How to Run a Successful Instagram Contest or Giveaway

Instagram has over a billion active users who use Instagram daily. For marketing purposes, a platform like Instagram shall never be ignored. One of the significant marketing strategies for your business is running a contest on Instagram. This not only boosts your engagement and helps you grow online but also invites more sales.

There is more than one reason you might consider running an Instagram contest. Whether you are looking for a boost in your engagement or are generous enough to give something to your followers. Whatever the reason, there are some rules and guidelines that should be followed. You have to ensure that the contest you are running is profitable for you and your business as well or else your efforts will go in vain.

To ensure you conduct a successful contest, we have provided a step-by-step guide for your insight.

How to run an Instagram contest:

In this part, we will look at all the steps that will assist you in running an Instagram. In the next, we will go through rules and guidelines.

• Specify your purpose for the Instagram contest

The first step is to organize and plan your entire objective behind the contest. You should know that the contest should be user-centered and entirely based on what your targeted audience would like to see. Kind of posts they enjoy on your account or the posts that keep the audience engaged.

Your contest should focus on that. If you don’t want to be disappointed after the end of your contest then it is crucial to set goals. If the contest you are conducting is for the purpose to gain more followers or you are wanting to grow your business, setting objectives is a must.

Set up your budget, decide on a time frame, and be clear about your goals.

• Determine the entry method

Select an entry method for users through which they will participate in your contest. The entry method should align with your goals and should be simple and easy. After you are done deciding on the entry method, move further with the remaining details.

• Decide on the time frame for your contest and how long it will last. Specify the deadline for your audience as well.
• Specify the theme and explain it to your audience, specifically the UGC contests.
• If you are going to use a hashtag for your contest, ensure that the one you choose should be unique and that no one has used it before. It will also help in managing regular entries. Ask the user to use it in the comment section.
• Determine the method to choose the winner.

• Select A Prize

Before your contest is live, it is essential to decide on the prize first. You should also inform your audience about the prize, so they can decide whether they want to participate or not. The prize can be products of your own brand or something that the audience is interested in. You can also put money as a prize.

• Promote The Contest

Promote your contest on whichever option you find open. Work with other brands and influencers and add them to your contest. This will bring you more audience attention and your reach will likely increase.

Also, promote it on your story, many users may not be able to participate due to your contest being posted on your feed, not anyone checking the feed regularly but they do check stories.

• Time To Launch The Contest

Once you are done with the abovementioned steps, you are ready to make your contest live. You will start having the participants in no time until it is time to announce the winner. Do note the statistics of how your contest performed that will give you an idea about your future contests as well.

Instagram Contest: Ideas And Tips

We have brought you ideas about the entry method of participants in your contest. Let’s discuss the list of all our favorite methods below:

Entry Method 1: Like, Comment, And Follow:

One of the most used methods to enter a contest is like, comment, and follow.

You ask users who are entering the contest to like your post, leave as many comments as they can, and follow your account. They can also share the contest post on their story. Your audience should be able to know about the prize you have set for the winner and all the contest rules before they start entering.

Entry Method 2: Tag Friends

Another method is tagging friends. With this method not only do you get more people to participate in your contest but your contest gets promoted widely. Ask the participants to tag as many friends as they want in the comment section of your contest post to gain more entries. This will create awareness about your contest and you will gain more customers.

Entry Method 3: Share on Instagram Story:

You conduct Instagram contests as a means to gain more customers, it is a marketing strategy and drives traffic to your account. Brands benefit from these contests and people become more aware of your existence on Instagram.

Ask the ones entering the contest to share the contest post in their Instagram stories, when other people view that story, they would come to participate in the contest as well and who does not want more audience and reach?

Entry Method 4: Collaborate With Other Brands Or Influencers

Collaborating with other brands or influencers for a contest is a great way to widen your audience scale. Users are required to follow each brand or influencer to officially enter the contest. Collaborative contests are one of the most successful methods out there for people looking to expand their brand’s presence online.

Conclusion:

In this competitive journey among brands on Instagram to stand out successfully with many followers and massive engagement, many try different methods to generate traffic to their accounts. And the Instagram contest is one of them. Now, you know how to run an Instagram contest, you can start preparing for one. All you are required to do is to set your goals, set a time frame, decide on the killer prize, and launch it.

FAQs:

• Does running an Instagram contest will benefit your business? 

Running an Instagram contest can do more than just benefit your business. When you conduct a contest on Instagram, your brand gets promoted and you welcome a new audience that engages with your content. So, Instagram contests are highly recommended for brands looking to grow their online presence.

• What should be the prize of the contest?

The prize you choose for the winner of your contest should totally align with what the audience would like to have and are interested in. The prize can be products of your own brand or you can also put cash as a giveaway.