Instagram giveaway pages are a way to gain more followers quickly without the use of spammy robots. But do they actually pay off? The answer isn’t very clear.
After much hesitation, I decided to participate in one of these giveaways. I wanted to see if they were legit, what the process was like, and if it was worth it from a financial perspective. I chose to do a giveaway with Gotta Have It Giveaways. I chose that page after personally messaging women who were participating in a giveaway to get their opinion on it and confirm validity. Most of them said it was worth a try and the company was, in fact, legitimate. A tip I got was to engage with each new follower to help retention rate. A common problem with a giveaway like this is gaining a lot of followers and then losing them as soon as the giveaway is over.
You can find giveaways for as little as $20 and some for thousands. It’s quite broad (and risky if you are doing high cost, in my opinion). Typically, lower cost giveaways will require the audience to follow a lot of accounts, 40+ in order to be eligible to win. Frankly, following that many people at one time can get you flagged by IG for spammy behavior so that’s already a concern for me. It’s also important to remember that as a participant, you are one of many so people are likely following you without coming to your page.
The page I did the giveaway with had about 60k+ followers at the time, but I only gained about 300-400 followers *before* losing 1/4-1/2 of that amount after the giveaway ended. So my net followers was closer to 200. Considering I paid $40 to participate, I don’t think that result is good enough to do it again, which is why I haven’t done one since. Out of those new followers I gained, 90% of the people I messaged ghosted me, unfollowed me later, and didn’t become a prospect for my health coaching business. Therefore? Not worth it.
Is there a better way?
Yes! If you want to do a giveaway to gain more followers, there is a much better way. Host a small giveaway with people like you! Grab a few friends or fellow entrepreneurs in complimentary industries and with approximately the same about of followers as you. You want complimentary industries rather than the same because if I’m trying to sell a protein powder and Sally sells a powder from another company, then you very well might be giving “competition” YOUR customers. Instead, if you sell protein powder, partner with an essential oils girl, a fitness girl, a non-toxic cleaning girl because their followers are interested in healthy living but don’t already have a solution to the problem you solve.
You want to choose people with a similar amount of followers because it should be a win-win for all involved. If I have 30,000 followers and someone with 2,000 wants to partner with me, it’s pretty clear the 2,000 girl is going to benefit most from it, not me.
Once you have the people in place, put together some sort of a giveaway package and require participants to follow all partners’ pages and tag a friend(s) in the comments to expand your reach.
People are much more likely to participate because they don’t have to follow as many accounts and because they are likely interested in the product and are familiar with you. You might not gain as many followers as you would working with a large account, but the followers you gain are more likely to STAY which is how they may turn into future customers.
Want to start a giveaway? Send me an email with a pitch as to why you’d make a great partner and I would definitely consider doing a giveaway with you! Email stressfreesocialcoach.com or DM me on Instagram @stressfreesocial.