How to Use Giveaways, Polls, & More in Your Content Strategy

Does your content strategy need a reboot? Even with a robust audience, every brand hits a wall at some point. Your metrics may become stagnant. Or there’s a drop in conversions on certain platforms.

The Data and Marketing Association (DMA) says marketers face two huge challenges: a lack of data and a lack of strategy. While a stall doesn’t always require a total overhaul, it’s a sign that it’s time to review different parts of your plan.

Fortunately, gathering new data is as simple as adding a quiz, poll, or giveaway to your current campaign. While typically considered promotional tactics, successful marketers also use quizzes and polls to inform their content strategy.

Turn your next campaign into a research opportunity by creating giveaways and polls that do double-duty.

Is it time to shift your content strategy?

As new competitors enter the field and consumer behavior changes, your plan must evolve. After all, your customers’ needs change and markets shift. The introduction of new channels, like Tik Tok or the stories feature on various platforms, are two examples of why it’s crucial to review your strategy.

But, you must also pivot your plan rapidly when needed. A study by the Content Marketing Institute finds 87% of the most successful marketers agree that their “organization is able to quickly adjust their content marketing strategy.” Whereas only 41% of the least successful marketers agree.

The tactical use of giveaways, polls, and quizzes help you quickly identify areas for improvement. Three critical elements affected by potential changes include:

  1. Topic categories
  2. Your content type
  3. Distribution channels

Content marketing is a continuous cycle. Invest in campaign formats that help you build relationships with existing customers while also providing market and customer insights.

marketing cycle contest strategy example tips guide

Content Strategy Improvements: Data to the Rescue

“61% of marketers ranked improving their ability to measure and analyze their marketing efforts as a vital priority,” according to the Demand Generation Benchmark Survey Report.

Collecting and analyzing data are two ways to improve your plan. You can gather research and perform tests by using quizzes, polls, coupons, and giveaways.

  • Quizzes collect data about what content, topics, and channels your customers use.
  • Polls help determine what subjects are relevant to your fans.
  • Giveaways provide a benefit in exchange for valuable feedback.
  • Coupons offer extra incentives for feedback and survey participation.

Information from your giveaways and polls will benefit more than your marketing team. Data shapes the wording of sales pitches. It also helps your customer service department develop answers to common questions. Each team feels the effect of market and customer changes. So it makes sense to share insights that improve your business as a whole.

Perform Market Research

Your original market research is a vast compilation of information. You may have used customer feedback, social listening, customer surveys, or recorded brand interactions. When your metrics stagnate, you may ask what changed? Or, if you’re expanding your business, then you’ll want data to back up important decisions.

But, you don’t need to go back to the drawing board or invest in costly studies. Instead, use existing tools and campaigns to generate information.

Quizzes for Market Research

Businesses use quizzes to inform, educate, or inspire consumers. By adding questions related to market research, you can use quizzes to analyze current expectations. For instance, create quiz questions relating to competitor advertising or platforms where your fans notice the most promotions.

Common survey questions often ask consumers to recall a specific tagline or ask if they’ve seen a recent commercial about a product. You can do the same thing with quizzes for great feedback about your current market.

In fact, you can even use your quiz to promote customer engagement by asking your fans to share their best ideas.

quiz ideas marketing research

Customer Feedback via Comment Entry Giveaways and Coupons

Soliciting reviews is more than getting social proof. The information also helps your teams create content that your audience cares about. If you’re refining your strategy or considering product changes, talk to your customers first.

  1. Create a social media giveaway that encourages product feedback. With a comment entry contest, you’ll ask a question of your audience. Each person who responds gets entered into your giveaway.
  2. Consider sending a follow-up email after purchase that invites new customers to fill out a survey. Offer a coupon as an incentive for completing the form.

Observation and Social Listening With a Hashtag Contest

Paying attention to what your customers and competition do online is vital. Often, people won’t tag your company when posting about your products or services. But, you can solicit information by creating a hashtag contest. Ask your fans a direct question about your market and request the use of the hashtag.

