How to Do a Giveaway on Instagram

Posted on 7th Nov, 2025.

TL;DR (The Short Version)

A giveaway is when you run a competition on social media and the winner is gifted something.
Giveaways can increase your reach, attract new followers, and help you boost your reputation online.
Read on for the steps to follow for a successful giveaway.

Running a giveaway on Instagram is one of the most effective ways to boost engagement, attract new followers, and get your brand or page noticed, especially if the criteria for entering the giveaway involves engage with your profile. When done well, a giveaway can help you reach a bigger audience than just your followers.

In this blog post, we'll explore what a giveaway is, how they can boost your account, and how to successfully pull one off. Let's get into it.

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What is a Giveaway?

A giveaway is an online competition where you offer a prize in exchange for a small action from your audience, such as liking a post, tagging a friend, following your account, or sharing your content.

On Instagram, giveaways are a fun and simple way to increase interaction. They usually run for a short period and end with a random or selected winner. Some are big brand collaborations with thousands of entries, while others are smaller, more personal events between creators and their communities.

The key is that both sides benefit: your followers get the chance to win something exciting, and you gain visibility, engagement, and often new, genuine followers who are interested in what you do.

Benefits of Doing a Giveaway

Giveaways aren’t just about free prizes (although they're a huge plus!), they’re a smart marketing tool that can help your account grow quickly and authentically. Here's how.

Grow your audience: Asking entrants to follow your account or tag friends exposes your page to new people and can boost your follower count in days. Plus, the extra likes can help you get to the Explore page.

Increase engagement: Giveaways encourage likes, comments, and shares, which improves your visibility in Instagram’s algorithm. The more interaction your post receives, the more likely it is to appear on others’ feeds and the Explore page, which in turn creates more engagement and continues as a cycle.

Promote your products or services: Offering your own products as prizes showcases what you sell in a natural, non-salesy way and encourages potential customers to learn more.

Build community: Rewarding your followers helps build trust and loyalty. It makes people feel appreciated and more likely to stick around after the giveaway ends. Many new followers will forget to unfollow you post-giveaway, so they'll see

Boost traffic or sales: Including simple actions like visiting your website or signing up to your newsletter can turn social engagement into tangible business results, even off Instagram.

How to Run a Successful Giveaway on Instagram

Step 1: Set a Clear Goal

Before you launch your giveaway, decide what you want to achieve. Are you hoping for more followers, better engagement, or extra visibility for a product launch? A clear purpose will guide your design, entry rules, and choice of prize.

Step 2: Pick the Right Prize

Choose something that appeals to your ideal audience and fits your brand. A small business could give away one of its bestsellers (which also helps to promote your brand), while a café might offer a free brunch for two. Avoid random high-value items that attract people with no interest in your content, such as a cash or electronics giveaway, because they’ll likely unfollow once the competition ends.

Step 3: Choose How People Enter

Keep your entry process simple and clear. The most effective formats include asking people to like your post and tag a friend, making them follow to enter or share to stories (though the latter is harder to track) or asking for user-generated content, such as followers posting your product with a specific hashtag.

Limit your entry requirements to one or two steps. Too many will put people off.

Step 4: Write Clear Rules

Every giveaway should include the basic details, i.e. how to enter, who can participate, the deadline, how the winner will be chosen, and when the result will be announced. Always mention that the giveaway is not affiliated with Instagram.

You can share the full terms on your website or in your bio, but keep your caption version short and easy to read.

Step 5: Create an Eye-Catching Post

Make your giveaway post stand out. Use bold visuals and high-quality photos of the prize, and add “GIVEAWAY” clearly on the image or reel cover so people know what it’s about at a glance.

Here's an example of the text:

🎉 GIVEAWAY ALERT! 🎉 Win our brand new skincare set worth £100!

List the entry steps, highlight the deadline, and make sure your tone matches your brand personality. Carousel posts and short videos work especially well for showing prizes or explaining how to enter.

Step 6: Promote Your Giveaway

To get real traction, promote your giveaway across your platforms. Mention it in your stories, pin it to the top of your profile, and share reminders as the closing date approaches. If you’re collaborating with another creator or brand, make sure both of you promote it to your audiences.

You can also invest a small amount in boosting the post to reach people who might be genuinely interested in your content.

Step 7: Select and Announce the Winner

When the competition ends, choose your winner fairly. Use a random selection tool if it’s a simple entry giveaway, or clearly explain how you judged if it was based on creativity, such as submitting an idea or video.

Announce the result publicly on your stories or feed, and thank everyone for taking part. Contact the winner directly through their official account and remind your followers that you’ll never ask for bank details or payment, to avoid any potential scammers taking advantage of your giveaway.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you pick a winner for an Instagram giveaway?

The fairest way to choose a winner depends on the type of giveaway you’re running. For random-entry giveaways (where people like, comment or follow to enter), use a tool such as Comment Picker, Wheel of Names, or a spreadsheet with numbered entries to draw one at random. This keeps the process transparent and fair.

If your giveaway is based on creativity, for example, the best photo or caption, make sure you’ve clearly explained the judging criteria beforehand. You can choose the winner yourself or with a small panel to keep things objective. Always announce the result publicly and thank everyone for taking part.

Can I promote a giveaway on Instagram?

Yes, you can absolutely promote a giveaway on Instagram. You can share reminders in your stories, pin the giveaway post to your profile, collaborate with another creator or brand, or even boost the post with paid promotion.

If you do decide to run paid ads, just make sure your post clearly states that it’s a giveaway, includes the entry instructions, and follows Instagram’s advertising guidelines. Keep your target audience specific so you attract people genuinely interested in your content or products, not just freebie hunters.

While hosting a giveaway doesn't guarantee huge growth, it can certainly increase your followers and views as well as helping you better connect with your community. Follow our steps for a successful giveaway that results in a boost for you and a fun treat for your followers.