If you're as big a fan of the Pepsi Refresh Project as we are, it's likely you recognize the power of a well-orchestrated contest to trigger engagement and enthusiasm around your product or service. Thankfully, setting up a social-ready contest with clear rules, spam filters and an analytics system isn't as tough as it used to be.

Fresh out-of-the-box startup Kontest lets users launch their own social contests, complete with Facebook integration, custom entry forms, opt-in co-registrations (if you want to work with partners), a database of participants, and analytics. It's simple for users, too: With Facebook Connect, they can fill out participation fields automatically.

Other perks of the service:

• It's white label and customizable, meaning you can design it to look just like your other campaigns.
• It's shareable via mobile (including iPads, iPhones and Android handhelds).
• It enables you, and users, to convert contest news and participation capabilities into widgets—embeddable for easy site posting.
• It walks you through the process of forming official contest rules, and manages spam and abuse issues for you.

Costs for the do-it-yourself social contest service run from free to made-to-measure premium services, depending on your needs. All you have to do creatively is come up with a clever call to action—and the perfect motivation.

→ end article preview
Read the Full Article