Victoria Taylor — May 17, 2019 — May 17, 2019
After working hard on your Instagram contest, you finally see your engagement, followers, and even sales start to grow. All your hard work is paying off.
But between managing your Instagram contest and trying to keep track of all your contestants, you’re contest isn’t over until the winner gets the prize. So it’s time to pick your winner.
In this article, I’ll show you six ways to choose a winner for your Instagram contest.
Based on the type of contest you have, along with your entry requirements, one or two of these methods can help you to choose your Instagram winner.
1. Select Your Instagram Winner at Random
One of the easiest ways to choose your Instagram winner is to select them at random.
For example, you can randomly select your winner in the comment section of your Instagram contest post.
If you decided to use a landing page for your Instagram contest instead all you need to do to randomly select your winner is a spreadsheet (Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, Apple’s numbers, etc.) with a list of all your leads, then assign each of your contestant’s name with number, with your first entrant being number one, the second number two, and so on. You can use a random number generator like Google’s to produce a random number assigned to your new winner.
With Wishpond’s Social Media Contest tools you can effortlessly choose your winner at random with our “Select Winner” features and “Select Winner Randomly” button.
2. Select Your Instagram Winner With Most Likes / Votes
Once your Instagram contest deadline starts to close in, you can make a list of the contestants with the most Likes. This could be the total number of Likes on the post itself, or it could be the number of Likes on the Instagram contest entry (as seen below).
If you decide to use a contest tool like Wishpond, it’s easy to set how many times people are allowed to vote per day, and you also have the option of setting advanced voter fraud options such as verifying a correct email address is used, and enabling an option for users to solve a captcha to ensure no bots are voting on your contest.
Pro Tip: If you do decide to pick a winner based on the total number of post Likes, screenshot the post with the most likes at the end of your Instagram contest for a keepsake as proof in case you get complaints about who has the most likes before your Instagram contest ends.
If you need a hand creating contest rules, check out Wishpond’s free contest rules generator.
3. Select Your Instagram Winner With Judges
You can use a panel of judges to choose a contest winner for you. Judges could be influencers or experts in your industry or even just members of your team.
An Instagram contest that asks for UGC(User Generated Content) is typically the best entry method for this type of contest.
Using judges can add a “wow” factor to the winner selection and additional content for your contest. For instance, you can record a video of a round-table discussion of your experts judging the top entries with their feedback to decide who should be the winner.
Upwork did this with their #UpWorkSucess contest.
4. Select Your Instagram Winner With Most Views
You can ask followers to enter your Instagram contest by uploading video content on their page, using branded contest hashtags as well as tagging you. Or you can ask persons to upload their videos on a landing page.
After your contest, review all the video entries and view counts. If you’d like, you can also use the number of likes a video has to choose a winner if two or more videos have a very similar amount of views.
After your contest, you can repost the most watched videos on your Instagram page for ongoing content or place them on your website so that your visitors can see your customers or followers who love your brand.
5. Select Multiple or Daily Instagram Winners
Add more fun to your Instagram contest with more than one winner. This could be a week-long or just a one day contest. This type of winner selection can be a great snowball effect for your engagement and builds excitement on your Instagram account because followers will have more chances to win.
Balanced Bites did this for their Keto product giveaway.
6. Select Your Instagram Winner With A Combination of Methods
One size doesn’t fit all; If you’d like to add more excitement to your contest, you can use two or three methods to select your winner. You can do this in rounds.
For example, Your Instagram contest can have two series of methods to pick your winner. Round one could be to select the top five entries with the most likes or votes. After, for round two, your panel of judges can pick the winner based on best entries.
After Picking Your Instagram Contest Winner
Now that you’ve selected your Instagram contest winner it’s time to turn all your new Instagram followers into loyal customers.
Here are some helpful ways to follow-up after your Instagram contest:
Show-off Your Instagram Winner
Once you’ve picked, your winner(s), and let them know beforehand via email or direct messaging, you can mention, tag and share their contest entry on your social media platforms. Showcasing your winner on your Instagram page is key because your winner is apart of your audience. How you treat them shows your community how you feel about your audience. So show some love!
Send Follow-up Email
Emails aren’t outdated. Send your Instagram contestants a follow-up email with a big “Thank You” for entering your contest. Let them know you’ll keep them up to date for the next Instagram contest. Feel free even to give a small discount to show your appreciation, to turn contestants into future buyers. Wishpond integrates with your contest lists to send post-contest emails that look great and drive conversions long after your contest has ended.
Say Thank You To Everyone
Don’t just highlight your winners and contestants, let your entire community of customer and followers know that you were happy to share this experience with them. This can be a simple or a heartfelt thank you to your new followers and customers.
Summary
Here are the six best ways to choose an Instagram winner:
- Select Your Instagram Winner at Random
- Select Your Instagram Winner With Most Likes
- Select Your Instagram Winner With Judges
- Select Your Instagram Winner With Most Views
- Select A Daily Instagram Winners
- Select Your Instagram Winner With A Combination of Methods
Currently hosting an Instagram contest Comment below and let me know how it’s going. I’d love to hear.
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