An Instagram giveaway or contest is an ideal way for companies to build and promote their brand simultaneously. Companies can achieve multiple goals with a single campaign that has the potential to delight their target audience.
Instagram is a visual platform that has more than a billion users. It is an ideal platform to run giveaways and contests that can potentially produce tons of user-generated content related to your brand.
A campaign that generates tons of leads, website traffic, and social media followers on a platform filled with eager content-hungry users is a marketer's dream. It is highly recommended that your brand should consider a marketing campaign, such as an Instagram giveaway or contest.
In this guide, we will go through every aspect of an Instagram giveaway and contest while sharing some useful tips to help you get started.
Choose a Goal for Your Instagram Giveaway
Before you get started, clearly determine a goal for your Instagram giveaway. Giveaways serve multiple purposes, which is why, without a goal, you could lose focus on what you are trying to achieve.
Some examples of Instagram giveaway goals include:
- Grow your Instagram following
- Grow your email list
- Generate traffic to your website (or physical store)
- Create user-generated content (UGC)
- Get more exposure for your brand
- Increase engagement on Instagram
You can use an Instagram giveaway to accomplish just a single goal or multiple goals at once. If all you are looking for is just more followers, then users can simply 'follow' your brand to enter. The same goes for growing your email list, request users to submit their email address to enter.
If all that you are looking for is more Instagram followers, you can still use advanced strategies such as 'tag a friend' or 'refer a friend' to boost your giveaway.
Such requirements will get your audience to invite friends who potentially share similar interests to them. This is an excellent way of building your target audience with an Instagram giveaway.
Research Your Audience
It’s crucial to consider your target audience and their behavior on Instagram.
Ask yourself:
- What type of posts do they post on their feeds? If your company is a technology startup, you would want to associate with people with a passion for technology ideally.
- Which type of posts do they respond to best on your Instagram account? You can ‘view insights’ on all of your previous posts to determine your most popular type of post.
- How active is your audience on Instagram? Not everyone is constantly commenting, liking, and sharing posts on Instagram. Some people prefer to just scroll through posts without even double-tapping to like. Try to determine your audience’s behavior and understand how they engage with posts on Instagram.
If you spend some time researching your audience, you will have a better understanding of what they are looking for every time they log into Instagram. This will assist you in effectively tailoring an Instagram Giveaway for your audience.
You can use ‘Insights’ within the Instagram app to gather some useful info such as location, gender, and age. This is an excellent place to start when researching your audience.
If your business caters to people above 35 years old with interest in the high-end fashion, then the last thing you want is an email list filled with people below 25 years of age and with no interest in fashion, but an interest in technology and smartphones.
A high-quality fashion store should instead consider using their own products as the prize or a fashion voucher. The entries might be less than expected, but you will build an email list with people that are interested in the brand and its high-end fashion.
Those who would typically enter a contest that has an iPhone as a prize will most likely not enter a contest with a fashion voucher as a prize. Especially if they have little to no interest in that brand’s clothing.
Budget to Meet Expectations
Your budget should align with your expectations and goals. If you are looking to generate email leads and/or Instagram followers, then the more valuable the prize is, the better your chances will be of generating more leads.
Remember, a user has to go through the effort of entering your contest. This will involve them having to create some form of content for your contest. People, in general, won’t commit so easily to a contest that has a prize that is of little value.
On the other hand, if the prize is worth a lot of money, then users will find it worth their while to enter. Because of this, you will have to decide if spending a lot of cash on a prize will be worth your while in new leads and followers.
A Marketable Prize
You will have to market your prize effectively if you want to entice people further to enter your contest. Just using text to tell people about a prize won’t do. The prize must have a visual appeal and allow users to picture themselves using that prize.
This helps to build a desire for the prize in a user’s mind, which can further motivate them to enter the contest.
When selecting a prize, try and envision what that prize will look like in posts related to the contest. Does the prize look good next to your brand logo? Does the prize fit in with your brand’s image?
Its recommended that you also include clear call-to-action in your emails directing people to your contest. As an option, you can also include links to your website and your products.
If your own product is the prize, then you should direct users to that product page so they can get more information on the prize.
