5 Steps to Successfully Introducing an Instagram Competition

Instagram is one of the most powerful social media platforms for not only personal use, but also business branding. If used correctly, your business can greatly benefit from the use of Instagram.

If you are looking to take your business Instagram profile to the next level, an Instagram competition would be perfect. However, when running an Instagram competition for your business there are many factors to be aware of.

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Listed below are the 5 steps to successfully run an Instagram competition.

1. Find the best hashtag

Hashtags are imperative for Instagram, especially for a competition as they assist you in keeping track on who has entered. They also help create the link between content and the competition.  However, there can be a lot of pressure in creating a good hashtag as it can make or break your Instagram competition.

It is best to create a hashtag that is short and memorable, as well as having a clear connection to your business and the competition.

2. Type of competition

There is no one perfect type of competition you can run. There are many different types you can choose from and it is important to choose the right competition for your business. The first competition is the ‘like competition’; this is the easiest one as it only asks users to like a photo you have posted for a chance to win.

Instagram win

Secondly, ‘comment competition’, this is very similar to the ‘like competition’ and it asks users to comment on the photo for a chance to win.

Lastly, ‘photo challenge competition’, this is the most popular on Instagram and asks users to post a photo on their personal account using a particular hashtag you create.

3. Competition theme

As most competitions involve users posting pictures, it is important to establish a clear theme, this way your followers have some sort of idea of what type of photos they should be taking.

It is recommended that you pick a theme that sits well with the industry you are operating in, as well as the products and services you are offering. Therefore users can see a clear connection between the two. It is also a good idea to use the holiday seasons to your advantage for different website themes.

4. Prizes

The type of prize will determine the type of consumers who are entering in your competition. It is important to remember that you don’t just want any old followers; you want a specific type of follower, and choosing the correct prizes will help you do this!

While it can be tempting to choose generic prizes like an iPad or iPod, the type of consumers you will attract may not be your desired target audience. Therefore, if you choose a specific prize that you think your target audience will like, you are more likely to have them participate in your competition.

For example, if you target audience are 18-24 year old females, you could offer good quality make-up as the prize.

5. Promote

You can promote your Instagram competition through using some popular hashtags, including; #Instagramgiveaway, #contest, #instagood, #giveaway, #Instagramcontest, etc.

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You should also promote your competition on other platforms as well; this can include social media, websites, emails, etc. Promoting your competition on as many platforms as possible will hopefully spread the word faster and ensure you receive as many entries as possible.

Read: Do Hashtags Work on Facebook?