How to Run an Instagram Giveaway: A Step-by-Step Plan and Rules

An Instagram giveaway is one of the fastest ways to get reach, new followers and activity under a post. But a poorly thought-out giveaway attracts freebie hunters who unfollow the next day, or ends in a scandal in the comments. Below is how to run an Instagram giveaway step by step: from the goal and the prize to picking a winner fairly and following the platform's rules.

Why run a giveaway

First, define the goal, because the entry conditions depend on it:

• New followers: the "follow" condition, possibly with a collaboration with another account.
• Engagement: the "leave a comment" condition with an answer to a question.
• Product awareness: a prize that showcases your product or service.
• Bringing back past customers: a giveaway among buyers or people who left a review.

The closer the prize is to your product, the more entrants will be potential customers rather than hunters for any kind of gift. An iPhone giveaway will bring thousands of people who have no interest in your flower shop.

How to run an Instagram giveaway: a step-by-step plan

1. Choose a prize

• Your product, a gift certificate or a service is the best option for a business.
• A bundle of several prizes increases interest, but it doesn't have to be expensive.
• Several winners instead of one give people more chances and reduce disappointment.

2. Set the entry conditions

The conditions should be simple. A typical set:

1. Follow the organizer's account (and the partners' accounts, if there are several).
2. Like the giveaway post.
3. Leave a comment: an answer to a question, an idea, a wish.

The more steps, the fewer entrants. Three or four actions is a reasonable limit.

3. Write the rules

Publish the rules in the post caption or as a separate document. At a minimum:

• who the organizer is and who can take part (age, country, delivery city);
• dates: start, end, date and time of the winner announcement;
• how the winner will be chosen;
• how the winner will receive the prize and how much time they have to respond;
• what happens if the winner doesn't respond (picking again);
• a disclaimer that the giveaway is not sponsored or administered by Instagram.

4. Prepare the post and the announcement

• A striking photo or video of the prize, with the word "giveaway" on the cover.
• Conditions in the first lines of the caption, rules below.
• An announcement in stories with a link sticker to the post, plus reminders in the middle and at the end.

5. Choose the duration

Usually three days to two weeks is enough. A short giveaway creates a sense of urgency; a long one gives more reach, but interest fades.

6. Pick the winner fairly

• Use a random number generator or a service that picks a winner from comments.
• Record your screen during the process or pick the winner on a live stream: this removes most "was it fair?" questions.
• Check whether the winner has met all the conditions.

7. Announce the results

Post the winner in stories and in a comment on the giveaway post, and message them in Direct. Later, show how the prize was delivered: this is the best advertising for your next giveaway.

Instagram rules for giveaways

Instagram (Meta) allows giveaways but has rules for promotions. At the time of writing, the key points are:

• You are responsible for the lawfulness of the giveaway, under both Instagram's rules and local law.
• Official rules are required: terms, eligibility requirements (age, place of residence), and how the winner is chosen.
• An Instagram disclaimer: entrants must understand that the giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by Instagram, and that Instagram is released from liability.
• You may not ask people to tag content inaccurately. For example, you can't ask people to tag themselves in photos they are not in. If you want a condition involving friends, ask people to mention a friend in the comments rather than tag people on the image itself.
• Instagram doesn't help run giveaways: it doesn't pick a winner or resolve disputes.

The rules may change, so before launching a large giveaway, review the current Promotion Guidelines in the Instagram Help Center.

What about the law

If a business runs the giveaway, the prize may count as the winner's income, which is subject to tax. For expensive prizes and large promotions, it is worth consulting an accountant or a lawyer. Also, don't collect unnecessary personal data from entrants: for delivery, a name, phone number and address are enough, and only from the winner.

A giveaway with partners

A joint giveaway by several accounts (a so-called giveaway loop) gives more reach than a solo one, because each partner brings their own audience. To make it work:

• Choose partners with a similar audience, but not direct competitors: a beauty salon, a photographer and a dress shop complement each other well.
• Don't gather dozens of sponsors. A "follow 30 accounts" condition scares off real people and attracts contest hunters who later unfollow en masse.
• Agree on roles in advance: who publishes the giveaway post, who picks the winner, who ships the prize and how you split the costs.
• Use a joint post (a collaboration) so that it appears in all partners' feeds at the same time.

After such a giveaway, each partner must be ready to retain the new people with their content, otherwise the spike in followers will quickly come to nothing.

How to avoid fake entrants

Popular giveaways always attract "contest" accounts that enter everything in sight. How to reduce their number:

• A prize useful only to your audience. A gift certificate for your services is less interesting to freebie hunters.
• A meaningful comment instead of an emoji. "Tell us which scent you would choose and why" filters out bots better than "+".
• Restrictions in the rules. For example: the account must be public, with a photo and posts, and not created yesterday; the winner can only be from a country you deliver to.
• Checking the winner. Before the announcement, look at their profile: posts, follows, and whether the feed consists only of giveaways. We described how to do this quickly in the article how to check an account for bots.
• Following at the time of the draw. Check whether the winner is still following you; the rules should provide for this.

Common mistakes

• Unclear conditions. "Follow all sponsors" without a list, and half the entrants fulfill the conditions incorrectly.
• No announcement date. People message you in Direct, get angry and accuse you of fraud.
• The winner is someone the organizer knows. Even if it's a coincidence, this destroys trust. Record the draw.
• The prize wasn't delivered. The worst scenario for your reputation.
• A giveaway with no content afterwards. After a giveaway, some of the new followers will leave. To make them stay, publish useful content during the promotion and plan your next posts.
• A giveaway every week. The audience gets used to coming only for gifts.

How to retain new followers after a giveaway

A giveaway gives a spike, not steady growth. To make sure it isn't wasted:

• set up your profile so that a new follower understands within seconds who you are and how you are useful; see profile setup tips;
• right after the giveaway, offer entrants a discount or a "consolation" bonus;
• keep a regular schedule of posts and stories.

Can you boost a giveaway

People see a giveaway post with only a few likes as inactive and are less likely to take part. So that the giveaway doesn't start from zero, some organizers boost the post itself: on InstaHub you can order likes or reach by link, without a password. This helps the post look alive in the first hours, but it doesn't replace an interesting prize and fair conditions. What you shouldn't do is boost the entrants in the giveaway itself: that deceives your own followers.