Do Giveaways Actually Work?

When businesses and influencers want to grow their account, one of the first thoughts is hosting a giveaway. But do giveaways really help you grow? And if they do, does that audience really care about what you have to offer, or do they just want to win and forget they followed you?

Giveaways can have an impact, but only if you do them correctly. You should always think about two things when planning a giveaway:

• When was my last giveaway?

• Is this something that relates to me and my audience?

If you host giveaways too frequently, your audience will get tired of them. They’ll feel like a gimmick, because they are! It will be clear that you’re using giveaways to get followers, and your followers will recognize that your focus is on growing your account and not on nurturing your audience. 

Oftentimes, giveaways can bring in lots of followers—but those followers will immediately unfollow when the giveaway is done, or they won’t engage with your content. The numbers don’t matter if they don’t care about what you post. Make sure your giveaway is related to what you and your audience already love. That way the new people that find you from a giveaway are more likely to interact with your account.

To get the most people to enter your giveaway, keep the rules simple! Don’t involve more than one other account at the most—no one wants to follow a bunch of random accounts. Keep the entry period short, less than a week, and make sure to edit your caption when you choose a winner. 

Follow all of these steps, and a giveaway will HELP you, not HURT your online reputation. Need help planning one? Let’s chat!