If you’re searching for a trustworthy, budget-friendly, and user-friendly online video contest platform, your search ends here! From free to paid, I’ve compiled a list of 7 top-notch platforms for running an online video contest. So, please keep reading to find out what each has to offer!
What Is an Online Video Contest?
An online video contest is a digital competition wherein participants produce and submit video content to win prizes. These contests are primarily conducted on online platforms that facilitate easy uploading, viewing, and voting of video entries.
The structure of these contests can vary widely, from short films to commercials, animations, or even user-generated content for brands. Participants are usually judged on originality, creativity, technical proficiency, and alignment with contest themes.
Online video contests serve multiple purposes: they can be a promotional strategy for brands to increase visibility, a platform for content creators to showcase their talents, a community-building activity, or even a fun, engaging way to learn and grow for everyone involved.
7 Best Online Video Contest Platforms
Here are the details of the seven best online video contest platforms.
#1. ViralSweep
ViralSweep is an all-in-one platform that makes it easy to run video contests. It is renowned for its user-friendly interface and comprehensive feature set. The platform facilitates the collection of video entries, sharing on various social media platforms, and even hosting the videos on your website.
One of its standout features is the ability to create custom entry forms tailored to your specific brand’s needs. You can ask for any necessary information—name, email, location, or even short answers to particular questions.
Another significant feature is its robust voting system. You can set up public voting on video entries and ensure a fair process with fraud detection capabilities. This feature makes your contest engaging and helps increase your reach as participants share their entries to gain votes.
Moreover, ViralSweep provides in-depth analytics to help you understand your audience better. You can track views, shares, entries, and votes in real-time. This provides valuable data that can guide your future marketing strategies.
ViralSweep, therefore, is an excellent choice for brands looking for a versatile, feature-rich platform for running online video contests. It is suited for anyone from small businesses to large corporations.
#2. Woobox
Woobox is another powerful platform for managing online video contests, recognized for its versatility and convenience. With Woobox, you can effortlessly set up and run contests on various social media channels, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and even your website.
The platform offers many options to tailor your contest, allowing for multiple entry methods, randomized winner selection, and easy collection and organization of participant details.
Woobox is able to host a wide variety of contests, not limited to video – you can run sweepstakes, giveaways, quizzes, and polls, providing a comprehensive suite of interactive marketing tools.
This platform also offers a free plan with limited features, making it an excellent option for those on a tight budget. You can host the contest for 100 entrance submissions at no cost. Additionally, Woobox provides robust analytics to track your contest’s performance and reach.
On the other hand, the paid plans offer more advanced features like Facebook retargeting campaigns and email marketing integration. Also, it features an integrated sharing function that incentivizes participants to share their entries and invite others, amplifying the reach of your contest.
Woobox’s analytics dashboard also provides valuable insights into your audience’s demographics, behavior, and interaction, helping you optimize your campaigns and understand your target market better.
All these features make Woobox an ideal platform for businesses of all sizes looking for a comprehensive solution to their contest needs and an effective way to engage their audience and amplify their brand’s reach.
#3. Vloggi
Vloggi is an innovative video contest platform that stands out for its unique focus on user-generated content. It provides a simple and efficient way for brands to crowdsource video content from their audience, making it particularly beneficial for businesses looking to increase engagement and build community.
Vloggi’s intuitive platform allows participants to record, upload, and submit videos directly from their smartphones—making the process extremely user-friendly. This ease of use encourages a higher participation rate, ensuring your contest receives various entries.
With its free plan, you can gather up to 10 videos. In contrast, its paid plans offer unlimited video uploads and advanced features such as custom branding, moderated content, and detailed analytics. You can also share the entries on social media or keep them private for internal use.
Vloggi’s focus on user-generated content and its robust features make it an excellent choice for brands seeking to foster community and engagement through online video contests. Its user-friendly interface and comprehensive toolset suit businesses of all sizes.
#4. ShortStack
ShortStack is a popular platform for creating and managing online video contests. It is renowned for its easy-to-use interface, customizable templates, and various integrations with social media platforms.
One of the main highlights of ShortStack is its drag-and-drop builder that allows you to create stunning contest pages without any coding knowledge. You can customize your contest with different entry methods, such as video uploads, voting, and social media sharing.
Moreover, ShortStack offers a range of features to ensure fair and secure contests. It has anti-cheating measures and lets you moderate entries before they go public. The platform also provides real-time analytics so you can track your contest’s performance easily.
