We’ve all been waiting for this day and it has finally arrived: it’s now possible to run automatic giveaways on Instagram Stories! Stories have become a social media must; they achieve excellent reach and engagement, and this is why so many brands have been looking for ways to organize promotions and contests on Instagram Stories.
Comment giveaways on Instagram have been booming for some time now, and we’ve been here to help you make the most of the opportunity. Many customers had been asking us for an automatic way to run giveaways on Instagram Stories; they wanted to further engage users, generate visibility, and boost the brand. However, until not long ago, this wasn’t possible, as Facebook didn’t allow third-party tools to pull information from Instagram Stories. Luckily for everyone, this has now changed, and the recent Instagram API update now makes it possible to organize automatic giveaways on Instagram Stories. The Easypromos app has been verified by Facebook and authorized as an Instagram Story giveaway picker tool! Our tools guarantee the transparent and proper use of data, for both the competition organizer and users.
You can now find our Instagram Story Giveaway tool in our giveaway apps.
Until now, Stories have been one of the most important sources of traffic for any online promotion or giveaway. For sure you’ve come across your favorite brand promoting their sweepstakes on Stories.
Stories will definitely continue to be one of the most effective giveaway promotion tactics but now they have also become a new way to generate engagement and visibility for your brand.
In this blog post, we take a look at different ways to run Instagram Story Giveaways. We share real examples and take a look at all the possibilities that Story giveaways bring for brands and influencers.
Important: Please note, that in order to participate in Instagram Story giveaways with mentions, Instagram users must have public accounts. Story mentions from private accounts won’t be included in the final prize draw.
How to organize an Instagram Story giveaway?
Let us start by pointing out that Instagram Story giveaways are short-term visibility-generating actions that normally last 24 hours, just like a typical Story. However, it is possible for an Instagram Story giveaway to go on for a maximum duration of seven days, although this is not always recommended (it all depends on your brand size). If you run a small brand with little social media interaction, making your Story giveaway last more than one day can be a great idea to boost your brand and attract more followers. All you have to do is publish various Stories promoting the giveaway. However, Instagram is an important part of your customer support, a Story giveaway might make it difficult to identify user messages, questions, and inquiries not related to the giveaway. In this case, we would recommend organizing a flash giveaway lasting between 24 and 48 hours.
The whole point of Instagram Story giveaways is to generate buzz and visibility for your brand. Users participate in your Story giveaway by:
- mentioning your brand in their Story: by tagging your brand in their Stories, participants automatically spread the word about your giveaway among their followers. This is the most important aspect as it’ll definitely result in new participants, as well as viewers and followers for your brand.
- replying to your Story: if you’re rather looking to simply reward your audience by giving them a chance to win prizes, simply ask them to reply to your Story. You can ask them to use a specific hashtag. Using hashtags will also help you filter giveaway participations from other messages or inquiries sent by your followers via private messages so that they’re not entered into your prize draw.
When using Easypromos to select a random winner of your Instagram Story giveaway, choose from two different dynamics:
But why organize an Instagram Story giveaway?
As we’ve already explained, Story giveaways are fantastic for generating visibility and engagement for your brand over a short period of time. But how does it benefit your brand and its followers?
Flash giveaways are popular with social media users as they discover if they’re one of the winners within a few hours. Such giveaways also bring about excitement and buzz for your brand, encouraging participants to find out more about the organizer or its products. This means that your brand generates potential new customers, as well as boosts loyalty and trust on social media, especially if it uses a reliable tool for choosing the winner of the Instagram Story giveaway.
To further reinforce customer loyalty, make sure you enable the auto-reply message option available with Easypromos. Each user that mentions your brand or replies to your Instagram Story Giveaway, will receive an automatic reply confirming their entry into your prize draw.
For the best results and distribution of your giveaway, publish the giveaway on your Instagram Story and then immediately access the Instagram Story Giveaway application to start real-time monitoring right from the beginning.
And to encourage participation, highlight the giveaway on your feed by publishing a post that will direct users to your Story. You can also create a series of Stories that you can post over a few days prior to publishing the giveaway; it will generate expectations as users will be looking out for the special promotion. Don’t forget to cross-promote your Story giveaway on other social media channels – that’s if you’re looking to attract as many participants as possible!
Examples and ideas for Instagram Story giveaways
So… Are you ready to launch your first automatic Instagram Story giveaway? We understand if you’re not exactly sure where to start… This is why we’re here to help!
Take a look at the following examples of Instagram Story giveaways. In the first illustration, you can see how a handbag brand asked users to reply to the Story to simply explain why they wanted to win a new bag, while the second giveaway organizer asked participants to reply to the Story to explain which season is their favorite. In return, all participants had a chance to win a free spa session. The last example shows the other Instagram Story giveaway dynamic; an ice cream brand asked its audience to publish a picture of their favorite ice cream and mention the ice cream brand.
The first two examples show clearly how giveaways on Instagram Stories can be used to generate engagement and user interaction; the last giveaway example presents the possibility of generating visibility and buzz for your product, in this case, ice creams.
What are the aims of Instagram Story giveaways?
- Better visibility. By interacting with your Stories, your followers show interest in your content. This means that Instagram will then highlight your Stories to those followers by placing them in a better position in the feed.
- Boosting engagement. There are lots of benefits of users interacting with your brand. You can learn about the tastes and preferences of your brand’s community. Result: increased reach and better brand recognition, while you can offer your users the products they like best.
- Building brand loyalty. The followers of your brand will feel rewarded by the giveaway. As a result, they’ll have a positive image of the brand. This then creates new interactions and conversions.
- Improving communication. A happy customer is a perfect ambassador for your brand. Your giveaway will quickly go viral and you’ll gain new followers too.
Things to bear in mind when running Instagram Story giveaways
- The Story image announcing your giveaway should be clearly identified. You don’t want it to get lost among other Stories.
- Make it clear that you’re running a giveaway, and what the prize is too.
- Use .gifs, music, and bright colors to attract attention. Make sure your Story isn’t overlooked!
- Stories only stay up for a short time (24 hours); make sure you share various Stories if your giveaway is running for more than 24 hours. Remind users of when the contest closes, too!
- Highlight the giveaway Stories on your profile. Then they’ll always be there for users who want to know a bit more about you and your brand.
Don’t have a graphic designer? Limited design skills? Then use Canva to create the perfect image for your story.
Are you ready to get the most out of your Stories and accomplish the objectives set in your marketing plan? But in case of any questions, don’t hesitate to chat with our Support Team. They’re here to help and inspire!