Update Customer Profiles

Your customers don’t stay stagnant. Their needs and media preferences shift. When reviewing your customer profile, there are a few big questions to consider:

  • How does your audience engage with your brand?
  • What types of content does your audience consume?
  • What do your fans care about (values or goals)?
  • How have your customers’ pain points or fears changed?

This is another area where quizzes and polls are super useful. Develop a quiz for your fans that’s engaging, entertaining, yet also provides you with data about their habits. Both trivia and personality quizzes give you excellent information while delivering interactive fun to users. Example quiz questions include:

  • If you had to delete one social channel, which one would it be?
  • Which piece of content would you share with your friends?
  • What is your top concern when shopping online?

poll ideas update customer profile

Or create a poll and ask users to choose between two to four different habits or values that are important to them. For instance, this poll asks users to vote on a diverse list of potential grant recipients, including desert protection and adaptive sports. The answers provide insight into the top concerns of their audience.

Using Giveaways, Polls, and Quizzes to inform your Tactics

After completing a series of quizzes, polls, and giveaways, you’ll have quite a bit of data in your hands. This may include quiz answers, social media comments, and email or other feedback. With Woobox, you can download a CSV file with all the collected data.

Take this information and turn it into actionable steps by:

  • Grouping content into topic categories
  • Highlighting information that relates to specific campaigns
  • Tagging user-generated content for use in various content formats

Furthermore, use data from your quizzes and polls to develop content for each stage of the buying journey. Doing so is one way to stand out from the competition, as only 41% of marketers report creating content “tied to the buying journey of a customer.”

With newly acquired information from your quizzes and giveaways, you’ll be able to do many things. Such as reviewing your current content strategy and looking for holes where your fans note new issues or display a shift in behavior or habits.

You may also notice a need for additional resources, like adding an FAQ page based on a quiz where you asked customers about their top questions or hard-to-find answers. Other ideas include:

  • Using quotes from customer comment giveaways as micro-content for social media or in emails
  • Creating an email series that addresses top concerns about shopping online or your products

Examples of Giveaways, Polls, and Quizzes

Adjust your giveaways, polls, and quizzes so each one can deliver insights about your target market. Keep it friendly and fun with lighthearted words and imagery. Remember to earmark specific questions for later use in your content strategy. A successful contest builds a relationship, increases brand awareness, and provides data to fuel future campaigns.

Trivia Quiz

AromaTools uses a quiz as a way to engage users and gather information. The quiz combines fun questions that also serve to gauge the participant’s knowledge of essential oils. Later, the company may use data insights when developing a blog or social media post. Plus, when submitting answers, the sign-up box for their email newsletter is automatically checked. Users may opt-out by clicking this box or passively sign up. These customizable features give you control over your results.

trivia quiz example marketing social media

Polls

Your fans love to vote on their favorite destinations or products. Australian Traveller Magazine uses a poll to assess where their audience likes to vacation. The poll generates interest and brand awareness by offering a chance to win a lifetime subscription to Australian Traveller and International Traveller Magazines. However, the magazine may also use the information to guide their content strategy and choose their next topic.

marketing poll idea example

Video Contest

A video contest is an excellent example of content that does double-duty. The Tennessee Jump$tart Personal Finance Music Video Contest gets kids (and parents) involved. Each submission provides information about its target market’s financial knowledge. By summing up submission data, the company gets extra info about the needs of their customers. In return, they create content that reflects the interest shown in the UGC.

video contest ideas examples facebook instagram social

Perfecting Your Content Strategy

Your content strategy is a living document that evolves. Incorporate giveaways, quizzes, and polls that give you audience insights. With a few easy steps, you’ll delight fans and collect data for your next campaign.

Need Help Gathering Market Research?

Come up with the right mix of quizzes, giveaways, and polls with help from our team. Woobox Support is available from 8 am to 5 pm PST, Monday through Friday at 1-360-450-5200 and support@woobox.com.