Instagram is the fourth most used social media platform with more than 2 billion users worldwide. It is a place with ample opportunities for brands and influencers. The most talked about and hot topic these days is Instagram Giveaways. Instagram giveaways have become a great marketing tactic for brands and influencers to grow their following and increase engagement. By offering prizes through a contest or sweepstakes, you can quickly attract new followers and get existing followers more actively involved with your account.
However, hosting a successful Instagram giveaway takes some strategic planning. As a beginner, you’ll want to ensure your giveaway abides by Instagram’s policies, connects to your brand, and incentivizes users to participate. Follow this beginner’s guide to running an Instagram giveaway that helps you achieve your goals.
Key Benefits of Hosting an Instagram Giveaway
Hosting an Instagram giveaway can be a great way to increase engagement and gain new followers on Instagram. Here are some of the key benefits:
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Increased Awareness and Reach
Giveaways help spread awareness of your brand or product to new audiences. By requiring entrants to follow you and tag friends, you can rapidly expand your reach and get your content in front of new eyes.
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Gained Followers and Engagement
Giveaways incentivize people to follow you in order to enter and engage with your content by liking and commenting. This can help you gain authentic, engaged followers.
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Build Excitement and Interest
Giveaways create hype and excitement around your products or services. People love winning free stuff, so a giveaway taps into that desire and gets people excited about your brand.
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Increased Brand Awareness
Giveaways get people talking, which increases brand mentions and tags across the platform. A branded hashtag can further unite mentions and spread awareness.
How to Run a Successful Instagram Giveaway
Running a successful Instagram Giveaway is an art as well as a skill that needs some planning and improvisation. A successful campaign often makes a difference. Moreover, use of advanced social media analytics tool will let you manage multiple user entries and campaigns in an easy manner. Here are some great tips and Instagram giveaway guide for having a successful Instagram Giveaway campaign:
1) Choose a Giveaway Type
The first step is deciding what type of giveaway makes the most sense for your goals. The most common options are photo contests in which users post a photo and hashtag for a chance to win. This way user generates their own content and your hashtag to it. Next comes the random drawing in which users like, follow, comment, and share for a chance to win. It is one of the easiest to manage. Next in line are referral giveaways and loop giveaways where users get entries by tagging friends and in special cases tagging a new person each day. This helps in increasing followers and keeping engagement consistent. The last is a trivia contest in which users answer trivia questions for a chance to win.
Consider your audience, brand, and what you want to achieve before selecting an Instagram giveaway idea and type. The easier the entry method, the more entries you’ll likely get.
2) Craft Giveaway Rules
Once you’ve decided on a giveaway structure, craft clear official rules that set participant expectations. Clearly communicated instructions about the giveaway not only make the task easier for users but enhance the reach and virality as well. Foremost is to draft the guidelines point by point painstakingly removing the uncomfortable areas. Here are some key elements to cover:
- Eligibility: Location, age, number of entries allowed, public/private account status.
- Timing: Start/end dates, entry deadlines, winner selection date.
- How to Enter: Step-by-step entry instructions.
- Prizes: Describe prizes, quantity, and value. Disclose if certain taxes/fees apply.
- Rights: Grant rights to use the winner’s name, likeness, etc. for promotional purposes.
- General Terms: Include any other relevant restrictions or legal disclaimers.
Keeping the entry steps simple will make it easier for users to participate. Be sure to check Instagram’s promotions guidelines and properly disclose rules where applicable.
3) Promote the Giveaway
Spreading awareness of your giveaway is key to getting engagement. The first and foremost is to create an eye-catching graphic with key giveaway details to share on your profile or feed. You should utilize Instagram stories to announce the giveaway and remind users to enter. Next, you need to post periodically about the giveaway and encourage entries in captions. Ask your existing followers to help spread the word by tagging friends. The key is to use relevant hashtags so the giveaway is discoverable. The popular ones include #giveaway, #contest, #sweepstakes. The right hashtags are extremely powerful tools if used properly. The last is to email your subscriber list or contact influencers to help promote it. You should also be running Instagram ads targeting potential entrants.
The more places you share the giveaway, the more potential participants will see it. Be sure to include a link to the official rules in your posts.
4) Choose and Notify Winners
Once your giveaway concludes, it’s time to choose winners and notify them. The best way to choose winners is to use the Instagram giveaway picker tool. The picker tool helps in choosing the rightful and most deserving winner. It also makes the contest more fair and legitimate. After this, double-check that the winners meet eligibility requirements as per your official rules. Then comes notifying the winners directly through Instagram DM, congratulating them, and explaining how to claim their prize. Confirm shipping details and collect any additional info needed to deliver prizes properly. Announce and tag winners in an Instagram post/story. Also, ask them to share that they have won an award.
Be responsive if winners don’t claim their prize right away. Set a deadline for claiming, and redraw if needed after that timeframe.
5) Analyze and Optimize for Next Time
Once your giveaway has ended, take time to analyze the results and see what worked well and what didn’t. The key metrics to view are total entries and new followers gained, the engagement rate on giveaway posts, reach and clicks on promotional posts, most popular entry methods used, and lastly any drop-off or engagement decline after the giveaway ends.
Use these insights to make adjustments for your next Instagram giveaway. You may choose to change the prize type, run it for a longer period, add influencer promotions, or make entering even simpler based on what the analysis shows.
Conclusion
Running a well-executed Instagram giveaway can be a fun and effective tactic for generating more followers and engagement as a beginner. But it requires strategic planning. Define clear rules, promote the giveaway widely, select winners fairly, and analyze results afterward. Most importantly, ensure your giveaway aligns with Instagram’s policies and connects back to your brand in some way. With these tips in mind, you can host an Instagram giveaway that attracts your target audience and helps achieve your goals.