Our number one request from prospective and existing customers is “Can I see some live examples?”.  We agree.  Live examples speak a thousand words!  So here you go.  Here is our latest round of Custom Promotions built by Votigo’s internal team and/or Agencies and Brands leveraging our Developer APIs as well as our Template-d Promotions created using our Social Marketing & Promotions Platform self-service tools.

Taubman Centers –

Facebook Photo Contest

This Facebook Photo Contest allows users to upload a photo from their computer or mobile device as well as the ability to submit photos using a #hashtag via Instagram and Twitter.  The Votigo Moderation Tool allows the brand to view and approve all images before they appear in the consumer-facing UGC Gallery.

 Honda Fit Sweepstakes – Microsite

This is custom sweepstakes microsite asking users to submit their information and opt in to different email newsletter options.  Multiple prizes are offered.

Babyganics –

Facebook Daily Giveaway

 M&M’s & Boxtrolls –

Facebook Sweepstakes

M&M’s leverages our Social Promotions Platform to create their Facebook Sweepstakes.

Live Nation –

Facebook Photo #hashtag Sweepstakes

Live Nation leverages our Social Marketing & Promotions Platform to create and run their promotions.

As you know, User-generated Content is bigger than ever for Marketers.  Consumers are sharing photos, videos, and stories, that propel the brands messaging and help to spread the word (and visuals) of the brand.  Here are some new live examples of Photo-card Sharing apps, Photo Meme Generators, Social Media Content Aggregators, Facebook Photo and Video Contests, and more!

Rolaids – Custom Facebook Game App

• Facebook App / Tab Interactive Spelling Bee Game
• Custom flow to accommodate users spelling words after hearing an audio pronunciation of the specific word
• Ability to skip to next word
• User is notified, in real-time of their score
• Once the user clicks to “Start Game”, the timer will begin and the user will hear the first word
• User completes the word, and moves onto the next until the 60 seconds expires
• Confirmation page containing the users results from the spelling bee
• Leader Board outlining the user with the best score (most correct within 60 seconds)

MasterCard – Photo Meme Generator Site

• Dedicated Site
• Users can select 1 of 14 meme images supplied by the brand
• Themed captions are selected by the user and the caption copy is applied to the image creating the meme
• Once the meme is created it can be shared across social networks including direct messages to FB friends

AARP – Facebook Video Contest

• Video upload, voting, and gallery
• Voter Sweepstakes
• Responsive Design

Babyganics – Facebook Photo-Card Sharing App 

• Users upload a photo and select 1 of 4 frames to create a Father’s Day eCard
• Facebook sharing functionality to post on the user’s timeline, a friend’s timeline or a private message
• Custom coupon link/overlay on the confirmation page

Breitling – Facebook Video Contest

• Development with custom CSS
• Video upload, gallery, voting

Adam’s Smart Pet Care – Photo / Video Contest Site

• Full custom design and layout 
• Custom reg and entry flow
• Integrated headers and footers
• Infinite scrolling gallery
• Iframe coupon integration on the confirmation page
• Voter only registration
• Responsive Design by Votigo

Aloft Hotels – Facebook Audio / Video Contest 

–          Facebook Photo/Audio Contest

–          Multi language

W Hotels – Instagram Contest Microsite  

–          Instagram Contest Microsite

–          Votigo Custom CSS

Starwood Vacation Ownership 

– Photo Contest Microsite 

• Mobile Responsive Design Layout
• Upload, Gallery, Voting

We know, we know…  Summer is still a few months away but the weather is changing and the anticipation is rising.  Now is a perfect time to begin thinking about summer themed promotions and to introduce your fans to products geared for the summer season.  Tailor your product or service to the summer season and create a fun promotion that encourages them to use your brand.  Take advantage of what is top of mind for your fans and incorporate these ideas into your prizes. This could be a free beach getaway, fun and practical ways to stay cool, summer concerts and barbeques, and summer clothing.

It is a great idea to use the many summer holidays as a theme for your campaign.  There are many different audiences you can target when focusing on specific holidays or events.  One event that has a large target audience is graduation and the end of the school year.  Students anticipate the summer holiday all year and it is a perfect opportunity to capture their attention with a fun contest or sweepstakes.  Father’s Day is another holiday that provides a great opportunity for a promotion.  These promotions can incorporate photo or video contests that capture a father-son or father-daughter moment and can include great gifts and products for Dad to enjoy. The 4^th of July is also another holiday that has a huge audience. The 4^th of July is a holiday that incorporates events such as fireworks, barbeques, and parades.  These events are great opportunities to focus your promotion on.

Get your audience involved with summer themed photo or video contests that encourage them to document how they are enjoying the sun.  For more information on fun ways to engage fans contact us today!

Votigo Doubles SaaS Subscription Business and Expands Product Offering in 2013

Company announces record growth in Software-as-a-Service business line and continues to enhance its social marketing and promotions platform. 

