As online marketers, we understand that collaboration is one of the best ways to build brand awareness on social media. This is why Instagram giveaways have been a popular way to grow audiences over the years. But as most of us have come to find out, consumers are becoming pickier and pickier with who they follow and engage with. No longer are they willing to follow 10+ accounts and leave multiple comments in order to enter a giveaway. They’d rather just buy the products or refrain from entering altogether. So, what’s a marketer to do?
We encourage you to look at giveaways differently in 2022. Instead of hosting a giveaway each month, maybe move to a larger, more value-based giveaway once a quarter. Most importantly, partner with brands that align with your audience and values (without being a direct competitor). Remember that partnerships aren’t limited to brands that have a larger following than you. We recommend partnering with brands of all sizes as each of them can get you in front of your ideal customer.
Here are our best tips for partnering with another brand for a social media giveaway:
Instagram Tips
As mentioned above, keep giveaways to a quarterly minimum. If you create or collab on too many, they become normal content vs something special that your audience finds immense value in.
Write clear steps on how to enter the giveaway. If there are any special requirements (such as age) make sure to mention those. You’ll also want to include the start and end date/time of the giveaway. That way your audience knows when they can expect a winner to be announced. When writing out the rules of the giveaway, it’s important to note that Instagram is not affiliated or sponsoring the giveaway in any way.
You can hype up the giveaway even more by creating a “Countdown Sticker” on Instagram stories for your audience(s) to be notified at the time of the drawing (especially if you’re doing this on Instagram Live).
Brand Collaboration Tips
Once you have a brand in mind that you’d like to collaborate with, check their Instagram or website to see if they have a preferred method of communication. For example, some brands have a strict “No DMs” policy, so you’d want to contact them via email.
When pitching the collaboration to the brand, you’ll want to include the following details:
- Why you think the collab is beneficial to both parties
- Suggested products and why you chose them for the giveaway
- Suggested launch dates/timelines
- Resources needed (ex: photographer)
Final Note: We recommend having an outline (normally the “host” puts this together) that includes all details of the giveaway (including what each brand is responsible for, posting times, etc). This will help keep everyone accountable.
When it comes to measuring the giveaway’s success, you’ll want to dive into your Instagram Insights for all parties to look at impressions, reach, follower growth, and website traffic. Keep in mind that no matter how targeted your giveaways are, there will always be some followers that “fall off” after the giveaway has ended.
Also, don’t forget to have fun!
