Instant Wins

Discover how to set up your instant wins.

Esteban avatar
Written by Esteban
Updated over a week ago

Instant Wins, what are they?

Concept

An instant win game is a promotional game where you set up winning time slots. When a participant plays the game (validates the form), they can win a prize immediately if they participate within the correct time slot or win nothing if they don't participate at the right moment.

Technical definition

At Socialshaker, an instant win corresponds to a time slot where a prize can be won. The first person to play the game (validate the form) within that time slot wins the prize. When setting up your instant wins, you'll need to configure as many instant wins as the number of prizes you have to give away.

Example: Your game runs from July 1, 2020, to July 5, 2020. You want to give away 10 CDs and 5 concert tickets. Therefore, you need to set up a total of 15 instant wins. After configuration, one of your prizes is scheduled for July 2, 2020, from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM. The first person to participate starting from 11:00 AM on July 2, 2020, wins the prize. They see the "Won" page displayed along with the corresponding prize. At 12:00 PM, if no one has participated yet, the prize is no longer available. Everyone then sees the same "Lost" page until the next winning time slot.

Socialshaker mechanics of the "instant win" type

The game mechanics that allow you to set up instant wins are as follows:

  • Instant Scratch

  • Gifts Rain

  • Instant Win Calendar

  • Jackpot

  • Wheel of Fortune

  • Instant Win

  • Lucky One

  • Advent Calendar

Setting up instant wins: presentation

Regardless of the chosen instant win mechanics, you will find the "Instant" module in the "Mechanics" section of your campaign's configuration.

The page is divided into several areas:

1) Export winners

Export the list of all winners here.

2) Automatic generation

Useful for generating a large number of instants, distributed randomly over the time slots of your choice.

3) Delete all

Delete all instant wins you have configured at once. This allows you to start your configuration from scratch if you made a mistake. Please note that if you already have instant wins on your campaign, they will also be removed from the list.

4) Classic generation

Useful for generating manually configurable instant wins one by one.

5) List of instants

List of all instant wins configured by the campaign organizer. The list is located at the bottom of the page. If you have generated many instants, the list may extend over several pages.

The list of instants is constructed as follows:

  • Numbering from 1 to 25 page by page. This numbering has nothing to do with the order of distribution of the instants, it is merely indicative.

  • Start date and time and end date and time of the instant. This time slot corresponds to the period when the prize can be won.

  • Image and name of the instant (information displayed on the "Won" page in case of a "won" scenario)

  • "Action" button: allows you to delete or modify an instant.

Automatic Generation (Configuration)

This section is useful if you want to generate a large number of instant wins, randomly distributed over the time slots of your choice.

Introduction (important!)

  • The prizes are configured in batches of 100. Please note that if you plan to configure more than 1000 instants wins, please contact us via the Live Chat at the bottom right corner of your screen.

  • You can only configure one type of prize at a time (entering the name and image of the prize once for the entire batch). For example: you have 100 prizes to be won, which means 50 books and 50 USB keys. Configure the 50 books first, and then the 50 USB keys.

  • The instant wins generator randomly and evenly distributes the generated instant wins over the desired period and time slot.

  • Your instant wins moments can overlap. No problem! Each moment is unique. The first person to connect within the available time interval of the first instant wins that winning moment. For example: A moment is configured on 10/10/2020 from 10am to 12pm. Another moment is configured on 10/10/2020 from 11am to 1pm.

  • When you generate instant wins multiple times using the generator, the previously generated moments are not replaced by the newly generated ones; instead, they are added. Make sure to check the list of generated moments at the bottom of the page and delete any extra moments if necessary (click "Action" on the moment > "Delete the moment").

  • The block where you generate your moments is just a moment generator. The numbers you see appearing in this automatic moment generator after generating them do not represent your generated instant wins. In fact, the generator resets its parameters once used. Once generated, you will find the list of your instant wins at the bottom of the page.

Configuration

Here is the detail of each element to configure, step by step (numbers corresponding to the explanations below):

1. Start date and end date

Set the start date and end date of the period during which you want there to be instant wins to be won in your game. Note: the start and end date of the game do not necessarily have to be the same as the start and end date of the period where you want your moments to be distributed. A game with instant wins can be open to players without having certain days configured with instant wins.

Example: your game lasts from October 1st to October 10th, 2020. If you want prizes to be won every day, set the start date to October 1st, 2020, and the end date to October 10th, 2020. If you do not want to award prizes on October 1st, for example, set the start date to October 2nd and the end date to October 10th.

2. Start time and end time

Corresponds to the general time slot during which you want your moments to be distributed. Example: you do not want a prize to be won during the night. In this case, set the time slot from 6am to 11pm.

3. Moment duration (minutes)

You need to differentiate between the time slot (mentioned just above) and the duration of the moment. The moment duration corresponds to the duration in minutes of an instant win. As a reminder: with Socialshaker, an instant win corresponds to a time slot where it is possible to win a prize. The first person to participate in the game (submit the form) within this time slot wins the prize.

