How to best announce giveaway & contest winners [6 examples]

Whenever an online giveaway, contest or lottery is held, it's important to note that its success not only depends on the attractiveness of the prizes on offer, but also on how you decide to name the winners. Whilst this may sound trivial, knowing the most effective ways in which to make winner announcements can be the difference between a truly memorable (and seamless) giveaway, or one that experiences avoidable and stressful mishaps.

This article will therefore seek to give you everything you need in order to announce your winners in an optimal manner, and will provide 7 tried and tested announcement methods, as well as a look at a platform that can automate the notification process.

Read on to ensure you uphold your giveaway's credibility and appeal by learning more about the best announcement techniques! 

1. Personal and direct email announcements

The first method to consider, and perhaps the most common is a personal and direct email announcement. 

Personalized emails are a great strategy for announcing giveaway/contest winners, and this is because it makes lucky winners feel valued and appreciated; as in their eyes the company has used precious time to craft a bespoke message of gratitude. 

Below are some tips on how to best go about this:

How to write an email announcing the winner

Subject line: Begin your email with an attractive and captivating subject line that distinguishes it from others in the recipient’s inbox. It should be concise, clear and hint at what’s inside as well. 

Personalization: To make your emails seem more personal and engaging, use the winner's first name when addressing them. What this does is immediately establish a connection, and makes the announcement seem more exclusive.

Show appreciation: In this section thank all those who participated in the contest including those you did not win while expressing gratitude for their time and effort they had given for this purpose. This will create a good rapport hence encouraging future involvement of these people in your business activities.

State the prize clearly: Clearly state what prize the winner will get by emphasizing its value (or desirability) again. This serves as a reminder of what they've won, and this generates further excitement.

By following these tips, your brand will leave a positive impression amongst winners and runners-up alike, and this increases the likelihood that email recipients will engage with future giveaways.

2. Instagram: social media shoutouts

Another effective way to announce giveaways and contest winners is using social media platforms like Instagram; among others. If you use these platforms effectively, then what your brand will achieve is a highly engaging experience, not only for winners, but for everyone who took part.

Below are some tips on how to get the most out of social media shoutouts:

How to best leverage social media announcement posts

Focus on visuals:  Images are Instagram's bread and butter. Therefore, when deciding to announce a winner for your Instagram giveaway, you can attract attention using engaging images, GIFs, or even short videos; as seen with Instagram stories. Whatever you decide to choose, be sure to display the prize, the winner's name within your visuals.

Keep it short: Aside from appealing visuals, make sure your accompanying text is brief, yet informative. There shouldn't be much else other than important details such as the name of winner, prize, and a brief congratulatory message.  

Tag the winner: By tagging your winner in your announcement post, you can directly notify them about their win; that is, if they are active on social media. This in turn may also lead to more engagement and interactions with the winner's social media accounts, which can also be seen as a benefit in and of itself.

Express gratitude: Thank all people who participated in your giveaway, contest or raffle. This helps build rapport with your audience, and really shows that you appreciate their participation and engagement; encouraging future participation.

Hint at future giveaways or promotions: Last but not least, try to include a sneak-peek that there will be more giveaways or promotions coming up. By doing this, you will keep participants and spectators interested with your future plans, which in turn will encourage them to follow you on Instagram.

Remember, an effective social media winner announcement will not only can help to create excitement around your giveaway, but it can also simultaneously increase social media engagement and involvement.

3. Twitter announcements: brevity and engagement

Announcing a giveaway winner on Twitter with just a few characters is vital for catching the attention of your audience. Knowing how to do so effectively, however, is easier said than done, and requires an element of skill.

Below are some tips on on how produce highly engaging tweet announcements for your winners:

Crafting engaging Tweets for winner announcements (examples and tips)

There are several things to consider when crafting a tweet to announce your giveaway/contest winner: 

Brevity: Avoid long sentences, and keep your tweet below 280 characters (the maximum). This will enable your audience to understand it quickly, and act upon it if necessary.

Emojis: Adding a smiley face or festive (to name a few) emojis can bring about a real sense of excitement to a winner announcement tweet. Moreover, it can instil positivity, which is important seeing how some participants might feel sad due to missing out on a win.

Mentions: Similar to Instagram tags, mentions on Twitter can notify winners, and in a personalized manner. Not only does this engage directly with your giveaway winner, but it could potentially also lead to them retweeting the news with their followers, and pinning it on their profile like a badge of honour.

Hashtags: To increase visibility and engagement with your target audience, use relevant hashtags that are connected to what you do. If you get this right, you will be able to expose your giveaway with new users, who might be interested in participating in future ones. 

Visuals: Although not as important compared to Instagram, including visuals, such as images or video content, can grab the attention of your followers and encourage interaction.

By using these tips and techniques, you can create engaging, concise, and effective tweets for announcing the winners of your giveaways on Twitter. Remember, the key is to provide all the necessary information while maintaining a fun and exciting tone.

4. Blog post announcements: detailed and informative

A comprehensive and informative blog post can at times prove invaluable when announcing a giveaway winner. Not only does a well-crafted blog post congratulate the victor, but it can also provide details about the giveaway, prizes and future competitions.

Offering detailed information in a blog post format gives both participants and your audience a more engaging experience. 

