1. Choose the prize for your giveaway
The first thing you’ll want to do is decide on the product, service, or experience you’ll giveaway as your prize. This will vary depending on your goal — if you want to spread awareness around a product launch, for instance, you’ll likely want to giveaway that specific product as your prize. Alternatively, perhaps you want to partner with a brand and create a unique prize that will appeal to each of your audiences.
2. Determine the entry-criteria for your contest
Your entry-criteria depends, again, on your ultimate goal. For instance, if you simply want to spread brand awareness, you might ask each participant to like your post and comment with the name of a friend — this allows you to increase your reach quickly, and could result in new followers. Alternatively, maybe you want to draw attention to your blog, or another page on your website. If this is the case, you might ask participants to go to your blog or web page to find entry-criteria there — such as a question you then want them to answer in your Instagram comments section.
3. Decide on a goal for your Instagram contest
By determining a specific goal, you’re able to tailor your strategy more specifically and keep track of whether or not your giveaway was successful. Your goal might be an increase in website traffic, more active followers on Instagram an increase in engagement, or a boost in sales — it’s up to you to choose what makes the most sense for your brand.
4. Consider a brand partnership
A successful giveaway is typically when a brand partners with a content creator or influencer to make something specific, and then they push that prize out through both of their channels.
5. Put a time-limit on your contest
Tell your participants how long they have to complete your requirements by putting a time limit in your caption, and then adding “Giveaway Closed” at the end of that time. For instance, you might put, “Giveaway! Over the next 24 hours, please tag a friend in the comments and include your favorite place to travel for a chance to stay overnight at one of our resorts.