company milestones and celebrate your followers.
Check out this giveaway from MOIRA Cosmetics, who frequently conducts giveaways that earn consistently high engagement.
But you don’t have to have such a big follower count to run a contest. And you don’t need a third-party solution or service either. All you need is a combination of the following:
- Something to give away. Ideally, the prize for your contest should somehow be related to your brand (think: free products or a membership). Big-ticket, unrelated items tend to attract freebie-seekers that won’t translate into long-term followers.
- Terms and conditions. To cover yourself legally, terms and conditions are a must for your contest. This template from Shortstack can clue you in on exactly what you need. Additionally, these points will make your contest seem legitimate and not like a potential scam.
- A point of contact. On your terms and conditions page, make sure to leave an email address where people can get in touch with questions or concerns.
- A way to enter. Whether it’s through user-generated content or a branded hashtag, asking followers to post about your brand is the best way to encourage entries. After all, the purpose of a giveaway is brand awareness, not just to give away free stuff.
Oh, and hashtags are by far the simplest means of keeping track of who entered your contest for free. You can use social media management apps like Sprout to help you monitor and identify all the posts with your branded hashtag.
You don’t need to run contests week after week to reap the rewards. Contests can spike your follower count and engagement, but they’re also a great social media idea for campaigns like product launches.
