts, you can generate a pool of leads that you can nurture into ticket buyers.

Conversion Rates: Measure how many contest participants converted into paying attendees. This will help you determine whether the giveaway directly contributed to ticket sales and how you can optimize future campaigns.

Having access to these metrics allows you to continuously refine and improve your marketing strategies, ensuring that you get the most out of your promotional efforts.

Conclusion

Contests and giveaways are not just fun activities—they are an incredibly effective tool for driving engagement, generating excitement, and increasing ticket sales for your event.

Whether you're looking to boost social media interaction, create anticipation, or convert casual followers into committed attendees, contests provide an opportunity to do all of that and more.

By offering enticing prizes, encouraging user participation, and leveraging the power of social media, you’ll be able to spark interest, boost engagement, and spread the word about your event in a way that feels authentic and exciting.

So, the next time you're planning an event, don’t underestimate the power of a well-run contest or giveaway.

It could be the key to making your event a huge success.

[beneaththetangles]

One of the most incredible things about being an anime fan in 2025 is the massive amount of anime figures available to collectors. And figure companies aren’t just focusing on new series—they’re developing models for older anime, too! A decade ago, that would have been unthinkable, but now? We’ve got new Toradora figures!

We are giving away one Pop-Up Parade figure of Taiga Aisaka, everyone’s favorite tsundere, from the classic series Toradora! Here’s a little BtT trivia: my love for that series sparked a dormant love for anime within me, and it eventually led to me blogging about anime, which led to Beneath the Tangles.

Thank you, Taiga!

But onto YOU. How can you win this figure? It’s pretty easy! Follow us, like and share our pinned posts on Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Facebook, or Substack. And then double your chances of winning by answering this question:

What “old school” anime would you recommend?

The deadline to enter the contest is midnight ET on June 13th. You can find additional rules on those pinned posts. Good luck!

And after you enter, read some of our Toradora articles from throughout the years:

The Code of Kushieda

12 Days of Christmas Anime, Day 12: Toradora

My Experience with a Voice Actress…or, Get Over Yourself, Minorin!

12 Days of Christmas Anime, Day 6: Toradora’s “Holy Night” Is Anime’s Christmas Carol

[shiftythrifting]

It's that time of year again! We're giving away a hoodie or sweatshirt of your choice plus a heap of stickers! Anyone can enter, but if you are under 18, please make sure it's okay to get physical prizes in the mail beforehand. We announce a winner here on December 21st!

Get free daily entries on our contest page or here! Good luck!

Our contest is not endorsed by twitter, twitch, instagram, or tumblr.

[beneaththetangles]

One of the most charming series of the summer 2024 anime season is Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian. The title gives you the basic setup—tsundere speaks of her adoration for the MC in Russian, which she assumes no one understands (wrongly of course)—but the quality of the voice acting, animation, and characterization has been excellent.

And now, y’all have a chance to read the full array of light novels from which the show is adapted!

We’re giving away volumes one through 4.5 of the series—all the LNs currently released of Alya by Yen Press! That adds up to five volumes in total as it includes a volume 4.5 as well. And it’s so easy to enter!

1) LIKE this post 2) REBLOG this (though make sure to tag us so I can be sure to see it!) 3) Double your entry by COMMENTING below: Which language do you wish you could speak?

Here are the other rules:

You must be following us to enter

We’ll accept entries up to 11:59 p.m. ET on July 24th

International entries are welcome

BtT staff are not eligible

Spam and contest accounts are not eligible

[jonathanbrandisarchive]

Jonathan Brandis—Is He In For A Bumpy Ride? The Behind-The-Scenes Scoop On His Own Private Waterworld!

Nineteen-year-old Jon predicts this is going to be seaQuest 2032’s best year yet! Plus! Win His Signed Tee!!

Superteen, 1995

Is the quest over? Has Jonathan Brandis' futuristic sub finally run aground? Well, that's the question lots of Hollywood insiders are asking now that seaQuest 2032 (how 'bout that for a title change!?) has sailed into its new season in uncharted waters. Now seen at a different time—Wednesdays at 8:00 PM—the seaQuest is light a few crew members. Roy Scheider, who plays Captain Nathan Bridger, will appear in only a few episodes; Mario Sanchez, Sensor Chief Miguel Ortiz, will not be returning at all, nor will Rosalind Allen as the Doctor. What's more, one of the more seasoned actors has been telling reporters that morale on the seaQuest set is at an all-time low.

S.O.S.?!

Even Jonathan has made a comment or two about the direction of the series when it went from being sci-fi to fantasy, observing, "I think we went a little overboard with some of the shows last year." And to top it off, when the remaining cast—and newcomers Michael Ironside as the new captain, Michael York as a recurring villain and John D'Aquino, who returns after a year off, as Benjamin Krieg— returned to the Orlando, Florida set, they were faced with a shut-down due to Hurricane Erin! Not a very good beginning!

