Community Challenges are one of our most powerful features that allow your community members to work collectively towards a collective goal, set by you! While they’re larger-scale than everyday actions, they’re a great way to involve your entire community and even attract new members. Let’s get started!

So… how do challenges work?

You might’ve already dipped your toes into setting up individual actions and getting your customers more engaged, so we think you’re in for a challenge! (Get it?) In general, challenges involve setting a specific or set of actions revolving around a certain goal for your customers to engage with. Other times, challenges can act as a giveaway of sorts, where customers can complete an action around a certain theme by the challenge deadline and are entered to win a prize! Both are great methods for garnering a sense of community, especially if you have a mission-oriented goal.

How to create the perfect challenge:

  1. Choose a theme: Select a theme that resonates with your brand values, mission, current trends, and most importantly, make it fun! The theme should be compelling and relevant to your target audience to capture their interest. For example, if you're a fitness brand, your theme could be "Summer Fitness Challenge" focusing on achieving a specific fitness goal.
  2. Make a goal: Define a clear and measurable goal that aligns with your theme. Whether it's increasing community engagement, driving sales, raising awareness about a cause, or promoting a new product/service, your goal should be specific and achievable. For instance, if your theme is "Summer Fitness Challenge," your set goal could be to collectively run 10,000 miles as a community within the month of July!
  3. Decide on a timeline: Set a realistic timeline for your challenge that provides enough time for participants to engage while also creating a sense of urgency. Consider factors such as the complexity of the challenge, the availability of participants, and any external events that may impact participation. For example, if your challenge is focused on daily actions, you might run it for two weeks to keep momentum high without overwhelming participants.
  4. Choose a grand prize! Select an enticing grand prize that motivates participants to join the challenge and gives them something worth striving for. The prize should be relevant to your audience and aligned with the theme of the challenge. It could be a product bundle, a gift card, an exclusive experience, or anything else that adds value and excites your community. For instance, for the "Summer Fitness Challenge" example, the grand prize could be a month's supply of premium protein shakes or a fitness retreat getaway.

Time to spread the word!

So you’ve created a perfect challenge and are ready to put it in action! Here are our top strategies for spreading the word and getting your audience involved:

  1. Post on your socials: Utilize your social media platforms to announce the challenge, share updates, and encourage participation. Use engaging visuals and catchy captions to grab attention and encourage your customers to share and repost.
  2. Email your customers: Send out targeted emails to your customer base, informing them about the challenge, its details, and how they can participate. Personalize the emails to make recipients feel valued.
  3. Mention it in onboarding emails: If you have an onboarding process for new customers, incorporate information about the challenge into these emails. It's a great way to introduce them to your community and encourage early engagement.
  4. Collaborate! Partner with influencers and even other brands who align with your brand to promote the challenge to their followers. Influencers can create content, participate in the challenge themselves, and encourage their audience to join in.
  5. Involve your audience: Encourage your existing community members to spread the word about the challenge. Provide them with shareable content, such as graphics or pre-written messages, and incentivize them to recruit others to join in on the fun!

Our best practices:

  1. Check out our Behavioral Insights and Customer Psychology Module
  2. Send customers a confirmation email after each entry: Acknowledge participants' efforts by sending them a confirmation email after they submit an entry. Show your gratitude and remind them of the prize at stake!
  3. Create a sense of urgency: Set a clear deadline for the challenge to create a sense of urgency and motivate participants to take action promptly. Consider incorporating countdown timers or progress updates to remind people of the limited time available.
  4. Show your appreciation! Recognize and appreciate the efforts of all participants, whether they win the grand prize or not. Consider sending thank-you emails, featuring participant highlights on your social media, or offering exclusive discounts as a token of appreciation for their involvement!