{"id":807,"date":"2021-05-06T23:50:50","date_gmt":"2021-05-06T23:50:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sweepwidget.com\/blog\/?p=807"},"modified":"2024-04-15T10:36:50","modified_gmt":"2024-04-15T10:36:50","slug":"how-to-run-a-instagram-contest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sweepwidget.com\/blog\/how-to-run-a-instagram-contest","title":{"rendered":"How To Run A Winning Instagram Contest And Increase Your Followers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Do you need to learn how to run an Instagram contest? Want to get on some successful instagram ideas to help you meet you goals? This article will cover all of the necessary steps to increase your Instagram followers, likes, shares, comments, and overall brand awareness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Businesses on social media host giveaways with a specific end goal in mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe your objective is to drive more traffic to your pricing page<\/a>, boost your social media following, or grow your email subscriber list. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ideally, you\u2019ll be able to achieve all of these goals with the same giveaway. But to start, it\u2019s important to hone in on one specific goal rather than them all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reason? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If entering into a giveaway requires 10+ steps \u2014 visiting this<\/em> website, subscribing to this <\/em>email list, downloading this<\/em> app, following this<\/em> account, etc. \u2014 the process starts to feel more like an overcomplicated maze than an Instagram contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If social media users are confused or overwhelmed by your giveaway\u2019s criteria, they might shrug off the opportunity rather than seize it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this guide, we\u2019re sharing a few strategic tips to create Instagram giveaways that help you attract and retain more Instagram followers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instagram Giveaways & Follower Growth: Why it Works<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Giveaways, contests, and sweepstakes have a pivotal role in any social media marketing plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While paid ads and branded content are certainly beneficial, posts that include a giveaway or contest receive 64x more comments and 3.5x more likes than the average post.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To put this in even more perspective, a business that is running a social media giveaway can grow their following 70% faster than a business that doesn\u2019t \u2014 and that\u2019s just in three months time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These stats speak for themselves. A giveaway is a prime opportunity to increase brand awareness and engagement, not only with new followers but with your existing follower base too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creating and running an Instagram giveaway with the main intent of gaining more followers is a strategic move for a number of reasons, but one reason in particular: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any big picture goal that you\u2019ve set for your business \u2014 i.e., to meet this quarter\u2019s revenue goal, gain x<\/em> amount of email subscribers, etc. \u2014 begins with outreach and retention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have 10,000 followers or more but low engagement, this can hurt your chances of getting picked up by Instagram\u2019s algorithm. If the algorithm doesn\u2019t prioritize your content, this can make your outreach efforts less effective and your follower growth more stagnant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An Instagram giveaway incentivizes social media users to engage more, which has a domino effect on your business\u2019s growth on and off the platform.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before sharing our tips for running an effective Instagram giveaway, let\u2019s take a closer look at Instagram\u2019s algorithm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Giveaways Impact Instagram\u2019s Algorithm<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Instagram<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One of the main benefits of hosting a giveaway is increased visibility, and this has a lot to do with Instagram\u2019s algorithm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The algorithm tracks user behavior and, specifically, these six factors<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. How interested a user will be based on their past behavior.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. How recently the new content was shared.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. How one user interacts with another\u2019s content (and vice versa). <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. How frequently a user opens the Instagram app.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. How many accounts a user follows.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. How much time a user spends on the app.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    The amount of likes, comments, shares, and views a post receives affects how the algorithm ranks a user\u2019s content in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If a post has high engagement, Instagram\u2019s algorithm registers that this post is popular and should be visible to more people. This increased outreach can also lead to higher levels of engagement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When you host a giveaway, you\u2019re incentivizing prospective and existing followers to take some sort of action to engage with your content \u2014 liking, commenting, following, and\/or tagging friends. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This boost in engagement puts your Instagram account in a better position to be prioritized by the algorithm both now and in the near future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What To Do Pre-Giveaway<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    1. Define Your Giveaway Rules, Restrictions, and Incentive(s)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Though hosting a contest might seem like a simple feat at first, you can run into major legal issues if you don\u2019t cover all of your bases in the giveaway post. (To learn more about the five biggest mistakes businesses make, check out this blog post<\/a>.) Additionally, it\u2019s important to read Instagram\u2019s official rules and regulations<\/a> to make sure you run a legal Instagram contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Successful giveaways have straightforward guidelines and a clear incentive. As you prepare to host an Instagram giveaway, make sure that you can answer the following questions: <\/p>\n\n\n\n