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – March 19, 2014

Votigo, the complete social media marketing and promotions company, announced today that it grew its Software-as-a-Service subscription business by over 100% compared to 2012.  It was also named to the Inc. 500|5000 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies for the second year in a row.  With a three-year growth rate of 433% since 2009, Votigo is #82 in the software category.  At the same time its ever-expanding Social Media Marketing & Promotions Platform continues to evolve as it maintains best in class status.  Some notable new clients that helped spur the growth include Live Nation, Breitling, DreamWorks Animation, BET, Dell, and KFC.

“We’re incredibly proud to have achieved such great growth in our seventh year in business and to have been included in the Inc. 500 | 5000 two years in a row,” says co-CEO and Founder Mike La Rotonda.  “The amazing growth could not have been accomplished without our continued product innovation and expansion within our technology platform.  We’ve listened to the demands from our customers, from mid-sized brands to global enterprises, and the result is a flexible, easy-to-use, feature rich social media marketing and promotions platform.”

2013 Highlights:

• Over 100% growth in SaaS Subscription business
• The introduction of several new promotional and engagement solutions including #Hashtag submission promotions, Pinterest Sweepstakes, Social Media Aggregator and Content Hubs, Facebook Timeline Promotion tool, Instagram Stream app, YouTube Stream app, and more.
• Profitable and cash-flow positive
• The introduction of a successful partnership and reseller offering

With Votigo’s Social Media Marketing & Promotions Platform, businesses have an unmatched tool for acquiring and engaging customers across social channels. Brands can run promotions, user-generated content contests and other marketing apps that activate customers; measure the impact and ROI of a brand’s social marketing efforts; and use Conversation Manager and Social Contacts for handling communications and Social Customer Relationship Management (Social CRM) across multiple users, social networks and geographies.  Votigo also continues to provide custom promotions that integrate with any social channel, including Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, foursquare, Instagram and Pinterest as they emerge, plus increasingly dynamic mobile capabilities.

About Votigo 
Votigo is a leading social media marketing and promotions company with a Software-as-a-Service platform that supports premium, full-service solutions and easy-to-use self-service tools for brands and their agencies including Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, MasterCard, Live Nation, Sharpie, DreamWorks, Breitling, and GoPro.  Votigo’s technology platform allows brands, agencies and enterprises to acquire, engage, and manage their customers across major Social Networks, the Web, and Mobile.  Votigo’s social marketing suite includes Cross-Channel Promotions, Social Apps, Conversation Manager, Contacts, and Analytics. Founded in 2006, Votigo has offices located in Boulder, Colorado; San Francisco Bay Area, and Hyderabad, India.  Votigo made the Inc. 500||5000 list of fastest growing private companies in America in 2013 and 2012.

About Inc. 500 | 5000

Inc. Magazine’s 2013 500|5000 List ranks the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. based on revenue growth from 2009 through 2012. Eligible companies must be based in the United States with minimum revenue of $100,000 in 2009 and minimum revenue of $2 million in 2012.

It has been a busy couple of months here at Votigo, and we wanted to update you on our most recent additions.

As you know, in addition to our Custom, Full-service campaigns, we also have a robust Enterprise Social Marketing & Promotions Platform, which allows brands and agencies of all sizes to handle their marketing needs; from standard contests & sweepstakes to the managing of social content.

Here are a few of the updates:

Recent Social Platform Updates:

1. #Hashtag Upload on Contests/Sweepstakes
   • In addition to Direct Upload, users can also submit an entry from a #hashtag on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
   • Example:
     • Facebook: https://apps.facebook.com/livenationsweeptwo/sweeps/Bud-Light-Digital-Dreams-Giveaway/106277896865/1
2. Pinterest Sweepstakes
   • Current functionality is a Pin It – To Win It type campaign campaign, where users can pin an image to a specific board.  Users can pin his/her own images to that specific board OR pin a pre-determined brand image.
   • Example: https://apps.facebook.com/sweepsapps/sweeps/Fan-of-the-Week-1/172999146060700/1
3. Timeline Promotions
   • Directly through a Facebook post on your brand page, you can select a winner by simply “liking” or commenting on the post
   • Does not require an application
4. Instagram Feed
   • Pulls in content from brand’s Instagram feed and a specific #hashtag
   • Example: https://www.facebook.com/votigo/app_166943000160328
5. YouTube Feed
   • Pulls in content from brand’s YouTube channel
   • Example: https://www.facebook.com/votigo/app_181560368719982

Custom Examples:

• DreamWorks:
  • Facebook: https://apps.facebook.com/mrpeabody
  • Microsite: https://mrpeabody.votigo.com/
• Parents Magazine: https://apps.facebook.com/kwcontest
• Heinz : http://www.showusyourheinz.com/

Social Content Hub Example:

• Suzuki Stories: http://www.suzukistories.com
• Thanks Project: http://thanksproject.org/

Give us a call to learn more 800.519.1850 or Contact us online.

As you probably have heard by now, Google is shutting down Wildfire Interactive Social Marketing Platform.  http://www.businessinsider.com/google-ends-wildfire-2014-3

We are here to let you know that Votigo Social Marketing & Promotions can handle any request you have when it comes to Social Marketing & Promotions.  Whether you need a custom contest or sweepstakes that can live as a Microsite, Facebook app, and Mobile or you are looking for a Complete Social Marketing Suite with self-service tools that let you create promotions, manage conversations on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.  We have a solution for you.

