Already using Instagram to promote your events? Want to grow your followers and increase your engagement even further? It’s time to build contests into your social strategy!
An Instagram contest is a great way of incentivising people to share, like and comment on your content, all the while building awareness of your event brand. So where do you start? To help inspire your Instagram contest ideas, we’ve compiled 10 recent examples from events organisers – as well as some important dos and don’ts to ensure you gain maximum value from your giveaway.
1. Do use hashtags
Using hashtags will dramatically increase your contest’s discoverability. There are a number of established hashtags for Instagram contests, including: #competition (popular in the UK) #contest (for the US), #giveaway (works internationally) and #ticketgiveaway (ideal for events). Your contest should also include a branded hashtag in order to help you keep track of entries and conversations about the giveaway. In this example, it’s necessary for people to share the event’s branded hashtags as a condition of entry.
2. Don’t forget to include T&Cs
It’s important that you take a few minutes to learn the guidelines for Instagram contests before you get started. What you must include are the rules of your competition, any terms and conditions, and eligibility requirements. You also have to make it clear that your contest is not sponsored by or associated with Instagram. In this example, you can see there is a closing date listed as well as a date that the winner must collect their prize by.
3. Do team up with partners
Here’s an example of brands teaming up to offer a super prize – a yoga training course in Bali and eco-friendly yoga mat. By involving relevant partners you can widen your reach, benefitting from their existing audiences. In this example, those who want to enter the contest are directed to the partners’ pages to obtain more information, ensuring that all parties involved enjoy the exposure.
4. Don’t forget to promote your Instagram contest in your profile
If you post content to Instagram regularly (which, of course, you should be doing!) it won’t take long for your contest to get buried. Therefore, it’s a good idea to include a sentence or two about your current contest in your profile, alongside a link where people can find entry info. In addition to this, you can create various creatives to promote your contest that can be published on different days. In this example, those who want to enter the contest are directed to IIAM’s bio, where, conveniently, they can also find out all about the student organisation’s upcoming events.
5. Do create a professional-looking graphic, photo or video
Instagram is all about being visual, so contest graphics needs to be engaging and eye-catching. Your graphic should also make it clear immediately that there are prizes to be had, ensuring it stands out from the other posts in your feed. In this example, you can see at a glance which event is being promoted and what is being given away. It also includes the venue and date, which helps Vegan Life Live get maximum exposure from the contest.
6. Don’t miss the opportunity to grow your followers
When you run a contest, you call the shots. While you might not want to make your competition too long-winded to enter, having a few stipulations will really enhance your ROI. In this example, Dubai Key asks entrants to not only like the post, follow them on Insta, and share the post with a hashtag, but also to tag four friends who would join them at the party. This is awesome because it boosts the engagement of the contest post while helping Dubai Key attract other users who are likely to be interested in their events.
7. Do use influencers
If it’s a new audience you’re seeking to attract, it might make sense to let somebody else run the contest for you. Pick a micro influencer with a following that mirrors your target audience and provide them with a prize to give away. If they’re a great fit for your event, they might even be willing to do it in exchange for tickets. Don’t forget that it’s also beneficial for them to provide great content for their followers, so everyone wins! In this example, the Gin to My Tonic Show has chosen a locally-based food and drink blogger to give away a pair of tickets.
8. Do encourage user-generated content (UGC)
The easier you make it for people to enter, the more entries you’ll get. However, if you’re more concerned with quality than quantity, it’s a good idea to ask entrants to make a little effort. Getting people to take an action, such as taking a picture and posting it with your contest hashtag, will generate more engagement and build your following. In this example, people are asked to share their child’s dream party theme to get a bonus entry to the contest.
9. Don’t make contests last too long
Common sense might tell you that the longer the duration of your contest, the more value you’ll extract from it, but that’s not necessarily the case. The problem with running your contest for too long is there isn’t a sense of urgency. If your contest lasts for three weeks, people are more likely to procrastinate and, ultimately, forget to enter. Generally, most Instagram giveaways tend to last for around a week but a flash contest lasting just a few days can also be very effective. In this example, people were given just two days to enter, even though the event itself was still a few weeks off. Just don’t forget to clearly state the contest closing date.
10. Do engage stakeholders in your contests
Want to amplify your Instagram contest activity even further? Why not see if other event stakeholders want to get involved? Ask sponsors if they’d like to put up a prize or collaborate with you to offer something truly exciting – like the VIP football tickets being offered in this example by 10bet, the principal sponsors of Blackburn Rovers. Gaining stakeholder involvement not only helps you fund prizes, it also helps you widen your reach through direct promotion to sponsors’ audiences. Meanwhile, contests can help sponsors exploit their marketing rights to the fullest.
Conclusion
Whether you choose to run a re-post, upload, tag, comment or follow contest (or a combination of the lot), you can create some real noise on social by putting up a prize. Follow the guidelines in the examples above to gain maximum engagement, and for more Instagram contest ideas, simply search the contest hashtags to see what other brands are doing.