The Positive Side!

Don’t despair! seaQuest still has a lot going for it (Jonathan Brandis, for one!) and Jonathan thinks things will turn around. First of all, your fan mail to Jon and the rest of the cast helped bring back the series for another season. And Jonathan is determined to reward your loyalty. Last season he wrote "The Siamese Dream" episode and he's hoping to not only write but direct an episode this year. "Writing and directing are both really my first loves," he explains.

Jon would like to see his character, Lucas, grow up a bit this year. "I'd like to see him wear a uniform, maybe have a little more com-mand—and get a girl once in a while," he says. On that note, Jon is giving his all to seaQuest and sees everyone else on the set responding in kind. Since there are whispers that this may really be seaQuest's last year, Jon urges: "It would be nice to put in a good season before we go out."

JON TEE-SHIRT CONTEST!

Get up-close-and-personal with Jon—win one of his very own super Radio Aahs tees (they're from Jon's favorite kids' radio network!). The tees are autographed by this blue-eyed babe, and SuperTeen has two to give away! All you have to do to enter is fill out the coupon above and mail it back to us. We'll choose two winners at random and their names will be announced in an upcoming issue! Good luck!

[beneaththetangles]

Don't Be Shy! Win Two SHY Anime Figures and SHY, Vol. 7!

Today is the unofficial kickoff to the summer 2024 anime season with several premieres landing today, including one of our favorite returning series, SHY! The series about an introverted superhero is entering its second season, and to celebrate, we're giving away two Banpresto anime figures of characters from the series: the eponymous Shy (Teru Momijiyama) and my favorite, the heavy-drinking Spirit (Pepesha Andreanova). And to top it off, we'll also be giving away volume seven of the manga, releasing this month!* It’s easy to enter!

1) LIKE this post 2) REBLOG this (though make sure to tag us so I can be sure to see it!) 3) Double your entry by COMMENTING below: On a scale of 1 (least) to 10 (most), how shy are you?

Here are the other rules:

You must be following us to enter

We'll accept entries up to 11:59 p.m. ET on July 9th

International entries are welcome

No spam/contest-only accounts

BtT staff may not enter

*As the next manga volume releases on July 30th, we will be waiting until after that release to ship the prize to the winner!

[jonathanbrandisarchive]

jonathan giveaway: he signed it, you win it!

Jonathan Brandis: Lights, Camera, Action!

Any Jonathan Brandis fan knows that the beautiful blond one loves anything to do with movie cameras, directing, producing and acting in general. If you didn't know, just take a look at the color pin-up of Jon on the opposite page! The proof is right here! While he's working on seaQuest DSV and an upcoming Family Channel movie, Jon still makes lots of time to use his camera for whatever he feels like shooting. He's not just an actor – he's an aspiring director, producer and screenwriter! Every time TEEN BEAT chats with Jon, he talks about his future plans to get behind the cameras, and we thought since you, his devoted fans, adore him so, that you'd like to know all about it. Lights, camera, action!

Plus—He Signed It, You Win It!

Teen Beat, 1994

TEEN BEAT: If you could make your own movie, what would it be about?

JONATHAN: I think I'd love to do a movie someday about kids growing up in show business. It wouldn't be the first film l'd want to make—it would probably be one of the last. It would be very interesting to me because it's a very, very different sort of childhood. Movies about this business never do well, don't make any money. I'd look at the serious side of it. A buddy of mine, Seth Green [Byrds Of Paradise], wrote a very comedic version of it and it's very interesting. But this idea's always been in my head to show a very serious, almost negative side to it.

TEEN BEAT: Would it be based on your own experiences?

JONATHAN: Yes, I think it would be based on my own experiences. I've been doing this all my life and I think if I were to also write it I would probably give the best version of it, because anybody can do it but it helps to live through certain things, to be related to certain things.

TEEN BEAT: Do you have any regrets about being in show biz your whole life?

JONATHAN: Not really, no, I don't because I guess I see the things I did and I see the things I could have done going to proms and high school football games – a lot of things that a lot of kids do. And then I see what I have-having the chance to act, be in certain magazines and do certain films. Very few people get the chance to do that.

Jon Signed It, You Win It!

The last time TEEN BEAT and Jon hung out, we brought along a trusty TEEN BEAT tee, of course, and Jon signed it. You know what that means – you can win it! If you'd like to try to be the owner of this special tee, fill out the contest coupon here (or a reasonable facsimile), and mail it back to TEEN BEAT  by September 1, 1994. We'll choose the lucky winner randomly from among all the entries we get, and the tee will be sent in the mail. Just think how fabulous it would be to wear a tee signed by Jonathan Brandis... and then send that entry on its way!