How a photo competition works
A photo competition is a campaign where people take part with a picture. They open your campaign, fill in a short form and upload a photo from their phone or computer. When the competition ends, you look through the photos and choose the winners.
The theme is what makes it work. A good theme is easy to understand and fun to take part in: the best holiday photo, the most creative way to use your product, a picture of the family dog in its favourite spot or a photo from your festival. The clearer the theme, the more people join in.
Because each photo comes in with the person's sign-up, you know who sent what and can contact the winners straight away. That's different from a contest in the comments on social media, where you have to collect names and permissions by hand.
When to use a photo competition
A photo competition is a great choice when you want people to get involved, not just click. Use it when you want to:
- Collect real photos of your products and customers, with the right consent.
- Create buzz on social media, where people tell their friends they have entered.
- Celebrate a season or an event, like summer, Christmas or your anniversary.
- Build a community around a hobby, a sport or a place.
- Get sign-ups from people who really care about your brand.
Photo competitions are popular with travel and tourism, pet brands, food and drinks, sports and outdoor brands, theme parks, festivals and local businesses. For more ways to get comments and clicks, read our ideas for interactive social media posts.
5 ideas for your photo competition
- The summer photo: ask for the best holiday picture, with a trip as the main prize.
- Your product in action: ask people to show how they use your product in everyday life.
- The pet star: a competition for the cutest pet photo, perfect for pet shops and pet food brands.
- The festival wall: a QR code at your event, so people upload their best picture of the day.
- Our town: ask locals to share their favourite spot in town, with prizes from local shops.
Tips for a photo competition that converts
Tip #1: Choose a theme that's easy to join
People should know straight away what to take a photo of. A photo they already have on their phone lowers the barrier.
- Write the theme in one short sentence.
- Show an example of a good photo on the start page.
Tip #2: Make the prizes and the rules clear
Tell people up front what they can win, how you pick the winners and when the competition ends.
- Show the prizes on the start page.
- Write clear rules and terms.
- Read more about prizes.
Tip #3: Ask for permission to use the photos
If you want to show the photos on your website or social media, ask for it in the form.
- Add a clear checkbox for permission to use the photo.
- Tell people how and where you will use it.
Tip #4: Collect sign-ups the right way
Ask for an email and newsletter permission in the same form as the photo upload. Keep the form short, and send the sign-ups straight to your email tool with our integrations. Read more about how games help with lead generation.
A photo competition gets people to show what your brand means to them. Pick a fun theme, add a great prize and see what your customers come up with.
