{"id":64012,"date":"2019-11-12T13:26:15","date_gmt":"2019-11-12T12:26:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.easypromosapp.com\/blog\/2019\/02\/share-contest-instagram\/"},"modified":"2025-02-05T11:36:17","modified_gmt":"2025-02-05T10:36:17","slug":"how-to-run-an-instagram-contest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.easypromosapp.com\/blog\/en\/how-to-run-an-instagram-contest\/","title":{"rendered":"Run an Instagram Contest: Examples and Tools"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Running a giveaway or contest on Instagram<\/strong> has become an indispensable tool in the marketer’s arsenal, from fostering a sense of community to boosting brand awareness and amplifying reach. In this article, we will look into how to run a contest on Instagram<\/strong> with Easypromos and which are the most suitable to achieve your brand’s marketing objectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


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How to run a competition on Instagram?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

An contest on Instagram<\/b> is a promotional action taking place on Instagram<\/b> where users participate for a chance to win a prize. And in return for the opportunity, the brand will require participants to follow some instructions. This sort of contest on Instagram aims to increase brand engagement, awareness, and reach<\/b> and can also be used to collect user-generated content as well as lead generation<\/b>. However, not all types of Instagram contests serve the same purpose or have the same participation dynamic. With this in mind, it is essential to choose the kind of contest and dynamic to achieve a given marketing goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, which type of Instagram contest<\/strong> is the most appropriate for your brand? Keep on reading to find out!<\/p>\n\n\n\n


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Which objectives can I achieve with an Instagram Contest?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are five<\/b> different dynamics to run a competition on Instagram<\/strong> using the Easypromos platform. And as we mentioned before, each one serves a distinct purpose. So without further ado, let\u2019s go over each of them.
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Contest on Instagram based on comments<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It could be said that an Instagram giveaway<\/a> is an entry-level promotional action<\/b> for a brand that wishes to engage<\/strong> with its audience, grow its follower base<\/b>, and promote its products<\/b>. If you are new to contests on Instagram<\/strong>, this is the perfect strategy to start building your brand\u2019s presence on the social network and to achieve a critical amount of followers and reach before moving on to more complex dynamics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The workings of a contest on Instagram<\/strong> based on comments are quite straightforward. Start by making a post on your brand profile announcing your giveaway. Make sure that the image is attractive and that it clearly shows that you are running a giveaway<\/b> and what the prize is. Next, ask users to comment on the post to participate, either by asking them to answer a question like \u201cWhat would you do if you won this prize?\u201d or \u201cTell us why you love our brand.\u201d Also, give your giveaway a better chance to go viral by asking participants to tag a friend<\/b> in their answer. Something like \u201cTag a friend (or friends) with whom you would like to share this prize.\u201d Once the participation period finishes, use the Easypromos platform random picker to select the Instagram contest winner and the alternates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Instagram Story Giveaway – Reply to a Story<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Instagram Stories have become the preeminent format in the social network<\/b>, so it makes sense to include them in your marketing strategy. Easypromos launched the first app in the market that allows you to run a reliable and fully automated Instagram Story Giveaway<\/a>. The participation dynamic is quite similar to the comment-based giveaway. Simply, post a Giveaway story on your account and ask users to reply to it to participate. What\u2019s more, you can ask participants to include a specific #hashtag<\/b> in their replies to better filter participating. <\/p>\n\n\n\n


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Photo Contest on Instagram Stories: Post a Story + Mention<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In this Instagram Story giveaway dynamic, instead of users replying to a story posted by your brand, participants have to post a story of their own and include a mention of your brand<\/b> in it. This is a good strategy to turn customers into brand ambassadors as you can stipulate what the participants\u2019 stories have to feature, for instance, a photo of them showing your product, which is exactly what Bebang HaloHalo did. Suffice it to say that their initiative was so successful that their sales grew over 25%<\/b>. Learn more about it in the case study below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mention & Hashtag Contest on Instagram<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Take your contests to the next level with the Mention & Hashtag Contest<\/a> app. You will be able to import photos and videos posted by participants on their profiles in real-time and display them in the public gallery. This contest offers a double benefit for brands: the possibility to collect user-generated content (UGC)<\/b> and increase reach through hashtags and mentions. Participants can join via hashtag and mention if they have a public profile. Photos and videos from participants’ feeds and reels can be imported. However, Stories content cannot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Visit the @Easycrockery profile<\/a> on Instagram and participate in the contest DEMO on the BIO to get a feel of the user experience.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

