It’s a fun, low-lift, high-impact way to drive engagement, collect fresh UGC, and shine a spotlight on local gems (and maybe even uncover a few hidden ones). People want to share their travel moments—and a contest gives them the perfect excuse to do just that.
Even better? When you feature participants, they’re likely to reshare your post, tag your destination, or use your hashtag—fueling word-of-mouth marketing with beautiful, authentic visuals to match.
Whether you’re promoting local eats, outdoor adventures, or seasonal events, a photo contest can breathe new life into your content and help both visitors and locals see your destination through a new lens.
We’ve pulled together this checklist to help you get set up—without missing a thing!
Step 1: Make Your Plan
Before you launch, get clear on the “why” and the “how” behind your contest:
- Set your goal. Are you aiming to boost engagement, promote a specific experience, build your visual content library, or encourage more local participation?
- Define your audience. Are you targeting visitors, locals, or both? This will shape everything from your messaging to your promotional channels.
- Choose a theme. Pick a prompt that’s fun, visual, and easy to interpret—like Hidden Gems, Fall Colors, or Taste of [Your City].
- Pick a prize. With your budget in mind, think about what will truly motivate your audience. Gift cards, attraction passes, local experiences, or social features all work well—and it’s a great excuse to collaborate with local partners!
- Set your timeline. Choose your contest start and end dates, plus when you’ll announce the winner(s). If you’re tying it to a seasonal campaign or event, make sure you plan enough lead time to gather and use the content.
⭐ Example we love:
Destination Ann Arbor’s People, Pets & Peonies photo contest was a perfect way to build buzz around peony season at the University of Michigan’s Nichols Arboretum. It encouraged community engagement and awareness—plus gave participants a chance to win a local restaurant gift card!
Step 2: Implement
Once your goals are set, it’s time to make it happen:
- Create a collector page. CrowdRiff Collector pages are easy to customize to match your brand. You can embed them in a blog post or webpage so participants can easily upload their photos, and even add a link back to your landing page to keep everything connected.
- Set up your contest page. If you choose to build a blog post or standalone landing page, you can showcase submissions in real time with a gallery, a map, or both—whatever best fits your theme.
- Clarify your terms. Make sure participants understand how their content might be used, whether that’s in marketing campaigns, on social media, or elsewhere. Clearly outline usage rights, entry requirements, and any restrictions in your Terms & Conditions, and be sure to add them to your Collector page.
- Get the word out. Promote your contest through all your available channels—email newsletters, social media, your website, and even local or partner organizations. Use eye-catching visuals from your library to help spark inspiration and encourage submissions.
⭐ Example we love:
Visit Savannah created a blog post to support their Share Your Savannah Love Story photo contest, designed to highlight the romantic side of the city. Using the collector feature, they invited locals and visitors to submit photos and stories, which were then featured on their website and social channels as part of a larger Valentine’s Day campaign.
Step 3: Wrap It Up
- Announce your winners! Once the contest ends, it’s time to share the results. Announce the winners, deliver their prizes, and highlight some standout submissions. Be sure to thank everyone who participated, this builds community and boosts the chances they’ll join in again next time.
- Look at the numbers. Dig into your performance metrics to see what worked, what didn’t, and how to improve your next contest. Helpful metrics to track include:
- Total submissions received
- Website traffic driven by the contest
- Engagement across social channels
- New followers or email subscribers
- UGC rights-approved for future use
- Gallery views
A great photo contest doesn’t just generate buzz—it gives you a steady stream of authentic visuals, builds community, and puts your destination in the spotlight. With the right tools and a little planning, you’ll have everything you need to run a successful campaign that delivers real results.
⭐ Examples we love:
Experience Butler County keeps its community engaged year-round by running seasonal photo contests each quarter. Every contest follows a themed prompt (like “Outdoor Exploration” or “Friendly Faces”) and lives on a dedicated CrowdRiff Collector page, where participants upload images directly. A judging panel selects the top three photos, awarding local gift certificates.
Visit Sarasota’s photo contest powered 80% of their 2023 visitor guide cover images!
Ahead of its 2023 Visitor Guide, Visit Sarasota launched a CrowdRiff Collector contest asking locals and travelers to submit their best shots of the area. They promoted the contest with an Instagram call-to-action that linked straight to the Collector form.
Want to see more examples? Let us know what would be helpful, and we’ll work to make it happen!
