I always wanted to visit Alcatraz Island. It was one of those places that I found fascinating – full of history. It always seemed like it would be an adventurous tour and a trip that was sitting on my bucket list for a long time. Way back in late August (2017) I saw an announcement on social media about a social media contest hosted by Alcatraz Cruises to be Captain for a Day aboard one of their vessels visiting Alcatraz Island.
Alcatraz Cruises is the official concessioner to the National Park Service, offering tickets and transportation to Alcatraz Island. They are the only boat service allowed to dock and bring visitors to the island. All other boat services simply circle the island not letting visitors off.
The contest information and requirements:
How to Enter: The Campaign must be entered by submitting a social entry using the online platforms and guidelines outlined in this link https://www.alcatrazcruises.com/blog#/. The entry must fulfill all Campaign requirements, as specified, to be eligible to win a prize, as outlined in the link above. Entries that are incomplete or do not adhere to the rules or specifications may be disqualified at the sole discretion of the Sponsor.
How to Win This Online Contest
- Remember to include #AlcatrazCaptain with all content
- Create Alcatraz-related content to post via different social platforms.
- Must be posted to or tag an Alcatraz Cruises’ social media platform
- Entries must have #AlcatrazCaptain hashtag to qualify.
It’s just that simple! Share your content, and prove to us that you’re a Top Tier influencer! The winner will become our guest in San Francisco as “Captain For a Day”, but we’ll come to you, first! We’ll meet you in your domestic U.S. location, and document you receiving this inclusive prize package.
CAPTAIN FOR A DAY CONTEST
Who Wants to be our “Captain For a Day?”
Ever dream of being a captain on your own vessel? Well, Alcatraz Cruises is launching a contest for one lucky influencer to win a great opportunity to be “Captain For a Day.”
First and foremost, to get you in the mood, here’s the incentive:
The winner will become our guest in San Francisco as “Captain For a Day.” Once the reviews are in, and we select a winner, we’ll designate our Top Tier Influencer, then we will award the amazing prize package, which includes the following:
$2,000.00 “Captain For a Day” CASH prize
Airfare for two (2) people in December to San Francisco, from your domestic U.S. location (value up to $1,500.00).
Accommodation for four nights for two (2) at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square and Parc 55 San Francisco, including cocktails at Cityscape Viewing Lounge.
Behind the Scenes Alcatraz Island Night Tour for two (2).
Round-trip hybrid ferry service to Alcatraz Island, while spending time with our captain.
San Francisco CityPasses for two (2).
Union Square Ice Rink tickets for two (2).
Here’s how it’s going to work…
“Captain For a Day” will launch on Thursday, September 7, 2017 and run for eight weeks, ending on Thursday, November 2, 2017. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter to catch the launch. The winner will be announced a week after the end date and will be contacted privately via social media to organize the San Francisco adventure. Launch date: Thursday, September 07, 2017. End date: Thursday, November 02, 2017
After reading the rules and requirements I thought to myself – “I can do that!” I really wanted to visit Alcatraz so I set about looking for all the information I could find to start posting on social media. I made a schedule to stagger postings between Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Because I really wanted a good shot at this, I will admit to rallying up some social media friends to share my postings.
I decided when I started that I would concentrate on Alcatraz history or things that weren’t common knowledge about the island. I found as many bits of interesting information I could find for my posts. My thought was to post interesting little bits that would have followers waiting and looking for the next bit so that I could keep some engagement. I did one post per week on Facebook, one per week on Twitter and one per week on Instagram – all on different days of course so that I was actually posting 3 days a week over the contest period.
Sample Facebook Post:
Sample Instagram Post:
Sample Twitter Post:
In this day of automation, I actually only spent about one day looking for posting topics and images and creating the various posts. I scheduled all of the posts that day to publish throughout the contest period – and that was it – done! Every once in a while I would reach out to a few friends and ask them to re-tweet, like or share my posts.
Before I knew it the contest was over and there it was in my inbox:
My son and I arrived in San Francisco on our Alcatraz adventure on December 13, the following day I was ready to be Alcatraz Cruises Captain for a Day! Over the next few weeks I will be sharing all about my Alcatraz and San Francisco adventure!
Facebook – Alcatraz Cruises
Twitter – @AlcatrazCruises
Instagram – @AlcatrazCruises
I was provided an all expense paid trip to San Francisco by Alcatraz Cruises. All opinions are my own.
