Creating a photo contest for your Main Street can be a great way to engage visitors and residents, promote local businesses, and showcase your Main Street’s unique characteristics. By properly planning, promoting and showcasing your results, you can produce a successful photo contest:
- Planning: From timelines and rules to judging and prizes, planning your photo contest is key to successful results.
- Promoting & Marketing: Promote your photo contest and take advantage of the marketing it will provide your Main Street. Utilizing social media can increase awareness and engagement.
- Showcase Main Street: Take advantage of the unique characteristics of your Main Street by showcasing them to your audience. Use the images you receive to engage and create marketing opportunities for your community
Planning
- Create a marketing plan that can guide you through the promotional aspects of your photo contests. Make sure to include important pieces like social media, local media, partners, and websites managed by your town.
- Dive into developing a strategic social media presence. Create posts and reels to announce and promote the contest. If your budget allows, consider paid social media advertising to gain more engagement and exposure. Make sure you have consent from the photographers, you can include this in your contest rules.
- Utilize community partners and businesses to promote the contest. Posters, flyers, rack cards, QR codes, table tents and window decals are all great ways to get your campaign in front of foot traffic. You can also ask partners or local businesses to share your posts via social media.
- Stay true to your plan. Don’t stray from timelines or schedules when it comes to posting updates or promotional messages. The more engagement you receive the better. Keep the information flowing at a steady pace.
Showcase
- Use this opportunity to celebrate the uniqueness of your Main Street. Celebrate your community’s character, values, and people. Use these visuals to help build a positive perception of your Main Street that will draw people to your community. Use the images to tell your story.
- Reveal the winners in a unique and fun way. Make sure you notify the winners prior to the announcement so they can help promote the contest as well. Consider posting the winners photos online, on social media, local media and around town. Create some excitement and be creative with your reveal or winner announcement. Don’t forget to share the photographer’s story and give some insight to what they saw and why they took the photo.
- Here is your opportunity to create some marketing momentum. Keep your audience energized by showcasing your amazing community. Use the visuals to help you build your brand and engage your audience. Post the images and tell a story behind the images.