12 instagram giveaway examples to get more followers [2024]

Instagram giveaways have become a very powerful tool for increasing engagement and enticing new followers. In addition, these kinds of giveaways help to bolster that sense of community that can sustain your followers’ loyalty and enthusiasm.

In order to be able to attract more instagram followers it is important to make sure that your campaigns have the right sort of appeal for the interests of your target audience, and don't just focus on how amazing the prize might be. 

The following article will walk you through some creative examples of Instagram giveaways, which should help to attract and grow your audience. These carefully selected examples will enable you to gain the insight into launching giveaways that not only forment excitement but will align with your marketing goals - whether that is to drive sales, boost brand awareness, or just to say thank you to your community.

So whether you are a seasoned pro or new to the world of Instagram, this article will provide you with the know-how with which to run a creative and successful giveaway each and every time. 

So let’s get right to it!

What is an Instagram giveaway?

An Instagram giveaway is a kind of promotion used by brands or influencers to increase engagement, generate a buzz, and gain a larger following. The requirements of the giveaways are very straightforward, in that participants have to carry out simple actions, such as liking a post, following an account, tagging friends in comments, or sharing content.

The key to the Instagram contest is the idea itself, which has to appeal to the target audience. The type of Instagram giveaway can vary greatly. Common examples include ‘tag a friend’, ‘like to win’, or ‘photo contest’ giveaways, where creativity is encouraged.

Where marketing is concerned, this type of activity is effective for businesses as well as for individuals, as everyone can leverage Instagram to expand their reach - thereby bringing many benefits. While the main aim is probably to attract more followers, Instagram giveaways also allow a brand or individual to showcase their products or services to a wider audience.

Now you know what an Instagram giveaway is, let’s now find out how to run a successful one.

How to run a successful Instagram contest

As already mentioned, successfully planned giveaways on Instagram are a powerful way for businesses looking to expand their reach and keep their audience engaged. To achieve these ends, it is vital that your strategy is carefully planned and executed. However, it doesn’t just end there.

Below are 5 fundamental steps that are vital to the success of an Instagram giveaway contest.

5 steps needed to run a successful Instagram contest

1. Define Goals and Target Audience: Clear objectives for your contest must be set out at the start, such as increasing followers, boosting brand awareness, or promoting a product. Identify who you are targeting, and tailor the contest to match their preferences.

1. Choose contest type and rules: Go for a contest format that corresponds with your brand, such as photo competitions, like-and-win, friend-tagging, or hashtag challenges. Set clear rules for participation, including the contest duration and winner selection criteria. It’s also very important to make sure you comply with Instagram's promotional policies.

2. Select a relevant prize: The prize should be enough to excite your audience as well as  be reflective of your brand's identity. Consider offering exclusive deals on your products, or unique experiences to attract participation and make the contest more appealing.

3. Promote your contest: Use exciting visuals and text to promote your contest on Instagram and beyond. Expand your reach through other social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, your website, and email campaigns. Use hashtags tactically and encourage participants to share the news of the upcoming contest.

4. Monitor, engage, and follow-up: Actively monitor submissions and try to interact with as many contestants as possible. Respond to inquiries and feedback promptly. After announcing the winner, evaluate the contest's success against your initial targets and use this insight for developing future contests.

Importance of following Instagram's rules and regulations

Whilst you follow the aforementioned steps, it's important to also abide by Instagram's rules, as this is a necessity for any contest or giveaway administered by Instagram. 

The Instagram guidelines are only there to ensure fairness and transparency for all, so make sure that you respect them. Remember that your giveaway is not endorsed by Instagram itself, therefore it is your responsibility to comply with the rules. Failure to do so could result in the contest being taken down, possible sanctions, and a negative look for your platform. In this regard it is always good to stay informed of the latest Instagram guidelines.

For your own giveaway contest, it is essential to be very clear and transparent, and to fully stipulate the entry requirements, the selection process for the winner, and how prizes will be delivered. Being very precise in these areas will help to keep the whole process fair and avoid any misunderstandings.

Now all that's left to run a giveaway on Instagram are some proven ideas, and below is a list of creative ideas that have been used by many brands to great effect.

12 Instagram giveaway ideas

In the event that you are struggling to come up with some giveaway ideas, the following 12 ideas can be used effectively to enhance audience interaction, and encourage followers to actively participate in your brand's online presence:

1. Like, comment, and/or share to enter

A very simple and effective way to get your audience to enter your giveaway is to require them to like, comment on, or share your post. To enhance this, you might also ask them to comment on a particular topic associated with your brand. 

2. Tag a friend

Use the power of social networks by requiring participants to tag a friend in the comments as their entry method. You could consider each tag as an additional entry, which would not only encourage more engagement but also help in organically spreading the word about your giveaway.

3. Photo contest

Have your followers submit photos that align with a theme you set. This not only showcases their creativity but also expands your content pool. Make sure to establish clear guidelines and choose themes that are associated with your brand. You could even offer to feature the winning photo on your account.

4. Story reshare

Increase your brand's reach by asking followers to reshare your story on their own profiles. Provide content that is easy and appealing to reshare, including a clear call to action. This ensures that the contest rules get shared along with the story.

5. Follow to enter

This basic giveaway type requires that participants follow your account to enter. To boost engagement, combine this with another action, such as commenting or posting something that is relatable to your brand.

6. Like and save

Have participants like and save your giveaway post. This action can help improve your post’s performance in the Instagram algorithm. After the contest, analyze the metrics of the saved post in order to evaluate its success and inform your future strategies.

