Hello everybody, and welcome back to my channel.
In today's video, I am going to teach you everything that you need to do to run a successful
Instagram giveaway.
So if you want the step-by-step process, then keep on watching.
So recently on my channel, I've been doing a series of videos on Instagram giveaways.
How to win Instagram giveaways, what's the difference between a contest and the giveaway?
What's the shady practices that you should avoid in doing your Instagram giveaway?
All of these things.
So if you're interested in checking out that playlist, check it out right here.
And all the content in those videos really sets the stage and prepares you for this video,
which is, I am ready to run a giveaway for my brand and I don't want it to suck.
That is the worst.
When you run a giveaway, or you see someone running a giveaway, and it has like 20 entries.
You just feel so, so bad.
So this video is really going to teach you all the best practices, all the things you
need to do to set your giveaway up for success, so that way you actually stand a chance of
achieving the end result of your giveaway.
So let's talk about that first and foremost.
The very first thing that you need to do is you need to know the goal of the giveaway.
Why are you doing the giveaway?
Are you doing it just to give back to your existing followers?
Let's say you've reached 10,000 Instagram followers.
Is it because you want to gain followers?
Now be very, very careful with this because I know followers are really important, but
having followers doesn't necessarily mean anything.
I actually have a video all about the dark side of Instagram giveaways that I really,
really suggest that you watch.
And there can be times that running a giveaway on Instagram actually really, really hurts
your brand, and your account, and you're in a worse place than when you started.
So just putting that out there, make sure to watch that video to make sure that you
avoid that.
So really, really make it clear.
Do you want more engagement?
Do you want more followers?
Is it a thank you?
Make that first and foremost so that way you know how to frame your giveaway.
Now, next thing you need to do is you need to identify the prize.
Now this can be something that's related to your brand, let's say you are a tee shirt
shop, so you can give away a tee shirt, or a store credit, or it could just be something
unrelated to your brand, perhaps a gift card.
You need to make sure that you are following the rules for your country in doing your giveaway.
Let me just put first and foremost, I am not a lawyer, this is not to be intended as legal
advice.
If you are running a giveaway, I suggest that you contact your lawyer immediately and talk
to them, because they know what the heck they're talking about.
There are certain things that are absolutely off limits.
Alcohol, for example, tobacco, so just make sure that you are doing a legal prize.
But be very aware that what the prize is really does matter.
If you're doing something like $25 shop credit, or a free pair of socks that's not as lucrative
as a big prize, let's say a trip to Walt Disney World.
The bigger the prize, the more interest because people actually want to win that.
So again with the prize, I think you should make the prize something that is actually
worth something.
Something that people are chomping at the bit wanting to win, right?
Not something that's like, "Oh, okay.
I guess that would be okay."
That's not the reaction you want when people see your contest, because people are going
to see that and they're not going to want to do the entry, not going to want to share
it for extra entry, whatever, however you set it up, you want people to see that and
think, "Wow, yes, yes, I'm entering this."
That's the reaction you want.
You just need to be aware of that.
Whatever the prize is, pick it and make sure that it is explicitly called out and stated
in your giveaway.
All right.
Next you need to be clear about who can enter.
Typically this is anyone 18 or older, no minors, maybe certain countries are excluded.
If you are in the US personally, it is just a little easier to do the contest locally,
especially if you have a physical good that you have to ship out.
A lot of times if you do pick an international winner, you could end up spending so much,
$50 on shipping the prize and end up losing money as part of doing this giveaway.
So just be careful about that.
If you are doing like a digital good where it's something that can be sent over email
or whatnot, then that maybe makes it a little easier, but then at the same time, different
countries have different laws on giveaways and things.
That's why you'll see certain States that are restricted.
For example, Florida and New York, they are very, very strict on what happens.
And so that's where you should have the phrase, "void where prohibited", because that kind
of is a blanket statement on you saying like, "Hey, I don't know the laws, but hey, if this
person is in a state or country or whatever that excludes them, then they're excluded."
