So you may have heard about giveaways and contests as a great way to grow your Instagram account. However, you may have run across those videos and articles online about how giveaways will kill your Instagram account and how you should avoid them.

Who’s correct?

Well, both. Let’s take a look at how this can be.

Followers for the Wrong Reasons

The difference between whether a giveaway or contest will kill or boost your Instagram account depends on what you’re giving away.

If you give away something that lots of people want, but something that also doesn’t relate to the theme, products or services of your account, then prepare your account for an early and disappointing death.

For example, if you sell eco-friendly dog treats, but have a giveaway for an iPhone, your account will grow very fast. It will grow extremely fast with people who are interested in winning an iPhone. What’s the problem with this? Well, when the winner is announced, everyone who was interested in winning an iPhone will unfollow you en mass.

This disappoints the Instagram algorithm. It will think that you must have low-quality content or are involved in “tips” and “tricks” that go against community guidelines. This is when your engagement drops sharply, not only as a result of the mass following but also because Instagram is showing your content to fewer and fewer people.

So, how can we prevent this disappointing outcome that leaves your account worse off than it was with a low follower count in the first place?

Followers Who Actually Care

Now, if you hope to keep your followers, they need to be interested and engaged with the type of content your account usually offers.

So, if you have an eco-friendly dog treat brand, you want followers who care about the environment and want to pamper their dogs.  What should you give away to people who value such things? Your own product of course! When people get into a contest and follow your account to win something that your brand lives and breathes, they will be much more likely to stick around once the contest is over.

Similarly, if you’re a dog trainer, give away a free tuition to a puppy obedience course. If you produce horse supplements, give those away. If you’re a groomer, give away a free session to a specific type of dog owner.  If you breed bearded dragons, create a giveaway that screens the perfect candidate who’s committed to keeping the animal for its lifespan rather than just tossing it aside after a year.

This is the only type of giveaway you should be running. It will: A. Increase your following, and B. Attract engaged followers who are already interested in your product or service.

Relevant Giveaways Aren’t Perfect

Of course, not everyone who follows you for such a relevant giveaway will remain your follower. Let’s face it, some people are just out to get free stuff, no matter how closely your brand meets their needs.  However, most people will continue to follow you since they’re already interested in what you offer. Maybe they’ll stick around to see if there’ll be another giveaway, to learn more about eco-friendly treat production, or to learn some dog training tips.

As they stick around and consume your content, they’ll get to know, like and trust your brand, priming them to be loyal future customers and fans.

If you need help designing an Instagram giveaway or making one part of your strategy, don’t hesitate to grab a strategy session, where I can help you tailor a personalized plan for increasing your Instagram reach and improving your ROI.