All of our Promotions and Apps are fully Mobile Responsive.  Our Social media content aggregators and hubs can live as a stand-alone microsite or iframe.  And our Conversation Management tool lets you schedule and manage your posts across the major social networks.  Our Social Contacts product lets you see who your customers and brand advocates are as we track their historical activity as they engage with the brand across social.  And finally, our Social and Campaign Promotion Analytics are best in class.

Learn more about the best Wildfire alternative with our Social Marketing & Promotions Platform, our Custom Contests and Sweepstakes, and much more that we have to offer.

Plain and simple… Votigo is the best alternative to Wildfire by Google for Contests, Promotions, Sweepstakes, and/or a complete Social Marketing Suite.

Contact us to learn more today.

Interacting with consumers and fans in ongoing dialogue is what social media marketing revolves around.  When launching a campaign this dialogue remains a priority from beginning to end and is essentially what will keep the campaign going.  One of the big challenges when running a campaign on social media is that it is easy to start the conversation and just as easy to stop it.  Running a successful campaign relies on maintaining momentum; but how do you do this successfully?

Here are 5 tips to help your campaign maintain momentum:

1. Design for participation- Make sure that your promotion is designed to fully engage your fans and to encourage them to actively participate with your brand. Photo and video contests are a great way to ensure creative engagement.
2. Get Personal- Create personal conversations with fans that enter your contest by tweeting to them, posting to their Facebook page, or by writing about their entry in your blog.  This social media communication shows your fans you notice and appreciate their entry and engagement.
3. Constantly update your fans- Post updates about the promotion on your social media channels and personal website.  In order for fans to stay engaged they need to have all the facts. This can include sharing key milestones such as finalists being selected, just reached 100 or 10,000 entries, or even fun facts about the brand.  Post quality content about your campaign and your brand on a consistent basis.
4. Announce daily giveaways and winners- by posting the winners on your social media channels you are encouraging your fans to continue to visit your social media pages and check in with the brand.
5. Schedule posts- set up posts ahead of time and schedule when you would like them to go live.  This is a great way to ensure that all of the information gets posted and that the posts are spread out.

It is important to keep your fans interested in your promotion and in extension, your brand.  By incorporating these ideas into your marketing strategy you will create a continuous conversation that is rewarding for both you and your fans.

Our dev  team deserves some rest! They have been ridiculously busy creating some amazing new promotion apps to allow you to better acquire and engage your customers across social channels. We’re thrilled to announce the addition of three new promotion applications to the Votigo Platform:  Instant Win Sweepstakes, Instagram Sweepstakes and a Coupons! All three applications are available today at https://platform.votigo.com/create

Instant Win Sweepstakes
Opposed to a Standard Sweepstakes where 1 or more winners are selected at random at the end of a promotion our Instant Win Sweepstakes allows you to award prizes instantly throughout the campaign. You can set multiple prizes and determine the frequency with which each prizes is awarded. The benefit for entrants is immediate gratification, which can lead to more sharing and a bigger viral boost for your promotion.  The benefit to you is that Votigo does all the work. Our technology handles selecting and notifying winners on the fly, distributing winner notifications and prize information and providing easy-to-digest analytics.

Instant Win Sweepstakes are a great alternative to a Standard Sweepstakes and work best when awarding a lot of prizes. For example, you could giveaway 5 t-shirts a day for a month as instant win prizes and have one grand prize drawing for concert tickets at the end of the campaign.

Create an Instant Win Sweepstakes

Instagram Photo or Video Sweepstakes
No one can argue with the success of Instagram. With 130 million Monthly Active Users and 45 million  Photos shared daily it’s clearly resonated with consumers and created a phenomenal channel for sharing and engaging with your customers. This is why we’ve expanded the Votigo Platform to include an Instagram Sweepstakes. An Instagram Sweepstakes may be THE best way to grow your follows and virally spread your brand message on Instagram. Here’s how it works:

You set the requirements for the Instagram photo or video (yes, Instagram supports video now) sweepstakes, the #hashtag users need to include in their entry. Votigo handles making sure each entrant follows your brand and consolidates all valid entries into a great looking gallery for you to host on your Facebook page or website. You even have the option to moderate your entries to avoid having any unsavory images appear on your promotion landing page.

Create an Instagram Sweepstakes

Coupons
This is the app we’re most excited about. Our Coupon app is a super simple way to give your customers an offer that can directly impact sales. The app allows you to create three types of coupons: 1) Single Coupon Code – These are great for online coupons. For example, “Enter “SantaRules” at checkout to receive 20% off your purchase.” 2) Unique Coupon Codes – These allow you to distribute a unique coupon code to every user. This is great for limiting redemption and better tracking specific usage. 3) Offer Only – These don’t require a coupon code and allow for the widest distribution. An example is “By one Bagel, Get one FREE.”

Create a Coupon 

Like all our apps Instant Win Sweepstakes, Instagram Sweepstakes and Coupons are easy to set-up, customize, distribute and track and all of them work great on mobile and can be published to Facebook or a microsite.

Let us know what you think or if you have ideas for new apps or features.