Blog
If you have an active blog on your brand’s website, then you could feature your contest in a blog post. A blog post will allow you to present information related to your contest in detail. You can create multiple posts, such as:
- Announcing the contest
- Prize details. If it is a product of yours, then you can include reviews and real-world use examples
- A blog post in the middle of the contest that features some of the top entries
It doesn’t have to end there. You can insert links or banner ads in other posts within your blog that directs visitors to your contest page. In other words, advertise your contest within your blog posts. You can also create guest blog posts on other websites to promote your contest.
Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing allows brands to connect to an already established audience that shares a similar interest to a person, group, or brand. Most influencers are well connected to their followers and usually engage with them consistently.
Apart from getting your product into the hands of an influencer so that they can introduce it to their audience, you can also request an influencer to introduce your contest to their audience.
Instagram is popular with influencers and creators, which is why partnering up with an Instagram influencer to promote your contest is a great idea.
Contest and Giveaway Promotion Websites
There are plenty of websites that are dedicated to featuring contests and giveaways. People frequent these websites with the hope of finding good contests to enter.
These websites do get a considerable amount of traffic, which is why featuring your contest on a few contest promotion websites is a great idea. Especially if you are looking to boost interest in your contest early on.
The downside of using contest promotion websites is that they tend to have low-quality traffic. Most of the traffic on these websites are made up of people looking to win something and not buy something.
However, contest promotion websites are still a great way to get people to boost Instagram engagement and shares on your contest. Especially during the early stages of the contest.
Other Media
Remember, a contest is a marketers’ dream. Not only does it produce viral content for your brand, but it also gives the brand something to talk about. There might be limitations to promoting your products (people don’t want to see the same ads all the time), but with a contest, you can keep promoting it daily.
This is also an excellent opportunity for you to promote your brand. People will discover your brand for the first time. If the prize is your own product, people will go to your website to find out more about the product. Use this opportunity wisely to get people to learn more about your brand and its products.
Aside from using the above marketing channels to promote your contest, use other mediums such as physical media (newspapers, flyers, posters, etc.), radio, TV, and podcasts.
Try to create as much buzz as possible around your contest. The more people that find out about your contest, the more people will get to know your brand.
But how do you collect contest data, manage entries, and implement bonus actions while still having fun promoting your contest?
You can let contest management services like VYPER manage and administer your contest. VYPER allows brands to build their very own custom contests easily. You can create a contest from scratch or with the help of a template.
With VYPER, you don’t have to design a separate page on your website for your contest. You can easily use VYPER to build a contest landing page for free. If you still want to keep the contest on your website, then you can again use VYPER to manage your contest and simply embed your contest widget on your website to track entries.
As far as contest management goes, VYPER can assist you with the following:
- Manage entries by collecting a list of emails
- Bonus actions feature
- Manage data such as website traffic, social engagement, and new social media followers
- Randomly selecting a winner
- Cheat detection
Instagram Giveaway Examples
We regularly feature Instagram Giveaway Examples in our blog posts. These examples help us to better understand what it takes to host a successful giveaway.
We analyze these giveaways to find key takeaways that you must consider when creating your own Instagram Giveaways.
Here's a roundup of our favorite Instagram giveaway examples taken from our blog posts:
Makeup Giveaway - Laroc
Key Takeaways:
- A partner giveaway - Laroc teamed up with Face Halo to host their Instagram giveaway. Two brands working together means more prizes that will attract more users which will then lead to more results. Both brands can also better promote the campaign and share the expenses and workload.
- 2 Giveaway posts on Instagram - Each brand created their own Instagram posts to announce the giveaway. They both asked their followers to go and follow the other brand. Two posts by two brands for one giveaway will double your chances of going viral.
- Worldwide Giveaway - The giveaway is open to users globally and supports multiple entries.
Camera Giveaway - Photography Tricks
Key Takeaways
- It’s a camera giveaway hosted on social media to build an audience and brand presence.
- This camera giveaway is a collaborative effort between 3 different brands. 1 massive giveaway that 3 brands can promote and benefit from.
- The giveaway post can easily boost engagement and get users to share the post. This will increase the chances of new users discovering the brands associated with the giveaway.
Gift Card Giveaway - Lola Blu Boutique
Key Takeaways:
- This is a gift card giveaway that creates engagement and new fans on social media.
- Using your own store gift card reduces costs and makes it easier for brands to host giveaways regularly.
- An excellent example of hosting a gift card giveaway on social media (for Shopify or online stores).
Black Friday Giveaway - The Diamond Guy
Key Takeaways:
- An excellent example of how to host a partner giveaway.
