How to Run a Successful Instagram Giveaway or Contest
A well-run Instagram giveaway can boost engagement, attract followers and generate user-generated content. Here is how to plan, run and measure one.
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Looking for ways to boost your Instagram marketing? Running a giveaway is a great way to engage your followers and attract new ones. But where do you start?
First, create a giveaway post with clear instructions on how to enter, such as asking participants to tag a friend in the comments. Use relevant hashtags and promote your giveaway on other social platforms to reach even more people. When it ends, use a random picker tool to select a winner fairly, then follow up with the winner and announce the result to your audience. A successful contest can increase your visibility and bring new attention to your brand.
Let's get started.
What Are Instagram Giveaways?
Instagram giveaways are contests that help companies reach more people, increase sales, raise brand awareness and build relationships with customers. A giveaway runs for a set time, and participants have the chance to win a prize. To run one, you choose what you'll give away, tell your target audience about it, and announce the winner when time is up.
Why Host an Instagram Giveaway?
Giveaways are one of the quickest ways to generate a burst of engagement and new followers, because people love the chance to win something. Here are the main benefits.
Increase engagement and exposure
Ask people to like, comment on or share the post for a chance to win. The extra interaction signals to Instagram that people find the post interesting, which can help it reach more people, including those who don't follow you yet.
Gain more followers
Making "follow our account" an entry requirement is a common way to grow your audience, which can be especially valuable for new brands. Just remember that some people will unfollow once the giveaway ends, so focus on attracting people who are genuinely interested in what you offer.
Collaborate with influencers
Partnering with influencers on a giveaway can bring in new customers from their loyal followings and introduce your brand to a relevant new audience.
Collect user-generated content
Photo contests ask entrants to post pictures featuring your product. This gives customers a fun way to interact with your brand, builds recognition, and provides social proof you can share later (with permission).
Drive traffic to your website
People love free stuff, so they are often willing to take extra steps to enter, such as visiting your website or signing up on a landing page. Keep the prize desirable and the rules simple, put the landing page link in your bio, and make sure the page loads quickly on mobile.
When Should You Run an Instagram Giveaway?
Giveaways are a great way to show appreciation to your followers. Brands often time them to coincide with new product launches, collections or partnerships, which generates excitement around the launch. You can also run them at milestones, such as reaching a follower count or celebrating your business's anniversary, or around holidays.
How Often Should Brands Run Giveaways?
Running giveaways regularly can create a snowball effect of new followers and traffic back to your site. A predictable rhythm, such as a monthly or seasonal giveaway, gives followers a reason to keep coming back. Don't overdo it, though: if every other post is a giveaway, you risk attracting people who only care about free prizes.
How Long Should a Giveaway Last?
If your giveaway is too short, you may miss out on participants. If it runs too long, people forget about it. Aim for the middle ground: long enough for everyone to enter, short enough to keep momentum. Many giveaways last about one to two weeks, but you can adjust this to suit your content calendar.
Steps to Run an Instagram Giveaway or Contest
1. Determine a goal
Decide what you want to achieve before anything else. Without a goal, you are giving away a prize that benefits your followers but not your business. Common goals include:
- Increasing engagement and followers
- Growing your email list
- Collecting user-generated content
- Driving traffic to your website
- Selling a specific product
- Building awareness for your brand or a new launch
- Getting a specific hashtag talked about
2. Set your rules and entry criteria
Decide what people must do to enter, and choose actions that support your goal. Examples:
- Share the post to their Story to increase brand awareness.
- Sign up for your newsletter to grow your email list.
- Follow your account to grow your audience.
- Leave a comment to boost engagement.
- Post a photo with your product (a UGC contest), with extra entries for tagging friends.
- Use a branded hashtag such as #brandnamegiveaway.
It doesn't make sense to ask people to join your newsletter if your goal is more Instagram followers, so pick criteria that match your aim. Write the rules clearly in your giveaway post, including the deadline, eligibility (such as age and location) and how the winner will be chosen and contacted.
3. Collaborate with brands and influencers
Partnering with other brands or influencers gets your giveaway more attention. Choose partners in a related space or with shared values, so their followers trust the giveaway. In a joint giveaway, entrants usually follow every partner account, and each partner posts about the contest, so you all reach a bigger, more engaged audience.
4. Research your audience
Use Instagram Insights to see where your followers are, their age range and gender, and which types of posts they respond to. This helps you choose a prize and entry method that will appeal to them.
5. Choose a prize
Pick something exciting and relevant to your audience: a product, service or experience. If you are partnering with another brand, choose one your audience loves. The prize doesn't have to come from your industry, as long as it makes your community happy.
6. Promote with hashtags
Hashtags help people discover your giveaway. Alongside your branded hashtag, consider popular giveaway hashtags such as:
- #giveaway
- #giveawaycontest
- #giveawaytime
- #giveawayalert
- #win
Promote the giveaway in your Stories, through email and on your other social channels too.
7. Decide on the duration
Options range from 24 hours to a couple of weeks, depending on your goal and audience. Large accounts with very active followers can run a successful 24-hour giveaway, but if you have a smaller following, that is probably not long enough to spread the word.
8. Close the giveaway and evaluate the results
When the giveaway ends, check the entries against your rules and pick a winner at random using a giveaway picker tool, so the process is fair. Contact the winner and announce the result in your Stories or a post.
Then measure success against the goal you set at the start. Compare follower counts, engagement, email signups or website traffic before and after the giveaway. Instagram Insights can also tell you more about the people who took part, such as their location, age range and when they are online.
Prize Ideas for Instagram Giveaways
The best prizes are exciting, relevant to your audience and valuable. Some ideas:
- Gift cards or cash: Flexible and appealing to almost everyone, though they attract prize-hunters as well as genuine fans.
- Product prizes: Your own products, exclusive items, a year's supply, or a bundle of products and treats.
- Subscription prizes: For software and services, free subscriptions, upgraded memberships, consultations or branded merchandise.
- Experiences: A home makeover, cleaning services, gym memberships, workout plans or a memorable experience like a hot air balloon ride.
Follow Instagram's Rules
Before launching, read Instagram's Promotion Guidelines. Among other things, you must include official rules, make clear that the promotion is not sponsored, endorsed or administered by Instagram, and not encourage people to tag content inaccurately (for example, tagging themselves in photos they don't appear in). Giveaways are also subject to the laws where you and your entrants live, so check local rules on contests and prize draws.
Conclusion
A giveaway can help you reach a new audience, promote a new product and engage your followers. Host a contest that reflects your brand, choose a format your audience will enjoy, such as a product giveaway or photo contest, and follow the rules. It takes effort and creativity, but the boost to your online presence and engagement can be well worth it.
Good luck!
