Instagram is a great platform to plan a contest or giveaway for your brand. Contests can boost engagement and help you improve your marketing strategy. Read the tips below to find out how you can create your own successful Instagram contest.

Why Contests May Be A Good Choice For You

Giveaways result in many great possible outcomes. For example, if you choose to do a giveaway of a new product, it can create enthusiasm for participation and involvement in the brand. If you do a giveaway that has users post pictures tagging your account, the giveaway can also be a way of providing UGC. 

Contests can also be a perfect way to increase engagement and interaction between you and your audience. If the contest requires someone to “tag a friend below,” your page can benefit tremendously. You gain comments and likes, and your reach also is expanded to those who are tagged. The instagram algorithm also may rank your post higher in hashtag searches if the post is doing well. 

 

Pick Your Incentive

Contests and giveaways almost always require a reason to participate. It is important to choose something relevant to your brand that will bring in long term attention. The more desirable the prize, the more participation and engagement you receive.

If you ask users to simply “tag a friend,” you may offer a smaller prize because the contest requires less effort. On the other hand, if entering the contest means a user has to post something on their account tagging your page, the prize may be something of a higher value. Once you decide on the incentive, pick a limit, either in terms of how much is available or how long the contest will last. By setting a limit, you can control your exposure and increase excitement. 

 

Decide On The Participation Method

There are several ways to go about setting up your contest or giveaway. A few popular options include having users:

  • post a picture on their account with a designated hashtag
  • Tag a number of friends in the comment section
  • Follow your account 
  • Like a post
  • Post on their Instagram story

You can use any combination of one or more of these methods, but try to keep it relatively simple with four steps or less. 

 

Pick The Rules and Hashtag

As you begin your contest, make sure you clearly state the rules and requirements. You should pick a length for the contest, whether that means that it lasts for 7 days or ends after 10 winners are chosen.

The rules should also explain how winners and chosen and notified. If you use a random generator tool, make sure users know that the winner is chosen at random. Alternatively, you could share that winners will be based on a judge’s decision. 

Next, decide whether winners will be contacted through email, on DM or through a different method. Once winners are chosen, it is best to let them know before announcing it on social media. 

As you develop your contest, make sure you have a solid campaign hashtag for promotion. Your hashtag will also help you track your success and see relevant analytics. Make sure you choose a hashtag that’s short and sweet, as well as unique to your brand — hashtags that have already been used can mess with your analytics. 

 

Share And Promote Your Contest On Instagram

It is a good idea to share your contest in the graphic or image of your Instagram post instead of completely in a caption. This way, people won’t just scroll through it in their feed. Make sure you choose a relevant image that has text that is clear and concise. 

Come up with a plan for how often and for how long you will post promotional content for your giveaway. You can even use your Instagram Insights to see what day/time your page has the most engagement. It can be beneficial to also cross-promote your contest on other media platforms that you use for your brand, like on Facebook or your website. When your contest ends, make sure to state so clearly on a new post, or edit the contest post caption to say “Contest Closed” at the beginning. 

 

Analyze The Results

Make sure to stay up-to-date with the insights and participation in your contest. This includes posts, hashtags, clicks to your site, new followers, etc. If you have done previous contests, you can also compare the current contest to past ones. By analyzing the data you have, you can adjust aspects to improve contests and your overall marketing plan in the future. 

 

If you’re looking for further assistance in reaching your marketing goals, Bad Rhino is here to help you.