Giveaways appear to be a classic Instagram growth tip, but they typically backfire and have the opposite of the desired effect.
While contests themselves are not very noteworthy, the fact that they no longer function as they once did due to Instagram’s updated algorithm does. Once you begin the giveaway, it seems like you’re making progress towards your goal: your following rises rapidly, engagement rates rise, and so on. The situation however becomes hopeless after the freebie.
This article explores the causes and potential solutions to this problem.
Usual Contest Premises
The two main categories of Instagram competitions are massive public prizes and company-focused events. Only the second is actually beneficial to your profile, since it increases the likelihood of you being seen by your ideal clients.
Massive, generic contests and the rewards they provide aren’t designed for your audience, but rather for those who want anything for nothing.
But, the mechanics and storyline of competitions remain unchanged: you make an announcement, provide the reward, and set the requirements for followers to meet.
At first, the method is effective, and people begin following, commenting on, tagging, watching, and otherwise interacting with your posts (if you include such needs in the requirements) and tales. The Instagram algorithm is tricked into thinking your material is high quality, and as a result, the number of people who see your profile grows. It’s no problem for you to hand out the winning award (s).
Nevertheless, they are time-sensitive events that occur only while the giveaway is active.
If the competition ends, what comes next? Users stop interacting with you, less people see your posts, and eventually you lose their support and they stop following you.
For what reasons might giveaways be bad for your account?
What went wrong after the contest can only be grasped by knowing how the Instagram algorithm functions. It’s been mentioned many times before, but to sum up: Instagram is clever because it only presents us with stuff that we’re likely to find engaging and hence remark on, share, and like.
Precedence is given to the accounts with which we have the most interaction. As a result, Instagram prioritises posts based on how well you interact with a certain account.
Instagram is taking on spam, false accounts, fake likes, and fake comments. Instagram’s rules prohibit contests in and of themselves, and if you don’t do it right, you might end up hurting your profile’s popularity.
So, what follows a fatal give-away?
Ghost followers
Offering generic and costly prizes like iPhones, computers, and vehicles will bring in a lot of individuals who aren’t interested in your area.
Toss out of your mind the idea that giving out iPads will help you get more notoriety. Winners will include folks who have no interest in you or your material.
Once the contest ends, you can be sure that many of them will either stop following you or remain in the background as “ghost” followers. In addition to harming ER, fake followers provide nothing of value.
Partners will also feel the effects if you organise a so-called loop giveaway in which you pledge to drive traffic to the accounts of bloggers or other companies.
There has been a decline in your ER
You want people to like, comment, and share your articles and tales because you’re running a contest. If they don’t, they won’t be able to claim the reward they came seeking.
As soon as you declare a victor, the previously engaged audience stops reading your updates and never returns, regardless of how interesting or relevant the material is. You probably already know why: they aren’t your target demographic, and they have no interest in you or what you have to say.
With fewer people interested in what you have to say, Instagram will stop promoting your posts. Thus, fewer people will see your updates and stories.
How can you ensure that your giveaway does not result in a defunct account?
Your freebies should be tailored to the exact audience you’re trying to reach.
Take the case of a photographer who wishes to increase account interaction and service sales (photoshoots).
How do we proceed?
This is the incorrect approach: giving away a smartphone. There are too many individuals who want this reward, and not all of them live in the region where you’re selling your services, therefore the giveaway won’t work. Too many people who aren’t potential customers will end up consuming your content and services.
Poor strategy: throwing in a camera. The camera is not a fantastic deal if your goal is to entice clients through your photographs. It caters to a specific subset of the population, but isn’t aimed at anybody in particular. Giving away the camera is a great approach to get more people interested in your page if that is your objective. You shouldn’t do it in any other scenario.
Offering a complimentary picture shoot is the correct approach. Your clients will appreciate this reward. Your Instagram followers, both brands and ordinary users, are likely to appreciate your creations. Offering a complimentary picture session might be a great approach to gain new fans and patrons.
A few more pointers:
It’s important to recognise your target demographic and cater to their wants and requirements. Provide a service or product that people will want to buy from you. You may learn this by perusing the feedback people provide in the comments section of your articles, conducting polls inside your narratives, and researching the types of requests made by the audiences of your rivals.
Verify that you have the resources to keep your word. Make sure you have enough prizes if you intend to fulfil your commitment to award all comments on the contest post with a reward.
Master the use of hashtags. If you want more people to enter your contest, you should utilise the hashtags that your target audience already uses to find content like yours.
You need to specify the terms very carefully. You should clearly state the requirements for entry in the title of your contest post, such as “like,” “tag,” “repost,” and so on.
You should also be very specific about selecting and announcing the winner.
Give the last day to enter the contest.
