Instagram Giveaways 101

With the holidays coming up, you might be thinking of a way to increase your reach and give the opportunity to reward your current customers/followers with a giveaway.

A giveaway sounds harmless, you are giving your product away to a random person, but there is more involved to strategically run a giveaway that will grow your brand awareness and maybe even get a sale out of it.

Instagram is a very easy platform to run a giveaway on HOWEVER there is always the legal stuff. Copy & paste this disclosure at the end of your post (or something similar)

Per Instagram rules, this promotion is in no way sponsored, administered, or associated with Instagram, Inc. By entering, entrants confirm that they are 13+ years of age, release Instagram of responsibility, and agree to Instagram’s terms of use.

You can also visit Instagram’s website for all rules and guidelines.

How to run a successful Instagram giveaway

1. Have a SMART goal for your giveaway

   In general, contests are a great way to expand your reach and exposure but having a clear goal will help you strategically map out the terms in which the giveaway runs in order to reach your goals. This can include

   -Generate more engagement on your posts
   -Grow your followers
   -Get more email signups
   -Produce user generated content

2. Choose a grand prize

   Start with selecting a relevant prize or incentive that you know your followers want. Choose a prize that will increase valuable followers. Sure, you can give an iPad but will the people entering be potential customers down the line?

3. Plan your contest rules

   This is where you will determine how participants will enter the contest. You want to think of a way that extends your brand to reach new people. Some examples can include:
   -Tagging a friend in the comments
   -Sharing to stories
   -Follow & Like

4. Determine contest conditions
   Clearly state the length of the contest window, age limits, domestic or abroad, etc. Cover all your bases!

5. Develop a contest hashtag

   Having the hashtag can help bring more brand awareness and make it easier to see who has enter the contest. It will encourage followers to use the hashtag and also generate user created content and possibly continue to use it after the contest ends.

6. Notify the Winner

   When you notify the winner, find a secure method to ensure that any sensitive information is being handle properly. It is also best that you notify the rest of your followers.

The most important take aways from this post:

• Have all of your legal bases covered

• Strategize a way to get the most exposure on Instagram

Best of luck & tag me on Instagram @nicole.calafiore