Youtube contests done "the right way?"

[Acerthorn]

People advise against holding contests and giveaways on your channel just to boost views and subscribers, because you'll only get the increased views for as long as you hold the contest. It's not a viable way to sustain your channel. More importantly, those viewers will leave as soon as the contest leaves, and they will often only engage long enough to enter into the contest, thereby hurting the most important statistic that youtube's algorithm looks at: Audience retention.

Well, what if entry into the contest required more than just "post a comment to enter?" What if entry into the contest required actual engagement in the video? For example, to enter, the participant had to find something in the video before his entry is valid (kind of like a youtube version of Where's Waldo), forcing them to actually watch the video to enter.

Then, there's the problem of building a community and a strong relationship with your fans. If you hold contests on a regular basis, then your channel becomes dependent on contests to stay afloat.

Well, what if, in addition to finding "waldo" in the video, they also had to give constructive feedback on the video itself? They had to point out what they liked and didn't like about the video, and offer constructive suggestions on making improvements. Unlike the "waldo" section, there are no wrong answers to these questions; only incomplete or dodgy answers (which would, of course, be at the channel owner's sole discretion).

That way, you could take the feedback from the second half of the entry and use that to improve the quality of your channel in the future. The contest would simply be a means of bringing in, not just views and watch time, but legitimate constructive feedback from people who otherwise wouldn't care enough about your channel to give it even a glance.

Would including those two provisions help to mitigate the problem of lack of audience loyalty that contests and giveaways tend to be plagued with?

 

[UhoohExtra]

Doesn't sound like a plan despite your clever thinking there. Yes that might get people to watch that single video a bit longer but won't drive views to it in the first place. Therefore you might achieve maybe 65%+ watch time retention with 50 views for example. What would have been the point? What is the outcome you want to achieve from holding a contest?? Do you know? You didn't say. For most people they want subscribers or views etc.
Anyway the negatives people have been giving you are spot on. Gaining subs from a competition is very harmful to your channel and watch time because when you upload newer videos and your (we'll call em) fake subscribers don't bother to watch it youtube may think your content stinks and stop promoting it around the platform.. or they watch for a micro second before hitting the X and closing the page giving you very poor watch time retention for all your videos in the future.
And none of the above is even the worst part. To hold a competition or giveaway you would have to meet all kinds of gambling and promotional laws for different states in US and countries across the globe, not to mention meet the criteria of YT terms or service and community guidelines (that do specifically not give you a firm description of how you could run a compliant giveaway- due diligence for them I guess).
Basically its harmful for your channel - you get nothing useful out of it, and impossible to do in a compliant way that guarantees zero come back or problems in the future. That said I see many bigger more established channels seemingly doing what they like -e.g. not following FTC, improper affiliate links, no disclosures, giveaways etc etc. I don't know why.

 

[Acerthorn]

watch that single video a bit longer

What if the contest is across multiple videos? Like, it's a monthly drawing and only those who find "waldo" in one of the videos get entered into the monthly drawing, one drawing for each "waldo" they find? Wouldn't this encourage people to watch each video in the hopes of earning that entry?

And then what if I do a prize every month, encouraging people to keep coming back, video after video, month after month?

To hold a competition or giveaway you would have to meet all kinds of gambling and promotional laws for different states in US and countries across the globe

My state's sweepstakes laws are pretty lenient. Basically, it boils down to "don't lie about the contest rules or anyone's odds of winning, and make sure you actually deliver the prize to whoever wins it instead of stiffing the winner."

What is the outcome you want to achieve from holding a contest?? Do you know? You didn't say.

You can't put two and two together? I suggested in the OP that providing constructive feedback on the channel could be required for entering. What purpose could such a requirement possibly serve?

I don't know if you've ever shopped at Dollar General, but if you ever purchase anything from them, the receipt contains a phone number you can call to take a survey about your shopping experience. Those who participate in that survey are entered into a chance to win $1,000. See, this is called "market research," and it's a well-documented and scientifically-proven business tactic. I'd provide you with sources, but this site doesn't allow links. But I assure you it's a real thing. Customer questionairres are one of many, many ways to do market research, and they're one of the oldest, because it predates electricity.

Ok, this question is honestly kind of frustrating. I prefer to speak with people who have a certain minimum IQ and a certain minimum level of common sense. So when I meet someone who is below that threshold, I admittedly get flustered. Seriously, why do you think I would have that requirement? USE YOUR BRAIN!

 

[UhoohExtra]

My state's sweepstakes laws are pretty lenient. Basically, it boils down to "don't lie about the contest rules or anyone's odds of winning, and make sure you actually deliver the prize to whoever wins it instead of stiffing the winner."

Hiya.. your states rules are almost irrelevant.. youtube is global.

Not trying to discourage you. Just pointing out some pitfalls. No1 else wanted to reply to you.

 

[Acerthorn]

Not trying to discourage you. Just pointing out some pitfalls. No1 else wanted to reply to you.

I don't have to allow non-Americans to participate in the contest. Within the USA, my contest's rules can simply state that they are governed by my state's laws and that everyone who participates in the contest agrees to that jurisdiction.[DOUBLEPOST=1549318200,1549318150][/DOUBLEPOST]Also, you still haven't replied to this:

You can't put two and two together? I suggested in the OP that providing constructive feedback on the channel could be required for entering. What purpose could such a requirement possibly serve?

I don't know if you've ever shopped at Dollar General, but if you ever purchase anything from them, the receipt contains a phone number you can call to take a survey about your shopping experience. Those who participate in that survey are entered into a chance to win $1,000. See, this is called "market research," and it's a well-documented and scientifically-proven business tactic. I'd provide you with sources, but this site doesn't allow links. But I assure you it's a real thing. Customer questionairres are one of many, many ways to do market research, and they're one of the oldest, because it predates electricity.

Ok, this question is honestly kind of frustrating. I prefer to speak with people who have a certain minimum IQ and a certain minimum level of common sense. So when I meet someone who is below that threshold, I admittedly get flustered. Seriously, why do you think I would have that requirement? USE YOUR BRAIN!