I Tried An Instagram Giveaway And Here’s What Happened…
There’s a lot of shady things that happen on Instagram.
And there are few different types of Instagram giveaways that are questionable.
As a social media strategist and someone whose job is to understand different methods of growth on Instagram, I made the initial decision to try something that I have been curious about. I was very back and forth on it because I knew the risks I was taking with putting my account on the line, and losing trust in my followers, if my actions were taken the wrong way.
This is something that has been on my mind for quite some time now. My job is to help brands and clients grow their social media organically, and I have had clients ask me if it was a good idea to participate in hidden giveaways to boost their following in the beginning.
Now, let me be clear: not all Instagram giveaways are bad.
I want to be very clear that I am not calling out that all giveaways are bad and a ploy to gain followers. What I am focusing on specifically is the INTENT behind the giveaway.
If you’re participating in a giveaway every other day or week… I’m not buying your ‘I just want to give back to my community’ speech. It’s clear where your intentions are. And it shows.
I have participated in giveaways myself, but for the sole reason to collaborate with content creators I know and / or actually thank my followers for the support and do something special for them.
Before I share the progress and results of the giveaway I participated in on the 4th of July, I wanted to share my take on the different types of giveaways that can help boost your following:
Hidden Giveaways: giveaways where buy-ins can range up to $500, and you are not required to post about the giveaway at all on your Instagram. You don’t know the ‘secret host’ who is the one posting about the giveaway on their feed or IG Stories, but they are typically someone with a massive following (anywhere from 600K to 4mil). Your numbers skyrocket up and then fluctuate after the giveaway is over.
These are at the top of my shadiest things on Instagram ranking. Probably a 10/10. Hidden giveaways, in my opinion, are equivalent to buying followers and slapping the word ‘giveaway’ on your shady method. Why? The whole point of giveaways is to give back to your audience and allow them to win something to thank them for supporting / following you. When you buy-in a hidden giveaway, you are not even giving your followers the chance to win the prize, you’re letting someone who has a bigger following to essentially ‘post’ about the giveaway on their account and just skyrocketing anywhere from 3K to 10K, depending on the prize and host.
Giveaways **every week**: giveaways that are HUGE cash prizes, Sephora makeup, REVOLVE gift cards, Target gift cards, etc. that you see WAY TOO MUCH.
There isn’t a name for these types of giveaways but you hear about them ALL. THE. TIME. I mean… every other day, every week, every other week… it’s consistent and it’s constant. You see a ‘blogger $1,000 PayPal gifting’ or a ‘$1,000 Amazon gift card giveaway’ or a “HUGE Sephora makeup giveaway' on your feed or your Stories, and it just never ends. Again, I want to point out the intent behind these giveaways. If you’re giving away a Sephora gift card every week… what is your intent behind that? That’s important.
Loop Giveaways: giveaways that are organized with a set number of people, coordinated to go up at the same time, and each participant must tag the next participant and the next until it loops back around. To enter, you must follow every person that is tagged in the loop giveaway.
I’ve participated in a loop giveaway before (back when it first started) and then realized how messed up my demographics were after that. I would rank this type of giveaway a 7/10. It always depends on the prize, the participants and the timing of the giveaway. However, in my opinion, the number of participants can range up to 50 people, and the ones I have personally seen on my feed have come across as disingenuous.
Collaborative Giveaways: I want to circle back to what I mentioned in the beginning that not all giveaway are bad. I do think it is valuable to do giveaways once in awhile — either by yourself, a brand, or with people you collaborate with. There is nothing wrong with offering your own products, services, and offering different prizes to give back to your community. I personally like these types of giveaways because they are meaningful and your profile can reach people who fit your demographics and are interested in what you share.
After speaking with several content creators and friends who have experienced it themselves, I wanted to do an experiment with a big account (mine) and a small account (my kittens’ Instagram page: @pepperandluna_cats) and document the results.
BEFORE (left) and AFTER (left) and starting stats
DAY ONE
DAY TWO
DAY THREE
IN CONCLUSION…
I gained a total of 133 followers and have been losing 3-4 on average for every day after the giveaway. For this giveaway specifically, I’ve seen less of a decline, which is interesting because most people just drop followers after the winner is announced. My starting top locations and DAY TWO changed slightly, while my age range stayed the same before and after the giveaway. I gained more reach, but lost impressions between the week of the giveaway and when the giveaway ended. I’m surprised at the results of this giveaway because I’ve heard many people lose a LOT of followers from giveaways, but I didn’t seem to be as affected. There are many factors that play a part here: the type of followers, the type of giveaway, the timing of the giveaway, and more.
I obviously cannot rule out that all giveaways are like this, but this was definitely a surprise to me.
FOR A SMALLER ACCOUNT (Pepper and Luna)
BEFORE (left) and AFTER (right)
DAY ONE
DAY TWO
DAY THREE
IN CONCLUSION…
I didn’t notice anything drastic with Pepper and Luna’s Instagram account, besides the jump in followers. Because the account had low reach, impressions, and followers to begin with, it was beneficial for a smaller account to participate in this sort of giveaway. I was surprised to see that the reach decreased, while the impressions increased on the first day following the giveaway. The follower count started to fluctuate when the giveaway ended, but it’s been a steady decline.
I’m curious… what are your thoughts on Instagram giveaways? Have you participated in one before?
I’d love to hear from you!