Giveaways as a tool for strengthening brand trust and recognition

Don’t just give things away – give people a reason to believe in your brand

Giveaways have been around since social media became a part of brand strategy. In fact, you’ll agree that they are all over, promising free products and gift cards. Unfortunately, most of them focus on boosting numbers – likes, shares, follows – and miss the real prize, which is boosting brand trust and recognition.

To become successful in today’s hyper-competitive business world, you need to build relationships, not just chase attention. This should be the long-term goal of all your giveaway strategies, and we’ll look at why it’s a powerful tool for building brand trust and recognition.

Why giveaways are effective at building brand trust & recognition

When a person decides to take part in your giveaway, they are doing more than just trying to win a prize as they are also engaging your brand. That’s where trust begins, but giveaways give you an edge in that they flip the regular brand-customer dynamic. Instead of the customer spending to try out your product, they get it for free.

Here’s a quick look at why that’s important:

• Positive first impression: Since it’s the first time for most participants to interact with your brand, they’ll always remember it positively, even if they don’t win.
• They show authenticity: When it’s well-run, the giveaway will show that your brand values its customers and is willing to engage them.
• They demonstrate follow-through: When the giveaway is fair, your winners are announced on time, and the prizes are actually delivered, it builds credibility.
• A chance to try out your product or service: People are likely to trust a brand that they’ve experienced, and the giveaway is a chance for that.

This means that a giveaway gives you more than just reach. It communicates to your audience and lets them know you are there to offer value even before they can buy. However, your giveaway strategies also need to be based on that.

How to build trust and recognition through giveaways

To ensure your giveaway gives you more than just clicks, it needs to be intentional.

Design giveaways that reinforce your brand

You want people to recognize your brand or product so that it leaves a lasting impression, so ensure the campaigns feel like an extension of your brand, not just a one-off promotion.

This should start with the prize. Ensure it makes sense to your regular audience and only attracts potential customers. Even if it’s a gift card, it should be to your store, not just any ecommerce platform.

Apart from that, ensure the tone, visuals, and messaging match your brand and personality. Making it too flashy can go beyond your brand image, so ensure there’s some consistency.

You can then explain why you are running the giveaway so that it makes your brand stand out. Is it a product launch, an anniversary, or just a way of celebrating your community?

Build recognition through strategic engagement

A giveaway makes it easy for people to come across your brand, but it doesn’t guarantee that they’ll remember it. For that, you need to engage them in a way that makes people feel seen and valued. This means meaningfully interacting with them from the start of the campaign to beyond the campaign period.

Every comment you respond to matters even beyond the author, and so does every share and like you give. It makes people feel that you acknowledge their effort, and it shows others that you are a friendly brand.

However, strategic engagement means going beyond the likes and shares. Try as much as possible to turn the engagement into a conversation. For example, you can ask a question like “What does productivity look like for you?” The question is meaningful and it helps the participant find a way to connect their personal life to your brand.

Apart from that, ensure you use Stories or Highlights to showcase entries, shout out participants, and reply commonly asked questions.

Partner with macro-influencers

One of the best ways to build brand trust is to partner with people who already have an audience that trusts them. Here, don’t just go for general influencers, but those who are in the same or a related industry.

For example, if you have a financial product, you can partner with an influencer who shares financial information online. When people get recommendations from such figures, they often treat it like a recommendation, rather than an advert. This gives you instant trust and exposes your brand to a new audience who would have otherwise not come across your brand or promotion.

Want your next giveaway to build real brand trust, not just clicks?

At Promosfera, we help brands run strategic, legally sound promotions that leave a lasting impression. We’ll work with your concept to execution to help you create giveaways that strengthen credibility and boost recognition in any market.