Running a Successful Contest on Social Media in Canada

You see them all the time: a brand posts a picture on Social Media in Canada, asks you to “like and tag a friend to win,” and suddenly, the comments and shares start pouring in. Running a contest is one of the fastest and most effective ways to boost your social media engagement, grow your followers, and get a ton of buzz for your business. But in Canada, you can’t just throw up a post and hope for the best. Canadian law has specific rules for contests that you must follow to make sure your giveaway is legal and fair.

This guide will walk you through how to run a successful and legal Social Media in Canada contest for your Canadian business.

1. The Canadian Legal Checklist: Don’t Get in Trouble!

Canada’s laws about contests are strict. You have to follow them to protect your business and your customers. The most important thing to remember is that you cannot run a “pure game of chance” that involves a purchase. This is considered an illegal lottery. You have to make sure your contest has a skill element.

Here are the key things you must do:

• Offer a No-Purchase-Necessary Entry: Your contest must have a free way to enter. You cannot force people to buy something to participate. If your main entry method is “buy a product to enter,” you must also provide a free alternative, like a mail-in entry or an online form.
• Include a Skill-Testing Question: This is the most famous Canadian contest rule! Before you award a prize, the winner must correctly answer a mathematical skill-testing question. This simple step makes your contest a game of skill, not just a game of chance. The question should be something a person can solve without a calculator, like: $(20\times 4)+(100÷2)-5=?$
• Have Official Rules: You need a full set of rules for your contest. These rules must be easy to find and should clearly state:
  • Who can enter (age, location in Canada).
  • How to enter.
  • What the prize is and its approximate value.
  • How and when you will choose the winner.
  • All the legal stuff, like how you will use a person’s information.
• Be Transparent: The Competition Act requires you to disclose the number of prizes, their value, and the odds of winning. You should also be clear about how you will announce the winner.
• Check Quebec’s Rules: As of late 2023, Quebec’s contest laws have changed. The requirement to register with a government body for contests with a prize value over a certain amount has been eliminated. This means contests open to Quebec residents are generally subject to the same laws as the rest of Canada. However, you should still consider making contest materials available in both English and French if you plan to target this market.

2. Planning Your Contest: What to Do Before You Launch

A successful contest starts with a good plan. You need to know exactly what you want to achieve before you even think about the prize.

Set Clear Goals

What do you want to accomplish with this contest?

• Increase Followers: Your goal is to get more people to follow your account.
• Boost Engagement: You want more likes, comments, and shares on your posts.
• Generate User-Generated Content (UGC): You want people to create content featuring your brand, like photos or videos.
• Drive Traffic or Sales: You want people to visit your website or make a purchase.
• Collect Emails: You want to grow your email marketing list.

Your goal will help you decide what type of contest to run and what kind of prize to offer. For example, if you want to get more followers and likes, a simple “follow and like to win” contest is a good choice. If you want to get more UGC, a photo or video contest is better.

Choose an Awesome Prize

The prize is what gets people excited. It must be something your audience really wants. A good prize should:

• Be Relevant: The prize should relate to your brand. If you sell outdoor gear, a prize of a camping trip or a new tent makes a lot of sense. If you give away a random TV, you might get a lot of entries, but you won’t get entries from people who are actually interested in your products.
• Have a High Perceived Value: The prize should feel like a great deal, even if it doesn’t cost you a lot of money. A “prize pack” with a few of your popular products, a gift card, or a unique experience (like a VIP tour of your business) can be very appealing.
• Consider a Collaboration: You can team up with another Canadian brand to create a bigger, better prize. This helps you both reach new audiences.

Create Your Contest Assets

You need more than just the post itself. You should prepare:

• A Catchy Graphic or Video: Your post needs to grab people’s attention. A bright, clear image of the prize or a short, exciting video about the contest will work wonders.
• A Landing Page: It’s a great idea to have a special page on your website with all the official rules. This keeps your Social Media in Canada post clean and simple. You can also use this page to collect email addresses.
• Promotional Posts: You should have a plan to promote the contest on all your Social Media in Canada channels, not just the one you are running it on. You can create Instagram Stories, a post on Facebook, and a pin on Pinterest to get the word out.

3. The Big Day: Launching and Running Your Contest

You’ve done the hard work of planning. Now it’s time to launch!

Write the Perfect Post

Your contest post needs to be clear, simple, and exciting. You should include:

• A clear call to action (e.g., “Win a Trip to the Rocky Mountains!”).
• A brief, easy-to-read list of how to enter.
• A stunning visual of the prize.
• A mention of the prize value.
• A link to the full rules.
• A disclaimer saying the contest is not sponsored by or associated with the Social Media in Canada platform (e.g., “This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or administered by, or associated with, Instagram.”).

Engage and Promote

Once the contest is live, you should actively engage with the comments. Respond to questions and thank people for entering. You should also promote the contest throughout the week. Send an email to your newsletter subscribers, share it on your website, and post reminders on your Social Media in Canada stories.

Announce the Winner

When the Social Media in Canada is over, you must announce the winner publicly. You can do this in a new post, in your stories, or in your newsletter. You should contact the winner privately first to confirm their eligibility and to give them the skill-testing question. Once they answer it correctly, you can make the public announcement. This proves your contest was real and builds trust with your audience.