Giveaways are a great tool for content creators of any size to increase their visibility. When done right, they're a kind gesture that creates waves of engagement, attracts new followers, and helps closen your bond with brands you love. If executed poorly, giveaways can invite a ton of new followers who forget they followed you or don't really care about your content which inevitably hurts your engagement rate and leaves you worse off.
Here are the 5 questions our content creators use to ensuretheir giveaway is a success every time.
1. What's my intention and goal?
Do you want to reach new audiences, collab with other content creators, gain more followers, collab with a brand you love or simply say thank you to the OG followers who regularly engage with your content? Having a specific and measurable goal is key and allows you to determine if the giveaway was successful.
2. What is a relevant and valuable prize can Ioffer?
Do you have extra PR that you know would make someone's day? Or did you fall in love with a product line that youknow someone in your audience would really enjoy? The best prizes are relevant products you can vouch for becauseyou love them too.
Whether you're shipping the prize yourself or a brand is sending it out, we recommend you opt for a tracking number and "signature required" as part of your delivery. A lostpackage can spoil your kind gesture and make you look unreliable or untrustworthy.
3. What kind of entry experience do I want to create?
Here you'll need to decide how long you want to accept entries and what the rules will be.
Short turnarounds create a sense of urgency and incentivize followers to engage with your post immediately rather than leaving it for later (or even never) whereas a longer time frame might allow you to receive more entries.
Your rules should support the goal of the giveaway. The classic "tag 2 friends" isa good way to introduce new people to your page and adding in a "must be following me" rule will ensure you see a rise in followers. You can also get creative and spark conversations by asking your followers to answer a personal question or comment why theprize would be meaningful to them. A requirement like this can act as a deterrentfor people who justwant to enter quickly, but it's also a great way to highlight and reward the people who are willing to take the extra step to comment.
Are you a business?Partnering with another business that compliments your products or services allows you to create positive associations and reach each other's audience. Asking your audience to "tag your bestie" and follow both brands automatically doubles the reach you might've had if you had only asked for one follower to comment.
4. How can I set my giveaway up for success?
Launching your giveaway is not as easy as just hitting "Share".
First, you'll want to dive into your insights to find out which days and times are your followers most active. Next, decide how you plan to promote your giveaway for maximum reach.
Did you know that you can easily direct more traffic to your giveaway by cross-promoting and sharing the details on a blog post, Facebook page, or another social channel? What other platforms can you promote your giveaway on to create the largest impact?We recommend mentioning the giveaway at least twice on across platforms during the entry period. An update using just text works, but video is always better.
5. What's my post-giveaway strategy?
How will you announce your winner? Announcing it publicly via stories and updating your post caption vs. just sending a DM lets the rest of your audience know the giveaway has come to a close so they're not left wondering.
Our favourite tip for businesses: Share a special discount code when you announce your giveaway winner. This is a great way to reward new and existing followers with a gesture that allows them to purchase the prize at a reduced cost if they're interested in trying out your products or service.
We highly recommend staying connected with your giveaway winner to ensure they receive their package. It's also a great gesture to follow up a few weeks later to ask your winner if they're enjoying their package. This valuable step allows you to collect feedback about the types of prizes your audience truly enjoys.
What lessons have you learned in hosting giveaways? Did they go well or were there some strategies you can tweak? Share them with the community by commenting below.
