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Best Practices for Running an Instagram Giveaway

Best Practices for Running an Instagram Giveaway

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09 Mar 2020

Many brands engage with their target audience on social media as a preferred method of communication, and with more and more users on Instagram daily, there is great opportunity in being strategic in your Instagram planning.

The instantaneous nature of social media can be comforting to consumers, as many brands use these channels for support services, as a medium to announce new products, and/or to receive feedback from their most loyal customers.

Brands that leverage these channels best are doing so strategically to engage their target audience in effort to sustain high brand awareness and fan loyalty.

Coupling the success of communicating through these channels by running a giveaway is yet another layer to add to your social media strategy to help convert these fans into customers or customers into brand loyalists.

Engage your Instagram audience with a social media giveaway

Social giveaways can provide a multitude of opportunities both for brand exposure and follower engagement.

Depending on the goal of the giveaway (i.e. increase your profile’s following, up engagement, drive conversions, increase shares, etc.), structure the rules around those goals.

We typically see giveaways take on the following general structure, but like anything in your marketing wheelhouse, make sure you cater your giveaway in a way that best suits your brand, product/service, and goals:

Require a follow to your profile (and any other participating brands) to enter the giveaway
Share the post that announces the giveaway either in a story or on the entering person’s profile grid
Tag a certain amount of friends either all in one comment or in separate comments to be entered (these are all new leads for you!)
Offer a unique and limited edition prize — something that speaks to your brand and gets your audience jazzed about entering (more on this in a minute)
Require a photo or story submission related to your giveaway to generate a pool of user-generated content for potential future re-use on your social media (credited to the creator, of course!)

In addition to growth and reach opportunities, giveaways are a chance for you to keep the two-way conversation going with your most dedicated fans.

Here are a couple of examples of Instagram giveaways that follow some of our best practices!

Branded items don’t have to break the bank

Due to the already-expensive nature of social media growth plans, we’ve brainstormed some giveaway ideas that don’t have to break the bank and have a two-week production turnaround. That social giveaway campaign you have planned for the end of the month? Easy!

It’s important to keep in mind, though, that whatever social giveaway items you choose should be a reflection of your brand, and not obviously leftover products from the supply closet or extras from the last tradeshow.

Here are some thought starters.