Enjoying more than 1 billion users per month, Instagram has carved its niche as the most sought-after social media platform. Almost every other brand is running contests on Instagram and gaining popularity. The purpose of running a contest to increase outreach spread brand awareness and get conversions. One of the top goals is to build interaction with the audience and start engaging with them.

Running contests isn’t rocket science. It is the easiest task you will see. There are other important steps involved in designing and putting across the contest in front of the audience. If you have just begun the journey, we are here to solve the problem. 

We have divided the steps to be implemented when running an amazing contest on Instagram. Let’s make your contests successful with the useful seven tips:

1. CREATE A PLAN Of ACTION

Develop an exciting plan of action as to how you wish the contest to perform.  Be assured of your goals and objectives for the contest at the very onset of the plan. Keep these important pointers in mind before executing the contest. Do not let go of the primary purpose of the contest. Mull over the content and images. Prepare the infographics if required, and don’t forget the call to action. Sometimes, you need to gain more Instagram followers, sell a new product, or stay true to the company demographics, which is not usually conveyed. 

Remember the audience before executing the contest because the main goal is to lure them into your outlet, follow your business profile and bring conversions. Prepare content for the target audience, so you don’t fail when the contest is running. You might even want to collaborate with someone at this juncture to improve your brand value. 

The best part of the contest is? You guessed it. That’s the most coveted prize. The primary goal of why people will be springing toward your contest post. Simply because the audience thinks about what’s in store for them, gives people a reason to use catchy one-liners, and engages in social media posts.

2. UNDERSTANDING THE RULES

The moment you step into creating a contest, make sure you’re following all the rules that have been put forward by Instagram and the laws that might get affected by the contest you’re running.  If you are oblivious to the Instagram guidelines for running contests or promotions, we have enlisted them below:

• Please follow every rule set by Instagram, including terms and eligibility criteria like geographical location, age. Ensure you comply with all the rules and regulations that may impact the prizes offered or the promotion such as registration and retrieving required approval.
• You are not entitled to tag any unrelated accounts or invite any individuals to tag any incorrect accounts such as asking people to tag themselves in images where they are not featured.
• Each participant of the contest ought to release Instagram from any obligation etc. It should be known to everyone that Instagram does not endorse, sponsor or administer the promotion, nor does Instagram claim to be associated with the promotion. 
• Before running a contest, you are doing this task at your peril as per your acknowledgment. 
• Instagram shall not offer any guidance or help in running the contest, including any legal requirements. 

3. SET YOUR OWN RULES

Before running contests for Instagram, it’s crucial to set your own rules that could depend on any account or brand. You will need to create your own rules for the contest, such as sharing and commenting on the post, including following your profile or the collaborator’s profile. 

You can decide which rules are best suited for your contest because you can create two subsequent posts regarding the same and direct the users toward the original post where the rules have been cited.

4. CHOOSE THE CONTEST TYPE

There are a plethora of contests to run on Instagram. Some of the contest formats are based on the entry method of the contest. There are a couple of instances cited below:

• Photo Caption Contest: The participants are urged to give a suitable caption for the given photo to enter the contest.
• Comment/ Tag Giveaways: In this type of contest, users are told to tag their friends, family, or related people to enter the contest. 
• User-Generated Content Contest: UGC contests ask participants to make a post or submission created by them. It should be an original work of each person.
• Skill Contest: The entrants are asked to exhibit talent in this contest to participate.

5. MAKE A HASHTAG OF YOUR CONTEST

Create an exciting hashtag that is relevant to your contest. It should do justice to your brand and giveaway. This helps make your most searchable and spread awareness about your brand.  Think about a unique yet subtle hashtag that suits your brand and the theme of the contest. In your promotional post, request users to share the same hashtag on their post talking about it. After this, any individual who clicks on the hashtag or looks it up will be shown a series of posts about your Instagram contest.  

6. DETERMINE the BEST WAY TO SELECT A WINNER

There are multiple methods of selecting a winner for your Instagram giveaway, which is widely based on the type of contest you wish to run. 

For instance, in a photo caption contest, you will likely select your favorite caption that fits the bill. If you choose the winner based on UGC, you may choose the higher-quality version of the content. 

A random giveaway winner selector application can be used to choose the suitable winner randomly. 

7. TIME TO CHCEK YOUR RESULTS

Since we spoke about the significance of setting a primary goal for your contest, it is evident that checking the progress your promotional post has made is important. 

Now let’s talk about how to track the progress? Well, that depends on your goal: new followers, more page traffic, engagement levels, conversions. This way, you can check whether there is a boost or increase in the previous level or not. If you followed the tips religiously, you are likely to succeed.

Time for a fun Contest

This is one of the best go-to-guides to escalate your brand value using Instagram contests.  It also varies on the type of contests you have to run, which is effective for your audience and brand.  Now you can get started with designing and creating the most exciting contest. Once you are done with it, let us know how it performed. Stay tuned to this space for more interesting updates and better your best when it comes to digital marketing.