Right?
So again, talk to your lawyer, not me.
I know it's like, oh, lawyer, lawyer, lawyer, but I really want to keep you guys safe.
We don't want to have a bucket list family situation.
Now another thing for the who that can enter, you want to make the distinction on whether
private or public accounts are valid.
Again, this is all just about transparency to everyone.
This will make it very clear to anyone who comes across the contest, it doesn't leave
you in a shady zone and put a bad taste in people's mouth, so just make that very clear.
All right, next up is the duration of the contest.
Now, not only do you want to choose these things ahead of time, but when you announce
the contest and in your contest rules, you want to make sure that all of these things
are stated.
Again, transparency, transparency, transparency.
Now your contest can be anything from like, "Hey, this is a flash contest.
Next 24 hours, we're going to pick a winner."
It could be, "Hey, seven days, this is when it starts.
This is when it ends."
It could be a month long contest.
Personally, I think for Instagram the best is to do three to seven days.
You don't want it so long that people forget about it and are just irritated that a winner
hasn't been selected yet, but you don't want it so short that you don't have a chance to
do other posts during the contest period so people can learn about your brand.
So for that reason, I really like the three to seven day period.
It's short, it's still on people's minds, it keeps you top of mind, and then you're
over and everyone gets to move on.
Let me just say as a side note, there was a contest that I entered where the contest
period ... not a contest, it was giveaway, was three months.
You entered in August, it was for take two tickets to Disneyland, but I would prefer
to save a couple hundred bucks next time I go to Disneyland so I entered, but it was
three months away.
So I had to follow this account for three months and it was like a spa somewhere in
California.
So it wasn't even like their posts were relevant to me because they were like, "Come in and
check out our service," and I'm like, "I can't."
I understand why brands do it because they want to keep you as a follower as long as
possible before they have to announce the winner.
My two cents, don't do super long contests because it's just annoying.
Hold on one second.
I need water.
Much better.
All right.
The next step, and this is probably one of the most important steps, is how to enter.
What do people have to do specifically to enter the contest to be eligible.
So this is basically where you put forth the criteria that the people need to do to enter
to gain a spot.
Very common is to like, comment, and follow or like, tag, and follow.
But I actually did a video all about this topic where I dive into a variety of ways.
I think it's like 11 different ways that you can run an Instagram giveaway specifically
to get entries.
There are things that are very, very easy where you can just do a simple like, all the
way to more complicated ways.
So whatever you want to do, that is up to you and just remember that the more complicated
or harder it is, I like to say the higher barriers to entry, you may have less people
enter.
Unless the prize is something so amazing, so spectacular that people are willing to
put forth the extra effort to enter, right?
So just pay attention with that.
If you're, again, giving away a pair of socks that aren't that great that are worth like
three bucks, don't make it super complicated because you're just not going to get the entries.
The juice is not worth the squeeze at that point.
And now also be aware that you could have things that are required entries, and you
could also have other steps that are optional.
This is very, very common.
On Instagram, I typically see that you need to like, follow, and tag a friend.
But, if you tag additional friends, and you can tag unlimited friends, then you get extra
entries.
Or if you share this post to your story, you get five extra entries.
So just be aware that you can do, "Hey, these are the basic minimum requirements to entry
but there are these other things that you can do that get you extra entries."
I think that's really fun and I personally like that way.
If I were running a contest, absolutely what I would do was make sure that you have things
that are pretty simple to do for the basic step, and then things that are pretty lucrative
for people who really want the prize, like sharing to story.
I think nearly every giveaway should have a bonus entry share to story.
And I think sharing to story should be the optional, not the requirement, unless the
prize is just so, so good that you want everyone to share.
I think it's so easy for people to share, and making it a bonus entry worth five, 10
extra points, it ups the ante, because most people aren't going to want to share to their
stories because they don't want to their friends to see it.
