Create The Ultimate Instagram Giveaway (Free Template Included)
Instagram giveaways are a fantastic way to gain followers and grow engagement. However, they have to be done correctly. This is a must for both Instagram rules and to truly gain authentic followers from the Instagram giveaways.
First of all, Instagram giveaways are NOT LIKE Facebook giveaways. In fact, all too often I see people trying to run them in the same matter. THIS WILL NOT WORK.
Instagram operates in an entirely different way and is equally (if not more challenging) to grow than Facebook. Unlike Facebook, you cannot easily share and redistribute content on Instagram. There are NOT thousands of people in communities at your disposal.
Instead you have to rely on an image’s comments. Everything you do to grab attention (outside of this secret stories trick), relies on the engagement you receive in your comments.
Therefore in most cases, a successful giveaway is ran through the comments of a photo. Below I show you examples and walk you through exactly what you need to do to run a giveaway ( I also include a free template to help you out!)
You can also learn how to gain your first 15,000 Instagram followers with this free guide!
Using giveaways the correct way is a great way to grow your Instagram following!
TAG AND FOLLOW
There are a couple of different ways you can run an Instagram giveaway. However, the tag and follow method is the easiest - the method I’m choosing to show you in this post.
As you can see above, I teamed up with a few brands for this particular giveaway. They provided the product and I provided the bulk of the followers.
However, you can also team up with other influencers (along with brands) to really give your own following a boost.
The goals of this type of giveaway are as follows:
Gain followers for yourself
Gain followers for your partners/brands
Build brand awareness for everyone
Give yourself an engagement boost through comments
The sky is really the limit with how many influencers and brands you can work with. Generally, the bigger the accounts and the bigger the reward… the better the results.
TAG AND FOLLOW RULES
The tag and follow method works as follows:
Find a couple influencers/and or brands to partner with (yes you can do it on your own as well - however, the more individuals with quality accounts generally means the more followers for everyone)
Each influencer will drop identical posts on their page (similar to the one below or above).
The posts will require participants to follow all accounts and tag friends.
Using a random comment generator, you will come up with a winner (or winners) in the end.
Giveaways can be as short or long as you want. I recommend no more then a week.
CREATING A FOLLOW THREAD
As I previously recommended, find one or two other influencers to partner with. That way, when you create your follow thread, you have the ability to gain followers from that influencer as well.
So for example your rules would say:
Follow: @nicolestoneoutdoors, @krystenpotega, and @nebraskamuskiegirl.
Tag a Friend (more friends more entries)
The rules will look something like this:
The individuals entering the contest will leave comments like this:
As you can see - they are tagging 3 friends. You can have them tag as many friends as they want.
The goal is that the people who are tagged will then start to follow you. It’s that simple.
CREATING A FOLLOW THREAD
What I recommend doing is find one or two other influencers to partner with. That way, when you create your follow thread, you have the ability to gain followers from that influencer as well.
So for example your rules would say:
Follow: @nicolestoneoutdoors, @krystenpotega, and @nebraskamuskiegirl.
Not gaining social media followers? Then read this guide!
Below is another example of a giveaway I did with another influencer. As you can see she announced the winner afterword in the post.
We will go through options on picking a winner below.
HOW TO PICK A WINNER
As tempting as it is to favor one of your most loyal followers or friends… don’t. When picking a winner, you want to be as fair as possible. If you entered a giveaway, don’t you hope that the winner is randomly chosen and not predetermined? If people think you are favoring people they will stop participating.
When picking a winner, the easiest way to do it is by using an online generator or app. Here is a list of apps you can use:
Also doing a random Google search for apps and generators will give you plenty of more options.
DELIVER
Once you pick a winner, make sure you get them their winnings as soon as possible. Once they receive it, have them send you a promo and a story shoutout. Then people will see validity in your giveaways and continue to participate in future contests.
INSTAGRAM HAS RULES
Before you begin your giveaway, make sure you reference Instagram’s terms of service first. You can read it here.
You also have to state that you aren’t affiliated with Instagram. Below I share a template for you to add to the bottom of your giveaway.
FREE TEMPLATE!
Copy and paste the following to your giveaway post:
“Per Instagram rules, I must mention this giveaway is in no way sponsored, administered, or associated with Instagram inc. By entering, entrants confirm they are 18+ years of age, release instagram of responsibility, and agree to instagram terms of use. No purchase necessary”.
After you download this template, make sure you change the placeholders to your specific Instagram accounts and use niche specific hashtags.
If you are looking to grow your Instagram, I also recommend you read the following:
