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Social media has become a hotbed for digital contests. Research shows 80 percent of consumers prefer to enter contests on social channels as opposed to company websites, online magazines or phone calls.

Brands see social contests as a way to engage customers and spread brand awareness. A recent survey of contest participants shows seventy-eight of participants believe contests have a positive influence on the brand’s perception.

Contests might be all the rage, but it can be a struggle for some brands to get consumers to participate. Of course, the internet is full of “tips and tricks” articles that claim to offer to the secret formula for high participation rates, but a well-known beauty care company skipped the digital tutorials and tried a unique marketing technique.

L’Oréal turns to social influencers

When L’Oréal wanted to encourage consumers to enter a photo-submission contest for one of its products, Garnier Nutrisse Ultra Color, it reached out to social influencers to spark interest. It’s called influencer marketing.

The contest asked fans to post a picture of their Nutrisse Ultra Color transformation on Instagram with the #WearUltraColor for a chance to be the face of the new collection.

The company teamed up with 26 fashion and beauty Instagrammers and asked them to post before and after pictures of their hair makeover on their social channels. The result was 52 posts on Instagram, in both English and French, from influencers that have thousands of loyal followers.

Here’s a look at some of the features that L’Oréal uses in its influencer marketing campaign:

A picture gallery

On the contest’s main page, the company shows a picture gallery of the participants. It’s not just a great visual element; it also provides social proof that dozens of people are taking part in the contest.

Specific hashtag

Every contest should have a specific hashtag associated with it. It’s become a contest norm that can help contest organizers to keep tabs on entries and provide a something similar to a tagline for campaigns.

Influencers with modest followings

L’Oréal didn’t focus on influencers with millions of followers. Many of the influencers have modest followings of 20,000 or so. The company understands that finding the right influencers that aligns with the project’s goals is more important than working with irrelevant influencers with large followings.

Great images

The influencers shared a picture of their current hair, and an after picture of their new look after it was colored. The results are fairly dramatic. Here’s a look at before and after pictures shared by an influencer for the campaign:

hair1

 

hair2

Wrap up

By working with social influencers to promote a contest, L’Oréal found a way to way to reach consumers that went beyond its typical audience. Consumers that may not have heard about the contest joined in on the fun because they learned about it through digital word of mouth from someone they follow and trust.