HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY HOST AN IG GIVEAWAY CONTEST
Giveaway contests are a great approach to build consumer-to-business relationships while keeping your audience informed about your company. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic pushing people into a contactless world, the average time spent on social media channels has drastically increased and provides a perfect opportunity to host upcoming giveaways.
Giveaways allow your audience to feel appreciated by your business and reminds them that you’re not only here to better your business but to better the lives of your consumers. A company is only as strong as its following. Contests and giveaways are great methods to show that you put your clients first and, as a result, encourage a positive perception towards your company.
The following are a few statistics produced by Outgrow regarding Giveaways and Contests executed in 2020. According to their customer behavior section, 94.46% of users immediately share a company’s promotion after registering, and 62.13% share directly to a friend suggesting they partake in the contest. Giveaways are excellent opportunities to not only gain positive feedback from your current following but to make it grow as well.
It is crucial to do it right and avoid these common mistakes for any giveaway platform:
1. Awarding Prizes That Are Unappealing or Undesirable
The prize you offer shows how you take care of your clients. If you provide an unappealing award, this could go against your brand and make your company look cheap. According to Tailwind’s study, the more valuable a prize, the more engagement it receives. However, many contests have awards that cost less than $99 and still achieve effective engagement rates, such as apparel or skincare products. Ask yourself if your prize speaks positively about your company and will generate excitement.
2. Awarding Prizes that are Irrelevant to the Audience
If your company pertains to the fashion industry, it’d be out of place to award a free year gym membership. Even though a percentage of your following might be health conscious, it’s important to remain on-brand to entice the overall majority of your following.
During our 2019 giveaway, we awarded the GoPro Hero7 and adventure kit! As a marketing agency, we decided to target our video production following. Each contestant had to tag two adventurous friends, which encouraged more videographers to follow our feed and became aware of our brand.
3. Difficult Registration
Consumers, especially on Instagram, are very visual. Your registration should be informative, as well as easy to follow. Be clear on your companies giveaway rules and logistics while nixing the three-page fill-out form to qualify. Of course, every contest is different, and all should have the required information necessary for people to partake. If your giveaway requires detailed instructions, structure your form in a horizontal orientation to negate a lengthy appearance.
4. Contests Running Too Long
The longer the contest runs, the more time is allowed for entries to be submitted; however, a prolonged timeframe can cause participants to lose interest and most likely forget what you were promoting in the first place. Keep your contest time-frame anywhere under three weeks.
5. Eager and Poor Promotion
Your company shouldn’t appear too eager, displaying a sense of desperation, but you also don’t want the consumers to forget what you have to offer. Find that sweet spot. Below are some ways to effectively promote your giveaway and keep it exciting!
Include an announcement to your email list
Send an announcement at the start of your contest and another a few days before the end date.Utilize all social media channels
Though you may be posting a giveaway on Instagram, you can share your post on other social media platforms driving viewers to your Instagram page. Within Instagram itself, you can promote your giveaway post to reach a larger audience on a small dollar.Include a separate landing page on your website
This should only be visible for the duration of your contest. Allow people to enter through your site.
WHERE TO START AND HOW
Tailwind’s study also concluded Instagram accounts that include regular giveaway contests increase their follower growth by 70% compared to those who don’t. If you don’t have the budget to host weekly or monthly giveaways, that’s ok! Announce yearly, seasonal, or event special giveaways. Keeping your audience informed of upcoming giveaways will spark excitement for what you have in store next.
CREATE YOUR GOALS
When hosting a giveaway contest, think about what you hope to accomplish. Most companies seek to increase their social follow count as well as consumer-to-business engagement and brand awareness. To do this, think about the prize itself. Does it hit any of the common mistakes we listed above? Make it desirable and applicable to your target audience.
If you’re seeking to reach more business leads, stylize the entry regulations to encourage consumer flow to your website. You can do this by encouraging individuals to visit your website and sign up for your email list as a bonus entry submission.
ESTABLISH YOUR GIVEAWAY TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Here are Instagram’s Promotion Guidelines; however, you can include your own regulations for a more precise and organized entry forum. When hosting a giveaway on Instagram, you need to think of every Instagram user and not just your average following. Are you trying to target people of a specific age range, location, or occupation?
For our previous giveaway contest, we restricted applicants to U.S. Residents above the age of 18. Guidelines and regulations of your own are essential to achieve your company’s goal and find those followers who are more inclined to follow your business in the long run and benefit from it.
EXECUTE — GET CREATIVE
To enter most Instagram giveaway contests, a user must follow, like, and tag a friend. This strategy alone is a sure way to gain those followers and spread brand awareness. You can also enhance this technique by incentivizing those actions. Some companies count each act as one entry entirely, while others alter the scale. They may have a like count as one entry, a follow count as two entries, and each tag of a friend as additional entries. Liking a photo is easy, but if you really want that follow count to go up, incentivize it.
Want to go beyond the like, follow, and tag method? Read through the questions below and find the giveaway approach that will benefit your business the most.
Do you want to evoke quick excitement?
Do you want to get it done?
Use URGENT Giveaway Contests
Do you want to increase your networking?
Do you want to be close partners with another business?
Use Partner Contests
Do you have a creative following?
Do you want a collection of repurposed content for your Instagram account?
Use Photo Contests
Do you want to showcase your company’s style?
Do you want to spark some laughter?
Use Caption Contests
Do you want to generate more traffic to your website?
Do you want to skip the comments?
Use Enter-To-Win-Contests
Found the right one for you? Read on to your creative contest method with successful examples of each strategy!
THE FOLLOW UP
Now that the excitement has passed and you’ve chosen a winner announcing the finalist is an essential final step to your giveaway process. This step highlights your company’s ability to follow through on your giveaway promises and reminds your other entry applicants that the contest is complete.
Your giveaway shouldn’t grant satisfaction to just one person. Make sure to thank all who participated and inform them of upcoming opportunities for another chance to win! Bring to light that they’re already halfway eligible by merely following you and will be the first to know for your next contest.
Another tactic to appeal to those who did not win is to offer a consolation prize! If you were offering your product or service, allow the rest of the contestants to purchase it at a discounted price.
QUESTIONS?
Comment below! We’re here to help you host your most successful Instagram giveaway yet.
