Flickr Source: David Harber by-nd/2.0

Contests are a great way to spread the word and spark excitement about a campaign. They can increase your audience reach, reward your fans and get people talking about you.

But contests don’t run themselves; they need to be well planned and well executed. When running contests, we recommend using the SPHERE approach.

So what? What’s special about your contest and why should someone care? Are there any great entries? What’s important for your audience to know about in regards to the scope of the contest or the breadth of people entering? Determine this at the outset and integrate your So What statement into all of your marketing materials. If you don’t know why people should be excited about the contest, they won’t be.

Personality driven. Your contest shouldn’t be just a faceless organization; it should have a personality behind it. Who are the spokespeople? Have them bring personality to the contest. Also, who are the active people on the contest page, what personalities do they have?

Hook. What’s your story angle, catchy contest title, hashtag? You need to use phrases that are easy to remember. Your Hook helps to spread your contest via word of mouth.

Ego. Who does your contest need to engage with? Who looks clever or in the know if they share the contest and promote it amongst their fans? The worst thing you could do is encourage entrants to spam their friends to get votes. Instead, find the people who can benefit from promoting your contest. Also, why do people want to enter? Prize money? Join community and share ideas? What else?

Relevance. Why is the contest relevant to the audience you’re pitching it to? If you want people to enter, what’s in it for them? If you want them to promote the contest, how can they benefit?

Effort. Don’t underestimate the time commitment that is required to run a successful contest and create an effective community. Contests are never about giving away the prize, they are about interacting in the community and establishing long-term ties. What effort do you need to put into this in order to keep people engaged after the contest? Proper outreach takes time. Setting up a media resource page to direct bloggers to takes time. Writing a good social media release takes time.

And remember, you’re aiming for Results, not Effort. Ensure your goals are specific and measurable so that your marketing efforts are always driving towards your goals.