Discounts and promotions have been hailed as the number one reason why people Like brands on Facebook, but did you know that the top reason why travelers join travel loyalty programs is to earn free flights, hotels, car rentals, etc.? If growing your audience and increasing loyalty among your customers and guests is a priority for you in 2013, read on.

In this blog post, we’ll take a look at how top brands in travel and tourism used giveaways, sweepstakes and contests to generate leads and promote loyalty across their social media channels including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.

##1. Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism

48 Half Hours sponsored by WestJet

This award-winning sweepstakes created a righteous frenzy on Facebook. Playing off of the fact that their time zone is a half hour off from the rest of the world, Newfoundland and Labrador ran a flash promotion that lasted 48 half hours. All goals and expectations were surpassed in this creative campaign. See the case study.

The Ask: Sweepstakes; fill out the form every half hour for a chance to win.

Prizes: 48 total; 48 winners got a round-trip flight to Newfoundland with WestJet.

Selection Process: Random; 1 winner selected every 30 minutes over 1 day (48 half hours).

Channel: Facebook Sweepstakes App

##2. Tourism Prince George

Get Here! Sweepstakes sponsored by several local attractions, restaurants and retail shops.

This sweepstakes helped Prince George, a city in Western Canada that is about 700 kilometers or 450 miles from the next metropolitan city, showcase its many attractions and position itself as a go-to weekend getaway destination for adventure-seeking people from surrounding areas. Visit the contest site.

The Ask: Sweepstakes; fill out the entry form.

Prizes: 1 total: The grand prize winner won a Prince George Winter Getaway Package that includes 2 nights accommodations, 2 60 minute massages at a local spa, 2 day passes to the local ski resort, rentals, and gift certificates to restaurants and retail shops.

Selection Process: Random

Channel: Microsite Sweepstakes

##3. Ohio Tourism Division

Build Your Best Ohio! LEGO KidsFest Contest sponsored by LEGO KidsFest and a local hotel.

Ohio Tourism targets different demographics throughout the year with fun contest campaigns on its Facebook Page. This one was tied to the LEGO KidsFest event and was geared towards young families. The contest’s 42 creative entries drew nearly 10,000 page views. Visit the Facebook contest app.

The Ask: Use LEGO bricks to create something Ohio-themed and submit a photo of it.

Prizes: 10 total in two categories; 1 Little Kid Grand Prize winner (12 and under) and 1 Big Kid Grand Prize winner (13 and over) won a LEGO KidsFest prize package and Hotel Getaway. All finalists received tickets to the LEGO KidsFest event.

Selection Process: Voting to Judging; the top 5 voted entries in each age bracket moved to the judging round where grand prize winners were selected.

Channel: Facebook Contest App

##4. Airbnb

Destination Honeymoon sponsored by Honeyfund.com

Airbnb, an emerging global network of accommodations offered by locals, wanted to increase brand awareness and drive traffic to their website. 240 entrants acted as brand ambassadors and brought 10,299 people to vote in the contest. View the case study.

The Ask: Submit a “Here’s the Couple!” photo and answer three specific brand-related questions.

Prizes: 13 total; two grand prize winners got an all-expenses paid honeymoon trip to Anguilla, British West Indies or Tuscany, Italy; the top-voted couple received a 00 Airbnb gift certificate and ten finalists received 0 Airbnb gift certificates.

Selection Process: Voting and Judging; the ten top voted entries were named finalists and a panel of judges selected the grand prize winners.

Channel: Microsite Contest

##5. Nolitours

THE CUBA FREEBIE-O-RAMA! / Concours « Cuba gratuit, siii ! » de Nolitours sponsored by Air Transat

Nolitours more than tripled its Facebook fan base from 29,080 to 103,984 over the two weeks that this sweepstakes ran and saw a 85% conversion rate on site visits to entries. See smart tactics from the campaign.

The Ask: Like-gated sweepstakes; Like Nolitours on Facebook and fill out the entry form.

