12 Fun Marketing Ideas to Drive Online Engagement

Editorial calendar feeling a bit stale? Or are you looking to explore some digital marketing ideas to help your brand stand out from the noise?

Breathe fresh air into your digital strategy with these interactive marketing experiences, either as part of a one-off event or an ongoing campaign.

But wait, how do you know which promotion is best for your needs? Check out this guide, it’ll help you find the best experiences to boost brand awareness and generate leads.

What digital marketing experiences can you create with Woobox?

With Woobox, you can set up a variety of interactive experiences to promote your campaign. Discover which Woobox experiences are best for your brand while checking out marketing examples of each format.

Use these marketing ideas to jumpstart your next campaign:

Photo or video contest
Hashtag contest
Polls
Coupon
Instant win games
Trivia quiz
UGC contest
Personality quiz
Bracket contest
Giveaway
Media giveaway
Popups

1. Photo or Video Contest

With a Woobox photo contest, you can encourage fans to share photos or videos in various ways. Many companies host a contest on their social media pages, such as Instagram or Facebook. But, you can also create landing pages and direct users to submit their entries via your form.

Photo or video contests are best for:

Obtaining brand-related user-generated content (UGC)
Boosting social media shares from entrants sharing their submission
Encouraging fans to get creative and relieve stress
Connecting with customers who share a similar trait, hobby, or passion

Example of a Photo and Video Contest

Canvas uses a brightly colored yet simple landing page to encourage fans to share photos and videos. Users can enter the contest using their subscriber email or view the photo gallery to see the dozens of photos, screenshots, and videos created by fans.

Explore Photo & Video Contest Digital Marketing Ideas

Brainstorm digital marketing ideas that get your fans snapping photos, commenting on your posts, and voting for their favorite images. Get inspiration with these articles:

2. Hashtag Contest

You can turn almost any contest into a hashtag contest by developing a branded hashtag and asking fans to add it to their social media post. A hashtag contest boosts brand awareness while keeping entry simple, as users only need to type the correct hashtag to enter.

Hashtag Contests are best for:

Drawing attention to your brand
Getting fans to share content on their Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook feeds
Tracking social media engagement by hashtag usage
Providing low-barrier to entry contests

Example of a Hashtag contest

The Creation Station LTD uses a hashtag photo contest to help them attempt a Guinness Book Record. The company takes submissions through its contest landing page but suggests users share their photos on social media with the hashtag #OurCreativeFace.

Plus, Creation Station asks fans to tag three of their friends, which boosts submission rates. The company also added an optional field asking where people heard of their brand and giving them options to opt-in to two different mailing lists.

Discover More Hashtag Contest Digital Marketing Ideas

Use these guides to plan a hashtag contest for Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram:

3. Polls

A poll experience can help your brand meet several objectives. Polls may be purely entertainment, like asking fans to choose their favorite candy bar. Or you can use polls for audience research by asking a brand-related question.

For instance, you can ask fans to check all the social media platforms they use or to select their most pressing shopping dilemma.

Polls are best for:

Gathering demographic, psychographic, or behavioral data for audience research
Collecting information on what people want to see in a new product
Providing an interactive element to social media feeds
Embedding on your website

Example of a Poll

First Federal Savings Bank asks people to vote on their favorite employee-made gingerbread house. Anyone can vote without giving out their email address, making this a great option to spread goodwill and brand awareness.

Brainstorm Your Next Poll

Need help coming up with poll ideas? Discover fun ways to deliver interactive experiences with these guides:

4. Coupon

As fans increasingly look for deals and discounts, offering a coupon is a fantastic way to attract attention. You can share coupons in emails, on your website, or social channels.

Coupons are best for:

Retargeting people who abandon their cart at checkout
Offering exclusive offers to loyalty club members
Promoting your latest special or free shipping offer
Gifting contest entrants a prize even though they didn’t win
Building your email subscriber list

Example of a Coupon

Sweet Earth Enlightened Foods developed a landing page for its coupon. The company can share the link with people through any channel and increase click-throughs with a strong call to action.

Learn How to Use Coupons in Your Digital Marketing Strategy

Explore ways to create and use coupons in your digital marketing campaigns. Read these articles before designing your discount promotion:

5. Instant Win

Instant win games can immediately brighten someone’s day, especially if you make everyone a winner. While creating your instant win game, you set the odds of winning, determine how many prizes you’ll give out, and can choose from four prize types, including:

Manual: You send out the prize
Common code: All winners see the same code
Unique digital code: The next unused code is instantly awarded
Randomly generated code: A unique redeemable code is generated

Instant win games are best for:

Creating viral social media experiences
Attracting goodwill by awarding prizes to many winners
Embedding on your website during a promotion
Increasing brand awareness
Collecting email addresses

Example of an Instant Win Game

CXA Group offers a birthday draw game where entrants give their work email address and birth date for a chance to win. Each element is customizable to switch up your entry fields or add a video instead of a photo image.

Instant Win Digital Marketing Ideas

Satisfy your fans with interactive games offering instant gratification. Grab a few marketing ideas from guides like:

6. Trivia Quiz

Test your fans’ knowledge and give them a chance to compete with friends by creating a trivia quiz. Tug on your audience’s competitive steak by adding a call to action that encourages them to leave their score in the comments and tag a friend.