It's just like cluttering up their story feed, whatever.
But if you up the ante with the number of entries, people are going to be willing to
do that more because they want a higher chance to win.
So that's just me, what I would do, I think it's very easy.
All right.
The next step is to make it very clear how the winner is chosen.
And this really goes back to how you set up your giveaway.
Is it more of a sweepstakes where anyone who enters gets an entry, and then you can get
bonus entries, and then it's just a random draw from there?
Or is it more of a contest where you have to do something, maybe create a video, do
a post and use the hashtag, and then from there you're going to pick a winner based
on merit?
So again, just make sure you know that, and make sure the people that are entering or
that are following you know that.
This will keep you out of trouble because you don't want to make it seem like it's a
random draw when it's really, really not.
Again, this goes back to another video I did in the series, which is shady Instagram practices,
and typically I see it around picking winners.
So check that video out and don't do those things.
Just don't.
All right, the next thing is around technical issues that come up during the giveaway, just
make sure that you are very clear about, hey, we're all human, things happen.
If something were to happen, what's the process of choosing a winner or whatnot.
For example, if the winner you contact and you aren't able to contact them, "Hey, we'll
give you 24 hours and then we will pick another winner", whatever.
What happens if your website crashes?
So just call that out very clearly.
Now this kind of goes to my next one.
You're like, wow, there's kind of a lot that I need to include in here.
Yeah, you need to have an official rules.
So the official rules don't necessarily have to be a huge page on your website, but on
your post I think you should put these things, all these things that we've talked about,
very clearly at the bottom.
There are things that you have to do, which again, you want to let them know when the
contest starts, when the contest ends, how a winner will be selected, what they need
to do to enter, which typically you're going to do that at the beginning of your posts.
But this is no way associated with Instagram.
I actually have a post all about this on my website, which are all the things that you
should include if you're in the United States, in your official rules.
Now you can have this just as a little light disclaimer at the bottom of your posts all
the way at the very, very end.
Or if it's more of a complicated contest, you can have an official rules page on your
website that just kind of details everything out.
If that's the case, if you do have a longer rules, terms and conditions, just put that
link on the bottom so people know where to go to learn more.
And if things go bad, which I really hope and pray that they don't, but just in case,
you have somewhere that people can go that you could go to say, "Hey, this was all included
here."
Hey guys, it's me.
And yes, it's a totally different day.
I'm wearing different clothes, different hair, different makeup.
And that's because as I was editing the footage, I realized, holy cow, I forgot some of the
most important best practices when running your Instagram giveaway.
And yes, this has happened before in another video.
I'm not perfect.
I'm getting there guys.
I'm getting there.
All right, so let's jump into these other best practices.
So the ones that I talked about before, those are about getting your giveaway started, making
things clear and transparent from the very beginning.
The next ones that I'm going to talk about are best practices during and after the giveaway
period ends.
All right, so my next tip is to promote your giveaway during the giveaway period.
You do not want to do one post about the giveaway and never talk about it or mention it ever
again.
That will decrease the amount of entries you're giving, the less likely people are going to
see it.
People aren't on Instagram every day.
Actually, a lot of people are on Instagram every day, but some people, because of the
algorithm or whatever, may not have seen your initial post.
So that is why when you do your initial post about the giveaway, you also want to share
that to your stories so that way if people didn't see your posts but they do check out
your stories, they will be able to see that right away.
Now, right along with that, you want to promote your giveaway multiple times during the giveaway
period.
So if you are doing a seven day giveaway period, maybe on day three you do another post which
talks about maybe something else, a different product, whatever.
But then in the caption you're going to say, "Hey, by the way, we're doing an amazing giveaway.
Check out my last post to enter."
And then the day before the giveaway, you might want to do another little reminder saying,
"Hey, give away closes in 24 hours.
If you haven't already, go enter."
That way people get multiple opportunities to see and hear about your giveaway so that
way they can enter if they want to.