Prizes: 14 total; 14 winners received return flights for two to Cuba from any Canadian airport where Air Transat offers Cuban destinations, 7- nights accommodation and transportation in Cuba.

Selection Process: Random; 1 winner was selected each day for 14 days.

Channel: Facebook Sweepstakes App

##6. City of Oakland

‘I Choose Oakland’ Photo/Video Contest sponsored by Southwest Airlines and a handful of local businesses

Over 100 Oakland residents and business owners demonstrated why Oakland is an ideal place to live and work through photos and videos. The contest site continues to promote the City of Oakland’s attractions and drive traffic to the the city’s website and Facebook Page. Visit the contest site.

The Ask: Upload a photo or video that creatively shows why you choose to live or own a business in Oakland, CA.

Prizes: 4 total in two categories; 2 grand prize winners got 2 return flights to OAK on Southwest Airlines to fly their friends or family into town plus 2 nights accommodation for their guests and gift certificates to local attractions, restaurants and shops; 2 runners up get one year membership to local attractions and tickets to a local arts festival.

Selection Process: Voting to Judging; the 10 top voted entries in each category moved to the judging round where the winners were selected.

Channel: Microsite Contest

##7. Tourism New Mexico

Get the Picture sponsored by Advanced Presentation Systems, New Mexico True and New Mexico Centennial

On January 6, 1912, New Mexico became the 47th State in the US. In celebration of the last 100 years, New Mexico ran a year-long photo challenge which sent New Mexico residents on a mission to identify the location of mystery vintage photos posted weekly, and then re-create them . A handful of dedicated participants traveled all corners of the state to complete all 100 photos! Visit the contest site.

The Ask: Re-create up to 100 Centennial photos for a chance to win 0,000. Entrants received one entry for each photo that they successfully re-created and submitted.

Prizes: 1 grand prize of 0,000 plus several other random prizes.

Selection Process: Random; 1 grand prize winner was selected at random at the end of the challenge.

Channel: Custom Microsite Contest

##8. Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways National Day Contest sponsored by Nokia

Qatar Airways gave Quatar residents the platform to showcase its country’s magnificence through a photo contest. 6,099 entries drew over 1 million views to the contest site. Visit the contest site.

The Ask: Submit a photo that shows Qatar, its people, culture, tradition, landmarks and landscapes.

Prizes: 90 total; 10 top voted winners received economy class tickets from Doha to any of Qatar Airways 100 destinations, 80 random winners received Nokia phones.

Selection Process: Voting and Random; 10 winners by voting, 70 random winners

Channel: Iframe Contest - Embedded in Qatar Airways’ website

##9. Arizona Highways Magazine

2012-2013 Arizona Highways Online Photography Contest

Last year, this annual contest received 5,433 entries and just under 200,000 page views. This year’s contest is underway and is on track to beat those numbers. Visit the contest site.

The Ask: Enter an unlimited amount of photos in the following categories: (1) Landscapes, (2) Macro Photography, and (3) Indigenous Wildlife.

Prizes: 2 total; 1 grand prize winner got an Arizona-based Arizona Highways Photo Workshop valued at ,500 plus 2 winners-up winners received Photo Gift Packages.

Selection Process: Judging only

Channel: Iframe Contest - Embedded in Arizona Highways Magazine’s website

##10. Expedia cruiseshipcenters

Enter to win a Free Cruise sponsored by Princess Cruises

This simple sweepstakes drew 25,700 entries and even more Likes to Expedia cruiseshipcenters’ Facebook Page over one month. The app was not Facebook fan-gated, but all participants had to Like Expedia cruiseshipcenters on Facebook in order to enter (Strutta’s Mandatory Like feature). Visit the Facebook sweepstakes app.

The Ask: Sweepstakes; fill out the entry form.

Prizes: 1 total; one 7-night Princess cruise for two to the sun-soaked Caribbean or Mexico.

Selection Process: Random

Channel: Facebook Sweepstakes app

Interested in running your own social media promotion? Learn more at www.strutta.com or contact us today!