4 Steps to Running a Successful Instagram Competition

Is your brand on Instagram but lacking the follower base you desire? Looking for a way to expand your audience and encourage client interaction? With an average of 1.6 million active users in Australia, there’s no hiding the incredible impact marketing through Instagram can have on your brand; but it does not come as simply as just having an Instagram account. Running an effective Instagram competition is one of the best ways to achieve a broad, loyal follower base, as well as allowing you to connect with your audiences on a heightened emotive level.

As with any good marketing campaign, an Instagram competition requires thorough assessment, planning and design, with clear goals for outcomes. If you’ve never run an Instagram competition before, or are looking for ways to improve your next competition, read ahead for everything you need to know.

Before you get started, there are a few things you need to consider to be sure running an Instagram competition will work for your brand. There is little benefit in running social media marketing campaigns if your social media pages are not up to scratch. Aside from having a solid follower base (at least several hundred on Instagram), you should at the very least have a good Facebook page; a social media marketing fundamental. Your social media pages should be run by a dedicated community manager, and already gaining steady momentum with connections and interactivity.

Though running Instagram competitions can be an extremely effective social media marketing strategy, it’s a good idea to do some thorough research before you begin, to make sure that it will be effective for your brand. Firstly, who is your audience?  What is their median age, gender, location, occupation and interests? Use this information to customise the competition for them, and determine whether you will achieve the goals you’ve set for your brand through the competition. Some simple statistical research should be able to answer these questions. Did you know that 68% of Instagram users are female? Or that over 90% of people on Instagram are under the age of 35? These simple stats alone tell us a lot about Instagram’s reach, and that if your brand is targeting women under 35, the chances are you’re using the right platform. If your audience doesn’t fit into either category, perhaps running an Instagram competition is not ideal for your brand.

Similarly to Facebook, Instagram has a set of guidelines regarding photo competitions. In essence you must:

–       Supply participants with the official rules

–       State eligibility requirements

–       Comply with rules supplied

–       Not deceptively tag content

–       Verify that the competition is not sponsored, endorsed by, or associated with Instagram

For the complete list visit the Instagram Help Centre.

You can supply the simplified rules as a photo caption or as text on your competition post (more below).

There are two competition formats you can choose to utilise in your Instagram competition; sweepstakes or competition. Sweepstakes (or game of chance) are commonly undertaken through the enter to win/like to win/follow to win strategy. Though sweepstakes are excellent for increasing followers and exposure, you simultaneously run the risk of losing this interactivity once the competition is over. Most importantly, under the Australian Lotteries and Art Unions Act, running a ‘game of chance’ competition requires the acquisition of a permit. For more information, visit the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing website.

Running a competition without sweepstakes (where a judge determines the winning entry on its qualities) is the more popular and often more effective format. Competitions encourage qualitative interaction and can reinforce positive brand perception. Running a photo competition on Instagram also sparks creativity in audiences; keeping you in the forefront of their minds for a period of time.

You can be as creative or straightforward as you like with your photo competition; determining this will depend upon your target audience. The competition should be in line with your brand’s product/services, image and values. Take a look at Toronto International Film Festival’s most recent Instagram photo competition:

The festival (TIFF) launched the competition alongside Twitter, calling participants to take photos inspired by a theme that changed daily (for example, #popcorn). Participants were required to use the unique hashtag #TIFF12MOMENTS, and the daily themed hashtag. Though the prizes were small (two tickets to a festival film), they were released daily during the festival’s duration, and ignited awareness and hype.

When developing the practicalities of your competition, the most important thing to remember is to make it a positive experience for your audience. Doing so will not only heighten interactivity, but also reflect well on your brand. The following considerations should be at the forefront of your decision making:

Depending on your budget and the scale of the competition, the prize can be as simple as a mention or repost (good for blogging circles) or as generous as a high-value product or service courtesy of your brand. It’s a good idea to keep prizes in-house and use your brand’s own product or service as a prize, unless the competition is part of a cross-promotional campaign. What better way to make your products/services appealing than enticing audiences with a giveaway. Include a photo of the prize in your competition posts, and if you’re giving away a gift voucher, include an image (or more) of a product or service that can be purchased with the voucher.

Depending on the scale of your Instagram competition and the strength of your Facebook page, you may opt to keep the competition conducted solely through Instagram or with the assistance of an Instagram competition app (more below). Either way, you will need to design and create a competition post that briefly and cohesively explains the competition’s idea, requirements and terms. If you do not wish to supply terms on the image, create a page on your website that provides them and include a URL for it in the image. To give you an idea of how either can be done, take a look at these Instagram competition posts:

 A competition post with link to T&Cs. Credit: Fat Mum Slim

 A competition post that includes T&Cs. Credit: Dickies

If you decide to use an Instagram competition app, or to integrate or promote your competition within your other social media channels or website, you should design a competition page. The page, hosted by your brand’s home site should match the design of your Instagram competition post (or vice versa), and connect audiences seamlessly to the relevant social media pages. The page should include the competition’s rules and guidelines, even if they are included in the competition post. A great example is Lipton tea’s recent Instagram competition, “Liptagram”.