Now this also relates to stories.
You want to do it in post, but then you also want to do it in stories because like I said
before, some people may only check out your stories and some people may only check out
your posts, or maybe some people check out both, but you want to give your giveaway the
most exposure and visibility possible.
All right, my next tip, right before you close the giveaway, this is your best opportunity
to get in front of this new audience.
Hopefully you're getting new followers during this period, so you don't just want to do
your giveaway posts and not post anything in between.
You want to give these new followers something to be excited about.
So make sure that during this giveaway period, I recommend about seven days, you are posting
some of your best content.
Because they will be seeing it during this time because they're a new follower of you,
and if you keep posting really, really cool stuff, when the giveaway ends, they're going
to be less inclined to unfollow you.
Let's just be real here.
A lot of people unfollow after the giveaway period is over.
So you want to try to mitigate that by just making your content, and your brand, or you
so amazing and awesome that when the contest is over, they're like, "I actually love this
brand or this person."
So make sure that you are posting during that time.
Don't go overboard and post five times a day, but just do something normal and natural and
really your best stuff.
I also recommend doing stories during this time.
If you're a personal brand, get your face in front of them so they can have that personal
connection with you.
This contest period is a gold mine for you because you're going to have a new captive
audience during that time period, so make the most of it.
All right, my next tip is all about picking a winner.
And this is really, really, really important guys.
You need to be transparent when you are picking a winner.
I actually did a video all about shady Instagram giveaway practices and tactics, and this is
a big one.
Probably half of the shady practices in that video revolve around shady practices in picking
and announcing a winner.
Now if you are running a contest, you simply just need to pick a winner based on merit,
who you think had the best submission.
But if you are running a sweepstakes or a giveaway, you need to pick a winner based
on chance.
The best and easiest way to do this is a random number generator.
If you want, I can do a video all about specifically picking a winner, how to pick a winner, how
do you put them into a spreadsheet, what websites do you want to use?
So if you are interested in that, be sure to give this video a like and comment down
below, letting me know if that's a video that you want.
So when you pick a winner, you need to be very transparent and honest about it.
Personally, I think the best and the most transparent way is to go back to your original
giveaway post and then to put giveaway closed and then tag the winner there.
I don't like doing it to stories because those go away in 24 hours.
I definitely do not like deleting the post and not picking a winner at all, or maybe
just only announcing in stories, because people do not appreciate it, and it will decrease
their trust in your brand.
And that's not what you're wanting out of this giveaway.
So when you are setting up your post and that little terms and conditions, just announce
when the winner will be selected, when it will be posted, and where it will be posted.
"Contest ends on the 24th at midnight.
Winner will be announced on the 25th and winner will be announced on the initial giveaway
post."
Plain, simple, easy, transparent, I love it.
Again, setting up your contest from the very beginning and detailing and making it very
clear is going to be your best strategy here, and everyone is going to be happy because
they know the rules that your giveaway is running.
You may know in your head how you're running the giveaway, but if you don't explicitly
call that out, it's going to be confusing to the people who follow you.
So this video was sort of two parts.
It was all the legal things that you need to do to get out of the way, just for transparency,
to be open and honest with everyone involved, yourself included, your followers included,
your new followers included hopefully.
And then also best practices on the way to run it.
All right, with that, my series on Instagram giveaways I think is sort of wrapped up, unless
you think there is something that I missed that I should do a video about.
Let me know, and then also let me know what other ideas you have for future videos that
you want me to do on my channel.
I hope you guys put all this to use and you run an amazing giveaway.
I can't wait to hear about it.
Let me know in the comments below if you did use these tips and how it went for you.
If you're excited to run an Instagram giveaway now, be sure to like this video and be sure
to subscribe because I post new videos every week on how to use social media and YouTube
to grow your business.
And while you're waiting for my next video to come out, you can check out these two other
videos in the meantime.
Thanks for watching and I'll see you next time.