B2B Retailer ID Wholesaler Creates Online Buzz Using Gamification Techniques

Online, April 10, 2013 (Newswire.com) - One of the many product categories that online photo identification products retailer ID Wholesaler offers is badge accessories. While they are the largest online retailer of lanyards, badge reels, and other photo ID products, ID Wholesaler wanted to increase customer engagement and start a conversation online about this product category.

To fulfill this goal, ID Wholesaler created a campaign using gamification techniques. The campaign was successful in many ways.

Why Gamification?
There are a number of ways that ID Wholesaler communicates with their customers online, including product reviews, an active blog, a Twitter page, and a LinkedIn page.

"We reach out to the online community; however, like many B2B businesses, our products aren't typically shared socially online. We wanted to do something that would create buzz and get people talking online," says Jennifer Clancy, marketing manager at ID Wholesaler. "What better way to do that than with a little healthy competition!"

Campaign Details
The campaign consisted of three badge accessory design contests spread over the course of two years: two Lanyard Design Contests and one Badge Reel Design Contest. All three contests offered a $300 grand prize and a $150 second prize for the badge accessory designers who received the most public votes.

A contest website informed visitors about the rules and allowed visitors to enter the contest by submitting photos and a description of their badge accessory. ID Wholesaler provided each entrant with a contest badge to place on their own website, which included an optimized anchor text link back to IDWholesaler.com. The badge helped the badge accessory artists to promote their entries and encourage their friends and followers to vote for them.

Visitors of the contest website could easily view the badge accessory entries and vote for their favorite design. Visitors were also encouraged to link to the main contest page and share a link with others, as well as follow and engage with the contest on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Results
The excitement of a contest with a cash prize and winners decided by a public vote proved to be a successful campaign. The gamification aspects of the campaign allowed ID Wholesaler to tap deeper into social media. Like many B2B retailers, ID Wholesaler is still working on how their business fits into the social media landscape. However, social media was perfectly suited to this contest campaign and served as an outlet for raising awareness.

The three contests brought in a total of 180 entries, 16,750 votes, and over 1,600 Facebook 'likes'. The contest motivated participants to blog and write articles about the contest, participate in conversations on Facebook, request votes on Twitter, and pin images of the badge accessories on Pinterest - activity that many B2B retailers do not often experience.

ID Wholesaler also experienced SEO benefits from the contest, including a lift in non-paid traffic related to their targeted keywords and an increase in their rankings in Google. For example, prior to the contest, ID Wholesaler had been ranking #24 in Google for the term "ID badge lanyards." By the end of the contest, they moved up to #2 - a significant achievement in the ever-changing landscape of SEO.

"This contest provided a unique opportunity to participate and be active in spaces that are challenging in B2B ecommerce," says Clancy. "We've proven that, with a little creativity and a willingness to step outside of your box, B2B retailers can engage in online conversation."