There are several reliable methods for increasing your follower count on Instagram. Today we'll look a little more closely at one of them, namely how to run an Instagram contest.
Instagram giveaways create interactions with your current audience while also attracting new followers. Contests are a proven way to boost engagement in a way that the Instagram algorithm cannot fail to notice.
Step 1: define your goals
Set your goal and prize
Before you start creating a contest, you need to decide what your goal is. The most commonly chosen goals are:
- reaching new followers,
- promoting a product in order to increase sales,
- drawing attention to a campaign with a partner.
Engagement is important – but it is only useful when you know what to do with it. Remember that the most important thing is attracting as many customers to your brand as possible. Likes and comments are important, but they don't mean much when you don't turn them into paying customers.
Step 2: Choose your prize
Remember: the type of prize matters! Once you have chosen goals that are important for your brand, select a prize that fits its character. Giving away just any prize will only result in collecting low-quality leads that won't contribute to a return on investment from the contest. If you're short on prize ideas, you can offer participants a voucher for your shop – that way you don't limit them to a single product and you give winners the chance to choose.
Step 3: Choose the type of contest
Types of contests – pros and cons
There are several basic types of Instagram contests, which differ in their level of engagement and in whether it's possible to verify how users completed the tasks. It's also common to see contests that combine different types of activity. Here are the 4 most popular formats:
Like to enter
The mechanism of this contest is very simple – it requires participants to like a specific profile or photo, and then one of the people who completed that task is announced as the winner. The biggest advantage of this type of contest is high engagement caused by a very low barrier to entry. It will also increase the organic reach of the post.
The biggest drawbacks: first of all, it's illegal in the UK. Organising a lottery without the appropriate licences carries high penalties – for both the organiser and the winner.
Setting that aside, people taking part in such a contest do it mechanically, without paying attention to what the brand is or what it stands for. Such a contest also provides no information beyond usernames – it's hard to stay in touch with participants after the contest ends.
Comment to enter
The contest works on a similar principle to the previous one. This time, you need to leave a comment under the photo answering the contest question, and often tag friends as well. It's definitely better to choose this type of contest – selecting a winner based on a comment raises no legal doubts, and it also doesn't require much work from participants and generates high engagement. But again – you can't collect meaningful leads on this basis.
Repost to enter
You simply ask participants to repost your brand's photo on their own Instagram and add a specific hashtag. Your content shared by users will be seen by their followers, which will immediately increase its reach. Such a contest will certainly have a positive effect on your brand's recognition and on reaching new potential customers, but it most likely won't help with sales.
How to run an Instagram contest step by step
Take a photo to enter
On the one hand, this contest is the most complicated, but on the other it guarantees the most benefits. You can run it in 2 ways – either by choosing a unique hashtag for your campaign, or by creating a landing page. With the first approach, the user's task is to take a photo and tag it with the contest hashtag. In the second option, the participant must fill in a form and attach a photo from their Instagram. On the landing page, the photos will appear as a gallery, where other users can vote on the photos or comment on them. In this situation – because of the high barrier to entry – the prize must be exceptionally attractive, and the task simple enough that as many people as possible want to complete it.
Step 4: create a hashtag
Hashtag, launch and promotion
Once you've decided on the type of contest, it's time to create a hashtag. Thanks to it, all the photos related to the contest will be easy to locate.
Keep three most important things in mind:
The hashtag must be directly connected to your contest so it can be easily distinguished from the others you use. Make it memorable!
It must be short – regardless of the type of contest, the hashtag must be short – otherwise participants may make a mistake when typing it and be excluded from the contest.
Make it unique – a hashtag that someone has already used (or is still using) will make your contest disappear in the flood of other posts.
You can find more about hashtags on Instagram at the link: hashtags on Instagram
Step 5: launch and promotion
When your contest launches, remember to inform your user base about it through posts on all of the brand's social media channels as well as in your newsletter – and remind them about the contest while it's running!
Step 6: selecting and announcing the winner
How to choose the winner?
Random draw: as we mentioned earlier, in the UK a random draw without the appropriate licences is not legal and can result in sanctions for both the organiser and the winner.
Jury: this is the fairest method of choosing a winner. Pick a few people from your company and ask them for their opinion.
Voting: although voting can increase engagement in the contest and attract more people to it, unfortunately it also carries the possibility of fraud. If you decide to use this method to settle the contest – make sure you monitor how votes are being obtained.
Announcing the winner: once you've chosen the winner, announce it! Be sure to tag them on Instagram using @, and also highlight other participants worth mentioning. Don't forget to ask the winner to post a photo with the prize, and then share that photo with your followers!
Summary
A successful Instagram contest requires a well-thought-out strategy: from clearly defined goals, through a prize matched to the brand, to choosing the mechanics. The simplest forms, such as "like to enter", generate engagement, but in the UK they are illegal without the appropriate licences. Contests requiring a comment or a photo prove more valuable – the latter, although harder, provide the most valuable leads. A unique and short hashtag and active promotion are also key. When selecting the winner, a jury is the safest option, while voting requires monitoring to avoid fraud. After it ends, it's worth using the winners' photos to further build reach.