7. Trivia or question

Engage your audience with trivia questions related to your brand, or ask them a thought-provoking question. Keep the questions relevant to your brand and consider providing hints if your audience appears to be struggling. This type of giveaway can also provide valuable insights from your audience.

8. Caption this

Post a photo that invites creativity and ask your followers to come up with funny or witty captions, as humour often leads to the most engaging captions.

9. Scavenger hunt

Create a fun and interactive experience with a scavenger hunt that involves multiple posts or clues leading participants through different content or online locations. Keep the excitement going with regular updates and ensure that the clues are challenging but at the same time achievable, in order to keep participants motivated.

10. Collaboration giveaway

Partner with one or more brands for a joint giveaway. This not only diversifies the giveaway but also introduces your followers to these brands and vice versa. Get together with collaborators that have similar brand values and audiences in order to ensure the partnership follows the same line.

11. Hashtag creation

Encourage participants to use a unique branded hashtag in their posts. This not only promotes your brand but can also leverage the Instagram algorithm. Choose a hashtag that is memorable, specific to your brand, and is unique enough for easy tracking of entries.

12. Creative challenge

Get your audience to be creative, by way of art, music, writing, or even by submitting a short Instagram story -  all of which should be related in some way to your brand. Make sure your submission guidelines are very clear, and showcase more than just the winning entry, thereby making sure that participants are valued and appreciated.

Best Instagram giveaway software - Tropee

Tropee is a stand-out solution for businesses looking to engage audiences and achieve their marketing goals through giveaways and contests, and caters for all the main social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Twitch, and more.

For Instagram giveaways, Tropee does much of the work for you, offering both ready-made templates and the option to decide the exact type of reward you want to offer.

Tropee offers a variety of features that can help a businesses to fulfil their customer retention and growth objectives:

• Customizable tasks: On your Tropee page, people complete tasks to earn points and unlock rewards. These tasks can be anything you want, like following you on social media, engaging with your content, visiting a website, subscribing to your newsletter, etc. Choose from over 80 different tasks to your business goals, or create your own from scratch.
  
  
• Giveaways and rewards: Each task your fans complete earns them points for rewards or giveaways. As a Tropee user, you pick what rewards to give, from ebooks to shoutouts to calls to products to exclusive content.
  
  
• Simple link sharing: By simply using a unique URL, creators and businesses can seamlessly share their Tropee rewards program everywhere, including on their blogs, email signature or social media profiles.
  
  
• Built-in viral sharing: With Tropee’s built-in sharing, participants can refer their friends and associates, and earn points for every referral. This gamified perk significantly increases the likelihood of your reward program going viral, as it is in the interest of participants to generate as many referrals as possible.
  

• Easy-to-use analytics: Access valuable insights such as how many tasks have been completed, which countries are driving the most visits to your program, real-time updates on how many participants have recently joined; amongst other things.
  
  
• Automated email notifications: Members of your Tropee can be alerted via email whenever you add a new task or reward. This communication is key in building a relationship with your audience, and makes sure that previous participants do not miss out on new task and reward opportunities
  
  
• Collaboration: If you would like to collaborate with colleagues or associates when running your loyalty rewards program, you can easily give them authorisation by simply entering their email. In doing so, they can create and manage tasks and rewards in your stead.
  
  
• Get started for free: Last but not least, Tropee is free to use, and does not require a credit card to sign up.
  

In essence, Tropee offers a balanced solution that covers all requirements while at the same time being extremely user-friendly. Tropee offers businesses a powerful tool to grow their online presence through engaging and successful Instagram giveaways.

Instagram giveaway template

In the event that you are a very busy person, and simply don't have the time to run a contest from scratch, then don't worry as Tropee has you covered with some pre-designed templates! These templates can be customized to fit the specifics of the campaign, reflecting the brand's aesthetic and the giveaway's theme.

If you lead a really busy life and you simply don’t have the time and energy to run a contest from scratch, no problem, Tropee has you covered with a set of pre-designed templates, which can be completely customized for your campaign.

Here is an example of one that is provided on the platform:

Whether you use a Tropee template or one from another provider, be sure that the following details are included on the Instagram giveaway template:

• Title: An eye-catching headline that spells out the giveaway
• Image: A high-quality image that catches the eye
• Description: A brief explanation of what the giveaway is and why you should enter
• How to enter: Clear, step-by-step entry instructions
• Prize details: What the winner(s) will receive
• Eligibility: Who can enter the giveaway (age, location restrictions, etc.)
• Duration: Start and end dates/times
• Winner selection: How and when the winner will be chosen and announced

All these elements can easily be combined to provide a giveaway template that is not only appealing, but offers a simple and structured process for entering your contest.

Conclusion

There you have it! Instagram giveaways are a simple, structured way to engage with your followers and potentially increase them, and there are various ways in which to achieve these goals. 

As was mentioned in the article, be sure to set yourself clear targets at the outset, whether this be to gain followers, leads, or increase sales. Additionally, make sure that your competition complies fully with Instagram’s guidelines, thereby keeping the trust of your followers and avoiding any conflicts. As a rule of thumb, you should always include a disclaimer that disassociates the event from Instagram, thereby abiding by the stated rules. 

Finally, creators should routinely analyze their giveaways so that they can refine future strategies. By adhering to these principles, you can develop an interactive community around your brand on Instagram.

Now you have everything you need, best of luck with your Instagram giveaway!