Wells Fargo Social Sweepstakes Asks Consumers to Share Their Goals
A $10,000 prize will get consumer attention. A sharable campaign aligned with financial products, like loans? That gets our attention!
Wells Fargo’s “Share Your Goals” sweepstakes asked fans and customers to share their financial goals for a random chance at the grand prize or one of five $1,000 first prizes. After posting aspirations in categories like “buy a house,” “save for my family’s future” and “pay down debt,” participants earned additional entries for each friend they referred to the sweepstakes.
Promoted via Facebook status updates on the bank’s Facebook timeline, the Share Your Goals sweepstakes existed on its own microsite. In addition to serving as the container for entries, galleries and rules, the site held an exclusive offer from Wells Fargo: to provide customers with their credit scores and explain how those scores were impacting their financial pictures.
Take-away #1: Tie product marketing to customer aspirations
Bankers know that their products can help customers achieve financial goals, but guiding consumers to that conclusion can take some effort. The Wells Fargo sweepstakes was designed so that entrants could make the link themselves and establish a connection with the bank as the means to accomplish their goals.
Take-away #2: Reward people for sharing
Wells Fargo’s sweepstakes awarded extra entries via its “tell-a-friend” function – making it possible for participants to increase their chances by referring others. Through efforts like U.S. Bank’s Get Ahead and Make It Happen campaigns, Media Logic has success with similar “enter and share” social promotions in financial services. We find that motivating participants to tap their friends is one of the best strategies for fueling the network effect and broadening exposure.
Take-away #3: Run promotions that ask fans and customers to take action
Asking participants to “do something” in order to enter is a win-win. Entrants have a greater stake in the promotion, and the brand is able to engage them on an emotional level. Adding secondary calls-to-action, such as taking advantage of the educational offers put forth by Wells Fargo on its sweepstakes microsite, multiplies opportunities for these interactions … since the brand already has the participants’ attention.