4. Number of Instant Wins

Enter the number of instant wins you want to generate. Please note that the generator is limited to 100 moments. Do you have more than 100 instant wins to set up? No problem. Set up and generate 100 moments first, then repeat the process with the remaining moments, making sure to reconfigure the generator from the beginning each time.

⚠️ WARNING: The generator resets to default settings after each generation.

Example: I have 250 T-shirts to give away. I set up 100 moments with the desired date/time and duration for each moment. I generate them. Then, I repeat the entire process, ensuring to reconfigure the generator correctly as I did the first time. I generate 100 more moments. I repeat for the third time with 50 moments. My list will have a total of 250 moments.

5. Image and Prize Name

You have the option to set an image and a name for your moments. The recommended format for the image is 328x300px. In the case of automatic generation, these settings will apply to all moments in the batch you are currently generating. This allows you to quickly set up multiple identical items (e.g., 100 T-shirts).

The image and prize name will appear on the winning page as follows:

Finally, click on Generate. Your moments list will be displayed at the bottom of the page.

Classic Generation (Configuration)

Introduction

Classic generation is useful if you have very few moments to create or if you need to set up different instant wins (e.g., one prize per day for 25 days for an Advent Calendar). You can manually configure your moments and choose different dates and times for each moment you want to create. You can also use classic generation if you want to add a moment during the game.

Configuration

Select the number of moments you want to generate in the moment generator. They will be displayed in the list at the bottom of the page. Then click on "Action" and then "Configure" to customize each moment (start and end date/time, image, and name of the moment) to your liking.

Exporting the List of Winners

You will find the list of all your winners under "Mechanics" > "Moments" > "Export Winners" :

For more information on data exports in general (form data, custom field responses export, etc.), we also invite you to read the article on data exports in general.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I know if a winning moment has been won or not?

A moment is won when the "trophy" icon on the left turns green. When this happens, you can click on "Action" > "View Winner" to quickly see the winner's details. For more information on the winner, you need to export the list of winners (see point 4).

What duration should I choose for my instant win?

Do you want to make sure that all your moments are won? Plan a wide duration for the moment to give players enough time to participate in your game. Example: I don't expect much traffic on my game. To ensure that all moments are won, we recommend setting a sufficiently long moment duration. Example: 5 hours (300 minutes). During these 5 hours, a moment can be won. The first person to connect to the game within this 5-hour window will win the moment.

Do you expect a lot of traffic on your game? Set a short duration for the moment, let's say a few minutes. Instants win create an exclusive opportunity. Example: I expect a lot of traffic on my game. In this case, I can set relatively short moments (e.g., 10 minutes). During these 10 minutes, a moment can be won. The first person to connect to the game within this 10-minute window will win the moment.

One of my moments was not won, what should I do?

If your instant win was not won and its time slot has passed, it will not be automatically relaunched. To reschedule it, click on "Action" on the moment and modify its date and time parameters to relaunch it later.

How can I test an instant win and see how the winning page looks?

To test an instant win, we recommend setting up a test moment using the classic generation method (generate a single moment for the test dates and times). Then, test it using the preview feature. Here is an example of how the "winning" page looks:

Is it possible to win multiple times?

It is not possible to block a participant once they have won. Blocking can be done by player, campaign, or IP, but it applies to all of the player's participations. Here is a detailed tutorial on this topic. However, if your rules specify (e.g., one prize per person), you can disqualify one of the excess prizes won by a person. In that case, you can reschedule the winning moment using the classic generation method under "Mechanics" > "Moments" to put it back into play.

I clicked on "Action" > "View Winner," and there is no data on the winner (blank field). How is that possible?

It is possible that it is a participation made in preview mode. If you win an instant win in preview mode, the moment is considered already won, but the data is not collected. In this case, we invite you to set up a new instant wins to put the prize back into play.

I would like to launch a game with 100% winners, how can I do that?

The platform does not allow for setting up 100% winning moments, as the mechanics are not designed for that. An instant win corresponds to a time interval, and the first person to connect within that interval wins the moment.

Here is an alternative:

If you wish, initially set up prizes (larger rewards, for example) using the "instant win" module. On the other hand, for the consolation prize (e.g., a discount coupon), you can set up the "Lose" page. All participants who do not win the main prize will land on the "You've Lost" page, where you can set a message like, "You've won a discount coupon." Please note that all "losers" will receive the same message and, therefore, the same consolation prize.

Can I fill in the prizes as the game progresses? Or should I set them all up before launch?

Can I fill in the prizes as the game progresses? Or should I set them all up before launch?

You can set them up as the game progresses or beforehand, as you prefer.

How can I change the text color of the instant win?

Go to "Mechanics" > "Theme" and configure the text color of the displayed prize if the participant wins.


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