Giveaways are among the latest trends in engaging visitors to your Instagram profile. Besides being an effective communication medium, these are unique ideas to increase your followers.
Creating a giveaway contest sounds great, especially with the benefit of multiplying account traffic. However, taking care of a few things is important. Following the correct way, you can use these contests as effective strategies to promote your brand.
After all, getting rewarded for anything is always fun and exciting! Keep reading to learn the stepwise method to proceed with an Instagram Giveaway.
What are Instagram Giveaways?
Instagram is a never settling social media platform that always has something new to entertain and captivate its users. Likewise, Instagram Giveaways are fun contests organized on the platform to engage viewers, attract follo wers , and product promotion at a mass level. Participants are offered attractive prizes and rewards, which adds to the appeal and excitement.
To participate in a Giveaway, you should follow the Instagram business or account running the event and comment or like the related post. Many contests ask participants to tag their friends in post comments to boost overall engagement. Giveaways can have many categories in line with the rewards being offered. The most popular and successful ones are those offering free services and products as a participation reward.
The idea looks appealing, isn’t it? Well, if you are motivated enough to start your first Instagram Giveaway, there are some important aspects to look at.
You should adhere to the area-specific terms and conditions for online contest creation. Taking care of Instagram’s Giveaway policies also has an equal significance.
Beginner’s Guide to Run an Instagram Giveaway in 5 Easy Steps
When you have assured the above, it's time to gear up for your Instagram Giveaway. The process is quick and simple. Here's a stepwise tutorial to help you walk through the task. Just follow and have fun.
Step 1: Set a Goal for Your Instagram Giveaway
Setting a goal for your giveaway is important to get purposeful outcomes. Besides that, deciding on an aim helps you to outline the key performance indices for evaluating the participants. The absence of a goal can fetch haywire results, leading to a waste of your effort and resources. Not knowing why, you are initiating a giveaway will also reduce your business credibility.
When deciding on an aim for your giveaway, you can choose from goals like, increasing followers , product and brand promotion, and multiplying engagement rates. Giveaways are also helpful in inviting traffic to your website, improving sales figures, and increasing e-mail signups. These are also a rewarding medium
If you are initiating an Instagram Giveaway for your business account, try to set SMART marketing goals .
Your target should be Specific , Measurable , Achievable , Relevant , and Time-bound .
Setting the right goal ensures accurate results, which can be a motivation for similar events in the future.
Step 2: Plan the Giveaway
When you are ready with the goal, it’s time to proceed with planning the details and execution of your Instagram Giveaway. Here’s what you need to focus on:
- Select a Convincing Reward - While there are endless options to choose from, it's completely your take to decide on the giveaway prize. Just make sure that your choice fits the participants' needs. The reward should motivate participants to engage. Choose wisely, because this can make or break the game.
- Set the Entry Rules - Instagram contests never run without rules, and your giveaway is no exception. Setting rules for allowing participants to enter the contest also includes the tasks they should perform. Pay close attention to your giveaway goals when finalizing the entry criteria. A wrong move can be a spoiler.
- Select an Appealing Campaign Hashtag - Hashtag campaigns are a smart way to enrich your Instagram account with user-generated content. You can also gain valuable and solid traffic, with a better organization of your giveaway through the hashtag page. Keep your selection unique to avoid the inconveniences of mixed entries and traffic-sharing.
- Decide the Giveaway Duration - Deciding the giveaway duration comes at the end of the planning stage. Mention the closing dates of the contest for announcing winners. If your giveaway has international participants, take care to include time zones for their convenience. That’s it for the planning stage. You are good to go ahead!
Step 3: Promotion is Necessary
When the plan is ready, it's time to launch and promote it. An effective promotional strategy assures you of promising results. A bold giveaway statement under a stunning image paired with an exciting description sounds like a cool idea.
The next thing that works wonders in this regard is an appealing call to action. You can think through other ideas as per your giveaway goal. The possibilities are endless!
When it comes to launching, grid posts are the best options. Don't forget to use Instagram Reels, stories, and videos to your advantage. This can serve as a reminder to your existing followers regarding the giveaway duration.
Step 4: Giveaway Closure and Result Evaluation
Get ready to evaluate the results after the giveaway duration is over. You should close the contest and proceed toward deciding the lucky winners. Start with filtering the participants to simplify the selection process. Check for valid entrants on the grounds of abiding by the criteria and exclude the non-followers. You should save the filtered list and proceed further.
Announcing a fair winner can be tricky at times. There are reliable tools to help you with making a choice. When you have decided on the winner, it's time to announce the news on your Instagram account and stories. Sharing the news through personal messages is a welcoming gesture!
Ahead of the excitement, lays the important task of giveaway evaluation. After all, you initiated the contest with a goal.
You can now evaluate the contest's performance in line with the preset targets. Looking at the pre and post-giveaway statistics of your goal can be a smart move. If you are aiming at follower increment, check the count before and after the contest.
You can also use Instagram analytics for a comprehensive analysis of your giveaway data. This will help you in gaining deeper insight into your target audience. It's an intelligent way to keep track of their location, Instagram activity schedules, gender, age, etc.
Step 5: Display the Giveaway Content on Your Site
As the last step, you should post the contents of the Instagram Giveaway on your product website. The best time for this is either during or after the giveaway. Posting the contents while the giveaway is still on diverts traffic from your site to the contest. You can hence, get your site visitors to participate as well. This can have a positive impact on the success possibilities and engagement rates of your Instagram Giveaway .
Posting the giveaway content after its closure is differently beneficial. You can present your site visitors with reliable social proof regarding the credibility of your brand. The effort can go a long way in building visitors' trust and converting them into loyal customers.
Instagram Giveaways are the in-house trends for increasing your visibility on social media. You can join in the fun with a little effort and a proper procedure. Look through the steps discussed above and land into the excitement!