Creating brand awareness is a lot easier said than done, especially for novice entrepreneurs. One needs to spend a tremendous amount of effort and time to reach out to people who could be potential customers. Not to mention the cost it may bring if one uses a method such as an influencer marketing and automation tools (which is a risky method) to gain followers.
Thankfully, Instagram contests are the new thing in town. Using just a single Instagram post, you’ll get a chance to get real followers and boosts your brand’s online visibility in a short period. If this is your first time to hear about it and curious how to run an Instagram contest, then read on as we will explain the details below.
Planning and Goal Settings
Before thinking of what kind of Instagram contest you are going to make, first, you need to create a plan and determine your goal. Do you plan on targeting local Instagram users and build a local community, or you just intend to increase brand awareness? Depending on your chosen objective, make sure to plan it using the SMART goal-setting framework. Once you finalize your objective, then it’s time for the next step, which is determining what kind of Instagram contest you are going to create.
Determining your Instagram contest type
There are actually five types of an Instagram contest that most online marketers and Influencers are currently using. The type of Instagram contest you are going to use depends on the objective you want to achieve. The following are the five most popular types of Instagram contests to date.
Like-to-win contest
This is the most basic and most straightforward type of Instagram contest. For an Instagram user to qualify, he/she have to double-tap your contest post and like it. This method also ensures that all users who liked the post will get a fair shot of winning since one user will only get one entry.
Comment-to-win contest
Aside from liking a post, you can also use Instagram commenting as a method of the contest. For the Instagram users to join, they can simply leave a comment, either an emoji or a caption related to your brand. However, make sure to specify the number of entries per person.
Tag-to-win contest
If you intend to increase visibility and brand awareness, then this method is perfect for your Instagram contest. However, make sure that you have enough existing followers to make this contest work since you need them to ‘tag their friends’ to participate. This type of strategy creates a domino effect since tagging doesn’t stop with your current followers; new tagged friends will eventually tag others, and so forth.
Repost-to-win contest
This method requires a specific image containing your brand and the contest mechanics. However, make sure to create an image that can catch the attention of your viewers and, at the same time, engaging to make it effective. To easily monitor entries, you have to create a specific hashtag for this contest. Since people are going to repost your image with your brand in it, it will be an excellent way to showcase what your brand has to offer.
Follow-me contest
Another great way to boost the number of your followers and increase visibility is by influencing people to follow you and offer them a chance to win a prize. Similar to ‘Like-to-win,’ users only have to click the follow button for them to qualify in the contest.
Conclusion
While there are lots of ways to increase your brand visibility on Instagram, using a contest is one of the most effective methods and the most cost-effective too. So which contest method you like the most? Tell us by leaving a comment below.