ShortStack’s paid plans offer advanced features like email marketing integrations, custom branding, and lead capture forms for collecting participant information. It is an ideal solution for businesses looking to run professional-looking, interactive video contests that can be easily integrated with their social media marketing strategies.
#5. Wishpond
Are you looking for an all-in-one solution for your video contest needs? Then Wishpond is worth considering. This platform offers a range of features to help you create and manage engaging online video contests that align with your marketing goals.
Wishpond’s user-friendly interface allows you to build and customize your contest page quickly without any coding knowledge. You can choose from various entry methods, such as video uploads, social media sharing, and voting, to suit your objectives.
What sets Wishpond apart is its powerful marketing automation tools. You can set up email sequences, retargeting ads, and social media campaigns to promote your contest and engage with participants.
With its advanced analytics dashboard, you can track all aspects of your contest’s performance in real-time. This data can help you make informed decisions for future campaigns and understand your target audience better.
#6. Judgify
Judgify is an online, cloud-based system that enables businesses and organizations to easily set up contests of any scale for their award campaigns. It offers a comprehensive suite of features, including customizable submission forms, a robust rating system, and automated judging processes – making it an ideal choice for businesses running professional and fair video contests.
With Judgify, you can create different categories and assign judges to each category. The platform allows easy collaboration between judges through its online commenting system. You can customize the scoring system to suit your needs and criteria.
Judgify also offers a secure and transparent voting system, ensuring the integrity of your contest. The platform’s advanced reporting features provide real-time analytics and data visualization to help you track your contest’s performance and make informed decisions for future campaigns.
#7. Social Media Platforms with Hashtags
Not everyone has a budget to invest in a dedicated video contest platform. In such cases, social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter can be great alternatives for hosting your video contests. Surprised? Well, indeed, you can easily run a social media video contest for free.
So, how to run this? Let’s learn this step by step-
- First, create a catchy and unique hashtag for your contest. This will make tracking entries and promoting your contest easier on social media.
- Next, decide on the type of entry you want, whether video uploads or using a specific hashtag in posts.
- Set a deadline and rules for your contest. Make sure they are clear and easy to understand.
- Promote your contest on social media channels and ask participants to share it with their audience.
- Once the entry period ends, choose a winner or winners based on your predetermined criteria.
Hosting a video contest on social media can effectively engage your followers and attract new ones. You can also leverage the power of hashtags to reach a larger audience and create a buzz around your brand. Remember to keep the rules and guidelines clear and fair for all participants.
Plus, you can use the built-in features of these platforms, such as polls and challenges, to encourage participation and make your contest more interactive. So, don’t underestimate the potential of social media when it comes to hosting online video contests.
Read also: Social media contest ideas
How to Do an Online Video Contest?
You already know about some of the best platforms for hosting online video contests. Let’s look at how you can create and run one successfully.
Step 1: Set a Goal for Your Contest
Before launching an online video contest, it’s crucial to set clear objectives. Do you want to increase brand awareness, promote a new product, or gather user-generated content? Your goal shapes the entire contest, including the rules, the type of content you ask for, and how you promote it.
Step 2: Define the Rules
The rules of your contest must be clear and specific, including eligibility criteria, video length and format, submission deadline, and how the winner will be selected and announced. Make sure to comply with the guidelines set by the platform you’re using and any applicable laws in your region.
Step 3: Decide on the Prize
A compelling prize is a big draw for potential participants. The prize must be something your target audience wants or needs and should be related to your brand or product. For example, it can be a gift card, a new product, or a unique brand experience.
Step 4: Choose a Platform
The platform you choose for your contest should align with where your audience spends their time online. Consider what each platform offers regarding user base, features, and analytics. The platform should also allow for easy video uploading and sharing and the ability to moderate submissions and select winners.
Step 5: Promote Your Contest
Once your contest is live, you need to promote it. Share it on all your social media platforms, email newsletters, and websites. You can also reach out to influencers in your industry to help share your contest with their followers.
Step 6: Monitor and Moderate Submissions
Keep track of submissions throughout the contest period. Watch the videos to ensure they comply with the rules, offer feedback where appropriate, and remove any inappropriate content.
Step 6: Select the Winner
After the contest ends, it’s time to select the winner. Depending on the rules, this could be the video with the most votes, the one that best meets your criteria, or a random selection among eligible entries. Make sure the process is fair and transparent.
