Top 5 Tools to Run a Video Contest for Your Business

Note: this is a guest post from Tetiana at Judgify. Enjoy!

Out of all the types of online content, video has proven to have the most buzz in 2017. An article from Outbrain stated that 87% of digital marketers use video content in their strategies. And there’s a good reason for that: approximately 500 million hours of Youtube videos are consumed daily.

Leveraging online video contest platforms to drive sales and build reputations is one of the most progressive trends in online marketing today. Although many people still associate such contests with the hilarious “cat videos” that we consume in our free time, online video contests are much more than that. Let’s explore the use of online contest software in marketing and tap into the core benefits of visual content.

The essential tools and functions of video contest applications

What should we look for when choosing a video contest tool? Here are some basic guidelines that help online marketers magnify the value of brands and businesses:

• Flexible submissions management. Due to the diversity of formats available in video content production, the platform should be able to process multiple formats of video. Further functions should include the convenient tracking of incoming submissions, moderation, and customizability of submission forms.

• Gallery embedding. Video contest software with a gallery allows judges to view the submissions on a centralized dashboard. There are also solutions that allow aligning galleries with public voting platforms and collection of information about voters.

• Automated judging and scoring. For convenience, select the platform that allows you to view and evaluate submissions in one place. It is also crucial for judges to have 24/7 access to the platform, process video submissions at their own pace, and get clear evaluation criteria.

• After-party benefits. Select the software which you can use to wrap up things in the right way. The most valuable features in performance tracking involve the use of reporting and the ability to share video contents on other platforms. This means, prior to making your decision, make sure your software will allow you extract contest data in the most convenient way.

Top 5 software applications for a video contest

Setting up a successful video contest can depend on the platform. Check out the top 5 applications that have all you need to organize a high-profile online contest.

Woobox

Woobox is the online platform that basically allows users to create, share, and promote contests anywhere, anytime. The ease of use and flexibility in terms of campaign creation perfectly match the needs of those focusing on traffic growth. Woobox is a good solution for setting up multiple social media video contests and caters to public voting features. Set up a campaign, embed the gallery with submissions, and let the world choose the winners.

Pro: Can be well-aligned with marketing needs

Con: Used only for the launch of social media contests

Judgify

Judgify is a cloud-based, online system for award campaigns that helps businesses and private and public organizations set up contests of any scope. The major benefit of Judgify is that it has top-notch features for private contest processing and flexible judging. Therefore, Judgify is a great match for corporate organizations, industry award campaigns, academic institutions, and many more target users.

Pro: Embraces the large spectrum of business, corporate, and academic needs

Pro: Affordable price (there is a Free Plan for free events and NGO contests, the average price of a Pro Plan is $500USD).

Pro: A white label feature is available

Con: No social media module available
 

ContestPad

Branded contests are the religion of ContestPad. The software is great for creating personalized online video competitions that build brand reputation. Among the key features are flexible branding customization and fraud management in contest judging. Thus, if you’re a brand looking for a platform with advanced white-label possibilities and integrations, check out ContestPad.

Pro: Allows uploading videos of big sizes

Pro: User-friendly interface

Con: Doesn’t have enough features for contest management and is rather positioned as a video hosting platform.
 

Award Force

Award Force has a wide scope of features for online contests including video contests. It may be a good choice for users who want to download the originals videos at the end of the contest to seek high-quality streaming playback.

Pro: The large selection of award management features

Pro: Multi-lingual support

Con: The high cost of use

Strutta

Strutta is the star for creating promotional contests using video content. The platform offers four different modules for submission evaluation including both public voting and private judging. If you need to drum up some interest for a brand or a new product, Strutta can help you out.

Pro: Offers unlimited promotion participants

Pro: Affordable price (starting from $399USD)

Con: Covers only social media contests

Con: The white label feature is available only for a Pro Plan

How to choose the tool that best meets your needs?

You can find thousands of video contest platforms with incredible functions online, but how do you choose the best one for you? Picking the winner may be a challenge, but you have the opportunity to make a great decision if you are able to analyze your strategy. Here are the core aspects you should consider in choosing the best of the best:

• Medium. Think about where online you’re going to set up your video contest. Is it better for you to go for social media because you target random submissions? Or maybe the contest has to be privately held on a website, as with scholarships or industry awards? The answer to this question will help you pick functionality you need.

• Submission and voting. Submitting videos may be an undertaking, especially when it is a large-scope campaign with multiple submissions and judging rounds. Consider the ease of uploading, format processing, and gallery embedding to enable the best solutions.

• Branding. Tap into the needs of the business. Is it necessary to brand the contest to showcase a business? In this case, you might want to go for solutions that offer a white labeling feature and do a great job with branded contests.

Video contests are not only about fun anymore (although you can always make fun a part of it). With advanced online video contest software, it is possible to build brand names, generate leads, drive sales, and magnify user-generated contents.

Engage your audience with the new “must-see” format of online marketing. Go for creative video contests!  

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