A trivia quiz is best for:

Adding interactive games to social media pages
Embedding on product pages or your website
Using as a lead generation tool
Creating content to match current trends

Example of a Trivia Quiz

The African Sister Cities quiz tests people’s knowledge by asking several difficult questions. Once you click each of the multiple-choice answers, users are sent to a post-entry page to see their score. You can add social media share buttons or prompt users to sign-up to your email list to learn more about your quiz topic on the post-entry page.

Find More Trivia Quiz Digital Marketing Ideas

Having trouble coming up with quiz ideas or questions? Check out these quick reads for inspiration:

7. User-Generated Content Contest

Personal stories and photos help your company share real-life experiences with others. People who enter your contest appreciate the chance to be heard. And your fans enjoy learning from other individuals facing similar situations.

You can turn any photo contest into a UGC sweepstake by adding an extra field on your sign-up form.

Photo and comment contests are best for:

Generating testimonials about your products
Developing a stockpile of user-generated content for future digital marketing campaigns
Increasing awareness about a shared pain point among customers
Gathering email addresses of people with similar interests

Example of a UGC Contest

My Glaucoma aims to increase awareness about glaucoma by encouraging others to speak about their experiences. The company expands its reach by asking for submissions from anyone who has glaucoma or has a loved one with glaucoma. Plus, My Glaucoma requests video or photo entries, giving the company many forms of UGC for use in future campaigns.

Explore Other Types of UGC Contests

Encourage fans to share their thoughts or photos with a comment-entry or UGC contest. Find more marketing ideas in our guides:

8. Personality Quiz

Like trivia quizzes, you can use a personality quiz to add an interactive element to your website or social media feeds. Many brands use a personality quiz as a product recommendation tool by asking questions about a fan’s lifestyle or habits, then directing them to products tailored to their answers.

Personality quizzes are best for:

Adding a fun element to your website
Segmenting email lists according to quiz answers
Increasing brand awareness with social shares
Helping customers select gifts for an upcoming holiday

Example of a Personality Quiz

Rogers And Hollands | Ashcroft And Oak uses a personality quiz to match fans with the perfect engagement ring. Once you answer the questions, you’re automatically directed to a screen where you learn what your personality style is and which ring styles fit you.

Discover Fun Personality Quiz Ideas

Need help designing a quiz for your latest promotion? Get tips from our guides:

9. Bracket Contest

Brands are coming up with all sorts of neat ways to use brackets. A bracket is easy and fun to play. People click to pick each bracket winners, then submit their email to get alerts when the results come in.

Bracket games are best for:

Increasing engagement and awareness on social media
Keeping interest levels high during an ongoing campaign
Using one contest to create dozens of social posts
Learning more about your audience

Example of a Bracket Contest

The Gulf Coast Supply company aims to find the best Christmas movie of all time, with the winner receiving a $250 prize along with a $500 donation to the charity of their choice. Users can come back every day to vote in new matchups, making this game an excellent way to keep fans engaged.

Learn How to Use Bracket Contests in Digital Marketing

If you’re new to brackets, it can seem complicated. These articles break down the details:

10. Giveaway

With a giveaway, you can showcase your top-selling products, generate brand interest, and get people to share your post for bonus entries. Consider partnering with other small businesses to expand your reach and offer more prizes.

Giveaways are best for:

One-time, daily, weekly, or monthly giveaways
Promoting products as prizes
Creating excitement leading up to the end of your campaign
Going live on social media to announce winners

Example of a Giveaway

The SMC family of brands designed their Lending a Hand giveaway just in time for the holiday season. Instead of a one-time-only deal, fans can enter this giveaway daily. The company also gives participants a chance to opt-in to its text messaging program, where folks can receive advertising messages and be among the first to learn about the latest promotions.

Plan Your Next Giveaway

Are you ready to host a giveaway? Use these digital marketing ideas to design a sweepstake your fans will love:

11. Media Giveaway

Once you create a free download, it can be tricky to get eyes on your content. However, a special landing page that promotes your freebie while collecting names and email addresses is a fantastic way to encourage people to download your latest offering.

Media giveaways are best for:

Generating leads when providing a free downloadable tip sheet or guide
Introducing fans to your brand without giving away cash prizes
Embedding on your website

Example of a Media Giveaway

Keep it short and sweet with a sharp landing page. Add your download page to your website and share the link with email marketing promotions.

Create a Media Giveaway

Increase lead generation and delight fans with digital downloads. Check out these articles for more ideas:

12. Popups

Add a popup to your website to reduce cart abandonment or increase newsletter signups. Popup codes are easy to create and add to your site.

Popups are best for:

Getting people to signup to receive your newsletter
Offering a discount code, like free shipping, on your website
Targeting customers on a specific web or product page

Example of a Popup

Design a popup that matches your brand and grabs attention. JJ’s Gifts keeps it simple by only requiring customers to share an email address in exchange for 10% off.

Explore More Popup Marketing Examples

Bolster your campaigns by adding a popup to your website. Learn more about this simple marketing tactic in these guides:

Meet Your Goals With Interactive Digital Marketing Ideas

Engage your audience by incorporating interactive games and giveaways into your marketing strategy. With Woobox, you can design promotions that’ll boost brand awareness while generating leads.

Get Help Planning Your Next Campaign

Unsure which experience is best for your needs? Our Woobox team is here to help. Contact us from 8 am to 5 pm PST, Monday through Friday at 1-360-450-5200, or emailing support@woobox.com.