- With a partner giveaway, your brand can team up with other brands to build a larger, more desirable prize that will attract more people. This means better results for all brands to share (more followers and engagement.
- The Diamond guy can appeal to a broad audience of jewelry lovers. Instead, he chose to niche down to couples looking to get married (bridal niche). This is an excellent audience for him to tap into. He attracted this audience by teaming up with brands that specialize in bridal wear, suits, and other wedding accessories.
Valentine's Day Giveaway - Bogart Beauty
Key Takeaways:
- The main benefit of a partner giveaway is that multiple brands get together to create one huge prize. Each brand contributes something from their end towards the prize. And, each brand also helps out with promoting the campaign. A larger prize with additional help for marketing will certainly increase your chances of a successful campaign.
- The giveaway also appeals to single women that would love to be treated on a girls night out.
- Users must engage with the post (comment or tag users) to enter. Following brand partners are also necessary to enter. These entry methods will ensure that engagement and follower count are increased.
New Year's Giveaway - Zoughaib & Co.
Key Takeaways:
- The giveaway is hosted over New Year and ends on 02 January.
- Winners are announced on the Facebook page while the giveaway is hosted on Instagram. This strategy allows you to cross-promote your brand over multiple platforms.
- The entry method will ensure that the host builds more followers and increases engagement.
Instagram Contest FAQ
Contests, in general, are popular. People love to take part in contests, either competitively or casually. Online contests and social media contests have risen in popularity and have become easy to manage due to contest management services like VYPER.
Brands have been able to grow their email lists, social media profiles, and website traffic with Instagram contests.
Contests generate tons of hype from both the brand that is hosting the contest and the audience that engages with the contest. People that take part in Instagram contests love to share their submissions.
The same goes for those that don’t take part. They will still share contest posts with friends who might be interested in entering. Because of this, Instagram users can promote your contest for you.
Every piece of content related to your contest will also be related to your brand. So the more your contest gets shared, the more your brand will be acknowledged.
It depends on your business’ goals and your brand image. A few examples of contests include:
? Once-off contest to generate hype for your brand - A contest in the middle of a massive summer sale
? Weekly or monthly contest - Works great with gaming brands. A weekly online gaming tournament. First place wins a gaming peripheral bundle
? UGC contest - A contest that produces tons of user-generated content. It can be anything from a selfie contest to a graphic design contest. This is an excellent way for getting Instagram users to create content that has your brand name attached to it
? Partner contest - Your business can partner up with another brand or an Instagram influencer to host a contest. You won’t be alone when promoting the contest, and you both can share in the success of the contest.
Common contest promotion strategies include:
- Posting your contest to social media
- Creating blog posts on your website
- An email campaign specifically for your contest
- Custom Instagram hashtags
- Run ads on social media and Google
- Get contestants to refer family and friends to enter your contest
- User other media like podcasts, TV, radio, and newspaper
If your goal is more Instagram followers, then you could request users that users must follow your Instagram profile to enter the contest. If you are looking to build your email list, then you could make submitting an email address to enter compulsory.
Its recommended that you don’t ask for too much from users as it can make the process of entering your contest tedious. Instead, stick to just one entry requirement, then allow participants to complete bonus actions such as ‘follow us on Instagram’ or ‘read this blog post.’
After running a successful Instagram contest, you will have to:
- Select a winner as per your contest rules
- Research the winner to make sure that they also followed your contest rules
- Contact the winner and ask them for their personal info and the address where the prize will be delivered to. Ask for permission to use their name when announcing them as the winner
- Give the winner an idea of when to expect delivery of their prize
- Announce the winner of your contest to your new audience on the platforms that you stipulated in your terms and conditions (email, Instagram, website, etc.).
- Ensure that you thank everyone for entering. If you are emailing contestants, try to offer them a gift for entering your contest as a good gesture. Something like a voucher for your store will be ideal.
TL;DR
There you have it. Everything you need to know about running your very own Instagram giveaway or contest. If we did leave out anything, please let us know in the comments. We will be glad to add more info to this guide.
Have you ever hosted an Instagram Giveaway? We would love to know how it turned out. Let us know in the comments below.
Choose the Instagram giveaway winner fairly
Once entries close, verify the eligibility rules and use a documented random selection process. The free Instagram Comment Picker gives comment-based campaigns a direct winner-selection step without turning the draw into a manual spreadsheet task.