Step 7: Announce the Winner
Once you’ve selected the winner, it’s time to announce them to the world. Share their winning entry on your social media platforms and website, and tag them if possible. Also, email all participants to thank them for participating and announce the winner.
Step 8: Analyze and Learn
After your contest is over, take the time to analyze its results. Which videos received the most engagement? How many new followers or subscribers did you gain? What worked and what didn’t? Use these insights to improve future contests.
Want to know more about running online video contests? Check out the below video.
Examples of Online Video Contest Rules
Without rules, you can’t run any video or contest. Here are some basic rules for almost every online video contest-
Rule #1: Video Submission Guidelines
Your rules should lay out the specific requirements for the video submissions. For example, you can specify the video length, format, and content type. Indicate that entries not following these guidelines will be disqualified.
- Videos should be no longer than 2 minutes, in MP4 format, and must be original content. Videos containing any form of hate speech or inappropriate content will be immediately disqualified.
Rule #2: Entry Conditions
Set the conditions on who can enter the contest. Consider factors such as age, location, or any other relevant restrictions.
- The contest is open to residents of the U.S.A. age 18 and older.
Rule #3: Deadline for Entries
Clearly state the deadline for all video submissions, including the time zone.
- All entries must be submitted by 11:59 PM EST on March 31, 2022.
Rule #4: Judging Criteria
Describe how the videos will be judged. This could include elements like creativity, relevance to the theme, quality of production, etc.
- Entries will be judged based on creativity (50%), relevance to the theme (30%), and production quality (20%)
Rule #5: Prizes
Clearly state what prizes will be offered and when and how they will be delivered.
- The winner will receive an emailed $100 Amazon gift card within 14 days of the contest’s conclusion.
Rule #6: Rights to Use Submitted Videos
Specify your rights to use the submitted videos for promotional or other purposes.
- By entering, each entrant grants the contest organizer the right to use their video for promotional purposes.
How Long Should You Run an Online Video Contest?
If you are considering running a video contest online, I would recommend you run the contest for not less than a month. The reason is simple- enough time to promote the contest and get participants.
Also, a month gives your audience ample time to create, edit, and submit their entries. However, most contests run the contest for around six months to get the maximum attention from the audience.
The best length for an online video contest depends on your goals, budget, the type of content you want to receive, and how long it will take to select a winner. Also, consider the attention span of your audience and not make the contest too long, or it may lose momentum.
How to Judge an Online Video Contest?
Judging an online video contest requires careful consideration and adherence to the pre-determined criteria. Here are some steps to follow when judging a video contest:
- Review the Entry Guidelines: Before watching any videos, ensure each entry follows the guidelines and is eligible for consideration.
- Watch All Entries: Take the time to watch all the entries, paying close attention to the judging criteria.
- Consider All Factors: Consider aspects like creativity, relevance to the theme, and production quality when evaluating each video.
- Take Notes: Write down your thoughts and scores for each entry as you watch them to help with later evaluation.
- Get a Second Opinion: If possible, have at least one other person assist in the judging process to ensure objectivity.
- Make a Shortlist: After watching all entries, create a shortlist of the top videos that best meet the judging criteria.
- Re-watch and Finalize: Take another look at the shortlisted videos before deciding on the winner(s).
- Announce the Winner(s): Once the judge(s) have made their final decision, announce the winner(s) and share their winning entry on your platforms.
- Provide Feedback: Consider providing feedback to all participants, especially those who didn’t win. This can help them improve for future contests.
Prize Ideas for Online Video Contest
Finally, you can end the contest by announcing the winner on your website, social media platforms, and email. Here are some prize ideas for your online video contest-
- Gift cards to popular retailers or restaurants
- Products related to your brand or industry
- Unique experiences such as a VIP tour or meet-and-greet with a celebrity
- Free subscriptions or memberships
- Cash prizes
- Discount codes or coupons for your products/services
- Branded merchandise such as t-shirts, hats, mugs, etc.
- Free access to any online course
- Donations made in the winner’s name to a charity of their choice
Remember, the prize should be enticing enough to attract participants and be relevant to your brand or audience. Make sure to also clearly state the details of the prize in your contest rules.
Read also: Competition prize ideas for students
Conclusion
Hosting an online video contest can be a great way to engage with your audience and promote your brand. With the various platforms available, you can easily find one that suits your needs and budget.
Remember to set clear goals and objectives for your contest, choose the right platform, and promote it effectively to attract participants. And most importantly, keep it fair and fun for everyone involved.
