5 Steps for Running an Instagram Giveaway
By Anne Leonard
Are you interested in running an Instagram giveaway, but you don’t know where to start? Then this step-by-step guide is for you! Instagram giveaways are an excellent way for businesses to promote their products, engage with their followers and even gain new customers. Learn how to execute a successful Instagram giveaway with these five steps.
Step 1: Choose your prize.
Choosing the prize for your Instagram giveaway is a crucial step in the process. After all, the prize is what will initially draw your followers in to participate. When choosing your prize, make sure it’s relevant to your followers. If you’re in the food industry, giving away athletic gear or a trip to Barbados, for instance, isn’t necessarily in step with your brand. Instead, give away a gift card or product from your business. You can even choose to bulk up the prize by making it a package and including multiple items, which increases the excitement for your giveaway. Lastly, partnering with another brand in your industry for a prize is a great way to market to each other’s followers and gain new ones in the process.
Step 2: Set the giveaway rules.
Next, you need to set the rules for your giveaway. While there are several ways to do so, it is recommended that you always request the entrants to follow you so that you can market to them in the future. Depending on what’s best for your brand, here are a few options for setting your giveaway rules:
- Like-to-enter: This is the most straight-forward way for your followers to enter the contest. They simply double-tap your post to enter the contest.
- Tag- or comment-to-enter: Request that the participants tag a few friends or comment on the post in order to enter the giveaway. This is a great way to generate organic traffic back to your post.
- Share-to-enter: Request for the entrants to share your post on their feed. While this method will generate traffic back to your brand, it’s not always the most successful since users are particular about the content they post on their feed.
Step 3: Craft your post.
A successful giveaway begins with a high-quality photo. Choose an existing photo or take a photo of what participants will win. You may choose to layer the words “Enter to Win” or “Giveaway Time” on the photo to grab the attention of your followers. Now, it’s time to write a detailed caption. Begin with a headline that is engaging and communicates why this giveaway will benefit those who enter. For example, “Enter to win an all-inclusive stay in the Bahamas!” quickly communicates the prize. Follow the headline with the list of rules you created in Step 2 as well as the deadline for entering the contest.
Step 4: Promote your giveaway.
Congrats! It’s now time to post your giveaway on Instagram and promote it on your website and all social media channels. Though, simply sharing the photo isn’t the only approach you’ll want to take when promoting your giveaway. Here are additional methods you can take depending on the platform:
- Twitter and Facebook: Change out the banner or cover photo to promote your giveaway. Provide a link to the Instagram post.
- Email subscribers: Send a newsletter out to your subscribers to inform them about the giveaway.
- Website: Add a pop-up to your website’s homepage that links to your giveaway post on Instagram.
- Instagram: Take it a step further and add a video or photo to your Story promoting the giveaway! You can also run ads through Instagram Ads, which helps you better target the audience you are trying to reach beyond your followers.
Step 5: Pick a winner.
To randomly pick a winner, search for a ‘randomizer’ to do the job for you! Once you have your name, you can post another photo on Instagram to announce the winner, then you can request that they direct message you if they need to provide personal information. To provide the remaining giveaway participants with an incentive, provide a coupon code for them to still be ‘winners,’ and use this opportunity to include information about future contests and offers.
