I have been thinking for a while that once I hit 1,000 fans on Instagram that I’d like to do a giveaway. There are a combinations of reasons for this. Firstly, and most mushily, it’s a thankyou. When I set up my Instagram account it did that thing where it automatically finds followers for you from your Facebook friends. I think it got a grand total of 60 followers or thereabouts from this. It’s not very much when you look at other people’s personal accounts. Probably because I am such an old lady with regards to social media these days at the ripe old age of 32. What it does mean though is that the majority of my followers have followed me to follow my art.
That’s worth a thankyou right?
And a giveaway is just that. Yet it’s about business too. Followers are more likely to stick with you if you incentivise them. These days you can read a lot of about new types of business models. One of these is the freemium economy. It’s the idea that freebies are a huge way to engage potential customers. It also creates value for money if you are willing to throw in extras for your customers. I do this throughout the year by offering free stickers with certain purchases from my store.
You had me at hello
Of course. A giveaway should help you to find new followers too. The trick is finding the right ones. You want to gain good reach for your post to engage people who might not know your work. By including interaction with your post as an integral part of entering the running to win the giveaway this should certainly improve the reach of your post. I’d avoid using hashtags like #giveaway if you don’t want to invite folk who might follow and unfollow once the competition ends, but if it improves your reach then that’s up to you. The giveaway will cost you the same to run whether you get 10 entries or 1000 but I’d just feel better about the winner being someone who I think would genuinely appreciate my work.
But what to giveaway?
This takes more thought than just picking a random item from your arsenal or something that hasn’t sold yet that you’ve had for a while. If you want your giveaway to have a high engagement, the prize has to be what people want. It also has to be worth whatever you are asking entrants to do for it. Following ten accounts, tagging five friends and sharing a post in their feed isn’t really worth it for a five pound mini print or a pack of stickers.
I’ve taken the approach of promoting a new product through my giveaway which is a great haul of a prize too. The product is my Mystery Hauls. Each one has unique contents which include at least a mini print, an A4 Print, original sketch, a badge pack, a sew on patch and a sticker. Phew! That’s just the minimum as well, each one will have extras within too. Each pack is worth at least £50. A Mystery Haul seemed the perfect value of prize for the engagement I was seeking for entry. Plus the chance to advertise a new product is great too.
Remember, it’s great to thank your fans and it helps to create a wonderful sense of community in Instagram. Just don’t give away anything that you can’t afford, and think about hidden costs too. Do you want to offer the prize worldwide? Would you cover the shopping cost if someone on the other side of the world won? The choice is up to you. Good luck!