Win Big With These Social Media Giveaway Ideas
How to Design a Social Media Contest
Looking to grow your social media following and generate more buzz around your brand? Do you need a way to increase email lists and get your audience engaging with your content? If you’re serious about succeeding at any or all of these goals, then it’s time to run an epic social media contest. But, before you get publishing, keep reading through this ultimate guide to social media giveaway ideas.
Step 1, Set Your Goals & Type of Contest
The first step to beginning any social media campaign is to determine the reason and the ultimate goal. Different goals require different types of contests and specific rules in order to reach that goal.
It’s a good idea to figure out your one main goal before you begin. Do you want the contest to increase your followers or email lists? If so, you can set rules requiring entrants to follow your page or provide their email before entering. Do you want to increase brand awareness? You can ask entrants to tag a friend as a form of entry or partner with other companies and share the giveaway on both profiles.
Millhouse Brewing Company partnered with Baxter, a local construction company, to run a holiday-themed giveaway which was posted on both Millhouse and Baxter’s Instagram profiles.
View this post on Instagram
Pro tip: Include a unique campaign hashtag to promote your contest and use it as a source for tracking success and analytics. Hudson Valley Goldsmith used their hashtag #HVGHowDidYouMeet as a requirement in their entry to send potential customers to their page.
Happy February everyone!
With Valentines day approaching, we are celebrating LOVE! And we want to hear your love story…Posted by Hudson Valley Goldsmith on Monday, February 1, 2021
Step 2, Choose Your Social Media Platform(s)
It’s no secret that social media platforms behave in various ways and require different types of strategies. The same is applied when determining which platform to run your contest on. Whether you choose Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, your campaign should reflect how your audience uses it.
The clothing brand Missguided ran a contest campaign on Twitter using short, simple text and a graphic to announce their giveaway.
Wanna ⚡WIN⚡ clothes for a whole YEAR for you AND your BFF? 💘
To enter:
Follow @missguided
Like & RT this post
Tweet us the emoji ‘🛍️’Enter as many times as you can to win 👏
T+C’s apply can be found: https://t.co/iapeZhw9ql) #giveaway #missguided #win pic.twitter.com/e1F84hyRan
— Missguided (@Missguided) March 9, 2021
Another important aspect pertaining to the different platforms is understanding the different rules associated with giveaways on your specific platform. For example, when using Facebook, you need to clearly state what the contest or promotion is and let your audience know that Facebook is in no way affiliated with or a sponsor of your contest. You are also not allowed to require people to share or tag the post as a form of entry. Depending upon which platform you use, make sure you familiarize yourself with its rules first.
Step 3, It’s Giveaway Time!
When creating your contest or giveaway post, communicate that it is a contest with text in the graphic to capture your audience’s attention. If you plan on running your giveaway for a long period of time, post about it more than once during its timespan. To promote your contest and obtain as many entries as possible, it’s a good idea to cross-promote it to other platforms such as your Instagram story, your Facebook group or page, your email newsletter, or on your website.
Step 4, Analyze & Report Back — Was your social media giveaway worth it?
It is important to keep in mind that your first contest might not generate as many entries as you hoped for. In order to maximize consumer engagement, contests should be run multiple times. Look back at your numbers and evaluate if the contest helped you reach your starting goals. If not, try a different platform or a different type of contest.
