Did you know that Instagram accounts that run giveaways or contests can increase followers up to 70% faster than those that don't?

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With more than one billion active users, Instagram has become one of the most effective digital marketing platforms. Its popularity and format have allowed companies to use it as a tool to make their brands visible, expand their reach and interact with their audience.

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One of the most used practices to achieve these digital marketing objectives on Instagram is undoubtedly holding contests. An exchange, in which companies offer valuable products or services in exchange for certain actions (follow, comment, share, post, use a certain hashtag, among others), which aim to achieve previously defined objectives. In this post, we will give you a guide to the steps you must follow to create a successful Instagram contest.

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1. Define your objectives: The first step to start a contest is to define the objectives you want to achieve. Whether generating interaction, increasing reach or increasing the number of followers, it is important that you have a clear purpose that guides your strategies, and allows you to evaluate their success once completed.

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2. Establish the participation mechanics: Set the guidelines that your audience must follow to participate in the contest. Choose them, according to the previously established objective. Some may be: Follow, use a certain hashtag, comment, tag friends, share, publish a photo or video with a tag, among others.

3. Create a representative hashtag: One of the most important elements for a contest to be attractive is the use of hashtags. Make sure you create a unique and attractive one that identifies your contest and links it to the content you want to generate. This should be brief, relevant and memorizable.

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4. Choose the contest prize: If you want the audience to participate, you need to give them a good incentive to do so. Therefore, you must offer them relevant and attractive products or services that aim to satisfy their desires and interests.  

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5. Define the method to choose the winner: It is important to be clear and let your audience know how the winner will be chosen. Among the most popular ways are voting, the use of juries or the use of automatic random selection tools.  

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6. Define terms and conditions: When running a contest, you must follow certain legal guidelines and make them known to your audience. We recommend that you share a link in your bio with the terms and conditions necessary for the development of the contest.

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Some of the most common are:

- Start and end dates of the contest.

- Detailed description of the prize.

- Requirements that must be met to obtain the prize.

- Participation restrictions (country, age, etc.).

- Guidelines for choosing the winner.

- Winner's time period to respond and claim the prize.

- Prize delivery details

- Acknowledgment that the promotion is not sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Instagram or any other social media used during the contest.

To avoid legal problems, be sure to seek advice from a lawyer when carrying out the contest.

7. Promote the contest: Use organic and paid promotion to make your contest known to as many people as possible in the target audience. In this way, you will increase the chances of participation.

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8. Select the winner and announce it publicly: To guarantee the transparency and validity of the contest, it is advisable to select and announce the winner publicly. In this way you will show your audience the correct performance of the activity and increase your credibility for future contests.  

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9. Evaluate the success of your contest: Once the contest is over, it is essential that you measure its results in terms of meeting the objectives. This will not only allow you to evaluate its effectiveness, but will also give you information to identify possible points of success or improvement for your next contests. You already know the steps you need to run a successful Instagram contest. Now let's get to work!

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We understand that navigating these waters can be challenging, but you're not alone. Schedule a free strategy call with our CEO, Alex Hollander.

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