Below are some tips on what to include in your blog post:

Example of a comprehensive winner announcement blog post

An effective blog post for announcing a giveaway winner should include the following elements:

Introduction: Begin by briefly touching on the contest’s basic details, its goals, and duration.

Acknowledgment: Thank all participants for giving up their time to join in, and the enthusiasm they showed throughout.

Winner details: Boldly announce who won with his or her name (with due permission), and give a brief description of what he or she got.

Contest wrap-up: Highlight any interesting statistics or facts about the contest; such as the number of entries, the geographical distribution of participants, or any other notable trends.

Visuals: Use relevant images to enhance your blog post like pictures of prizes, or screenshots of contest entries. This makes your blog more appealing, and increases the likelihood that people share it. 

Future promotions: End the blog post by teasing upcoming contests or promotions, keeping your audience engaged and excited for future opportunities.

In sum, an informative and comprehensive winner announcement blog post is a great way of ensuring that your audience remains engaged with your brand. By providing valuable information, visual content, and hints at upcoming promotions, you can develop content that is not only engaging, but content that is also shareable

5. Video announcements: YouTube and beyond

In today's digital landscape, video announcements on video platforms like YouTube have become an increasingly popular and effective means for announcing giveaway winners. Their success is attributed to the human element they bring, the ability to engage users, and the potential to reach a wide audience.

Below are some tips to consider when creating your video announcement:

Creating captivating winner announcement videos

Tell a story: Create a story off the back of running your giveaway, and selecting your winner. Showing people how much dedication went into the giveaway, and the excitement that surrounded it can make the announcement more engaging.

Keep it short and sweet: Ideally, your announcement video should be under 2 minutes, and this is to keep people's attention. Most people have a short attention span, so the more concise the video the better.

Add visuals: Consider including graphics, motion design, or slides with text that is bold in order to highlight any important information. This will make your video more visually appealing. 

Use professional editing tools: To make your video look more polished and have seamless transitions, consider enhancing your video using well-regarded editing tools. Examples include Adobe Premiere Pro, and Apple Final Cut Pro. 

Showcase prizes: Clearly display prizes throughout your video in order to keep viewers engaged, and be sure to emphasise the value of the prizes, and the generosity of this giveaway. 

Ensuring that the aforementioned elements are taken into consideration will result in a captivating and memorable winner announcement that effectively connects with your audience, and reflects positively on your brand.

6. Public announcement events: in-person and virtual

Announcing giveaway winners through public announcement events can significantly enhance participants’ experience, and help in cementing the bond between your brand and target audience. Such events may be done in-person or virtually on platforms like Twitch, but either way, both bring about live excitement and anticipation, making it a more memorable moment for both winners and participants alike. 

Below are some the tips that can help create a successful announcement event:

Organizing a memorable winner announcement event

Prepare a well-structured agenda: Outline key themes to cover during the event, including speeches, presentations, and the winner announcement itself. Be sure to allow for some breaks, and Q&A sessions.

Involve the audience: Audience engagement is vital for ensuring that your event is both immersive and fun. Consider including activities like trivia games, polls, or debates to keep your audience engaged. 

Utilize social media: Boost awareness for this event by promoting it on all of your social media channels. Customize content for different platforms in order to not only get a lot of exposure, but to attract a diverse audience; due different demographics preferring to use certain social media platforms. 

Plan event logistics and technical requirements: It's important to plan ahead in order to ensure that everything runs smoothly; especially in instances where there may be technical hitches during virtual events. Some logistic and technical considerations include booking a venue if you are planning an in-person event, selecting a platform for virtual events, or sound and visual arrangements; among other things.

Organizing memorable giveaway winner announcement events, whether live or virtual, retains excitement and emotion, and this can enhance the overall experience for participants.

7. Utilizing Tropee's email notifications for automated announcements

When conducting a giveaway, efficiently announcing giveaway winners is essential to maintain audience engagement and trust. With Tropee's automated email notifications, the platform streamlines the winner announcement process, ensuring a hassle-free experience for both the giveaway organizer and participants.

Tropee's automated confirmation and result updates

Automated emails using Tropee offer several benefits:

Effortless entry: Participants can easily complete the actions required to join the giveaway without any complicated steps. The intuitive and user-friendly design ensures smooth navigation.

Instant confirmations: As soon as participants complete the required actions, they receive automated confirmation emails, enhancing their experience and keeping them engaged.

Regular results updates: Tropee keeps participants informed about the status of the giveaway through automated email updates, ensuring transparency in the process.

Automated winner announcement: Tropee randomly selects winners and sends notifications to inform them of their win. Organizers do not need to manually pick winners or send emails.

Customizable emails: Organizers can tailor email notifications to match their brand's aesthetic and messaging, making the emails appear more personable and genuine.

Quite simply, Tropee’s platform is a great tool for announcements, as its email notifications eliminates any human error in the winner announcement process, and saves time for both the giveaway organizers and participants.

Conclusion

Announcing giveaway and contest winners, whilst trivial to some, is an important part of contest marketing that requires a combination of knowledge, preparation and style in order to effectively maintain an audience's engagement and trust. 

By following the aforementioned examples and tips, you will be providing the last piece of the jigsaw for creating an enjoyable and engaging experience for your giveaway winners and participants. In doing so, you will build that additional trust that will lead to increased participation rates and sustained interest in your brand's future activities.Best of luck with your winner announcements from here on out!