How does the Instagram Contest with Hashtag work? To participate, users must post a photo or video on their Instagram account with a public profile. In the post caption, they must mention your brand and use your campaign hashtag to enter the contest. This way, the Easypromos tool automatically collects their participation. Participants with private profiles cannot participate.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The key to success is disseminating your Instagram competition. Simply put, you need to make sure users know about your campaign and can’t miss it. Share organic posts, invest in ads and make use of Stories<\/b>; and don’t forget to cross-promote your contest on other platforms and communication channels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take a look at the contest organized by Roots Rants Roars, a fall food festival. During the event, the organizers gave some of the attendees branded backpacks. Later on, and in order to re-engage with their audience, Roots Rants Roars asked their audience to share pictures showcasing where they had taken their Roots Rants Roars backpacks. Users entered the contest by uploading a photo to their Instagram account, mentioning @rootsrantsroars and using #MyFoodHike and #HikeNL hashtags. All entries were then displayed in a public photo gallery.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Optionally, create a public gallery<\/b> with the content uploaded by participants. You can enable voting to make the contest more dynamic and increase visibility. At the end of the campaign, it is up to you to decide if the winners will be selected randomly with an Instagram contest picker, by popular vote, by jury, or a combination of both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take a look at the following post shared by the festival organizers. Can you spot the same picture in the Instagram photo contest gallery that we shared above? Yes! Roots Rants Roars reshared the content submitted by the contest participants. Apart from making use of the UGC, they showed their products in action!<\/p>\n\n\n

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Would you like to give more visibility to your brand and collect sales leads? Invite your audience to vote for their favorite entries<\/b>. Each voter must leave their contact information in order to submit their vote. By enabling the voting system your Instagram photo contest will also be exposed to a wider public as contest participants are more likely to share their entries with friends and family when looking to receive more votes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Multi Platform contest shared on Instagram<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This last kind of contest differs from the others in the sense that it doesn\u2019t actually take place directly on Instagram but rather is a stand-alone contest. The Voting Contest<\/a> app allows you to create a photo, video, or text contest<\/b> that you can then promote across your social media accounts. The contest is hosted on a microsite with its own URL that you can later share on your social media accounts<\/b> to promote participation. Simply put, Instagram will provide you with a channel to share your promotion and attract participants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an organizer, you can then display entries in public galleries and enable public voting, either to choose the Instagram contest winners or those who move on to a final jury round.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Take a look at the example above. The Eastwood Company<\/strong> is an automotive restoration solution provider that organizes a yearly Before & After car restoration contest. The organizers promote the contest through all their social media accounts. With this action, the brand increases brand awareness<\/strong> and product visibility<\/strong> while engaging its audience both in the entry and voting stages of their competition in this 100% in-house<\/strong> planned, managed, and executed campaign.

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How to do a contest on Instagram?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Choose the right app for your contest on Instagram<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This might seem obvious, but the first step is deciding what kind of<\/b> contest on Instagram<\/strong> to launch<\/b>. This will depend entirely on the goal you wish to achieve. I.e., promoting your products, increasing brand awareness, collecting UCG, etc. Take a look at the comparative table below<\/a>, it will help you choose the contest app<\/b> that better suits your needs and objectives.
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Decide on the participation requirements of your contest on Instagram<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Keep in mind that to participate, users will need the right motivation. And that comes from two fundamental aspects<\/b>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n