Do you know a surefire way to enhance social media engagement?

Well, it’s organizing social media giveaways and contests!

Everyone loves to win amazing prizes. I mean, why not? And social media contests present just the right opportunity for your followers to flex their creativity and win incredible prizes.

However, coming up with new social media giveaway and contest ideas that align with your online brand isn’t always straightforward. These campaigns must be strategically planned to amplify your brand presence online.

This can sometimes feel a little overwhelming—we get it!

To help you, we have created this guide to inspire you and fill your social media calendar with the 9 most effective social media and giveaway ideas.

Let’s get started.

9 Social Media Giveaway and Contest Ideas

Statistics reveal that 132,200 people search for “Giveaways” on Google monthly. That’s huge, right? Hosting a giveaway online on social media can certainly place your brand in the center of all these people.

So, where do you start? What type of giveaway should you host?

Launching a successful giveaway is all about finding the right social media giveaway & contest ideas. Scouring the net for inspiration helps. Which is why we did that for you here and put together a guide filled with giveaway examples and ideas!

Here are some useful social media giveaway contest ideas from which you can draw inspiration.

1. Simple Engage-to-Win Contests

These are the simplest forms of social media contests. Your target audience can enter your giveaway by simply completing specific actions, primarily engaging with your social media posts.

Here are some of the most common entry methods you can opt for this type of giveaway:

• Follow your brand on Facebook, Instagram, and/or Twitter
• Subscribe to your YouTube channel
• Comment on your Facebook, Instagram, and/or Twitter posts
• View and follow your Facebook page
• Repost your Instagram content
• Tag Friends in Your Post

The goal of these giveaways is to increase user interactions and followers.

Example:

This engage-to-win contest by Hampers & Co. offered a fabulous picnic backpack as a giveaway prize. The participants were required to follow simple steps to enter the giveaway. The contest was a great success, generating over 11k views, 300+ comments, and reposts, greatly amplifying the brand’s online presence.

2. Brand Partnership Giveaways

A great giveaway idea is to team up with a brand that your target audience already follows and jointly conduct a giveaway. This is an excellent method of attracting more attention from the right audience and creating brand awareness.

Combine resources to create a superb giveaway bundle, and consider promoting it through email marketing platforms like Mailchimp or Mailchimp alternatives.  Use a “follow to win” strategy that asks all participants to follow you and each of your partners.

But remember to collaborate with a complementary brand. In other words, don’t choose a direct competitor. Find a brand that offers products your audience uses outside of your category. This will ensure that a dream team is set to obtain results.

Example:

Blendjet and Kiehl collaborated together for a giveaway contest that did wonderfully well, earning over 4,000 comments. Using the simple like-and-tag promotion technique, the two brands grabbed the attention of their customers with an attractive purple snapshot.

The giveaway aimed at maximizing both brands’ reach by getting their products in front of multiple target audiences.

3. Photo Contest Giveaways

This giveaway idea works especially well for consumer brands. It enables you to gather user-generated content from your audience. Such contests encourage your audience to snap photos of themselves using your products in return for entries.

Make sure to have your participants use a specific brand-focussed hashtag when they upload their submissions.

Once all participants have submitted their photos, you can select a winner by asking people to vote for the best photo. Alternatively, you can have a judges panel to choose a winner as well.

Example:

Dominos ran a great photo contest giveaway where participants could win a prize money of $10,000 by uploading a picture of them enjoying a slice of Domino’s pizza. They also had to use the hashtag #PieceofthePieContest.

The contest witnessed massive engagement, and the content post received over 25,000 likes.

4. Milestone Giveaways

Let’s say your brand is celebrating a specific achievement. Why not extend the celebrations to your target audience by offering them the opportunity to win a prize?

Typically, online businesses celebrate milestones like anniversaries, follower counts, etc. Another great idea is to tease a giveaway by challenging your audience to spread the word about your brand.

Like promising a free giveaway product basket once your brand reaches a specific follower count on Instagram.

Example:

Fashion influencer Janette OK announced $100 giveaway prize money to a follower upon reaching 100,000 followers on Instagram. The participants were supposed to follow Janette on all platforms –Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube and drop a comment on how she influenced them.

The giveaway gained a lot of traction, winning Janette many new and engaging followers.

5. Product Launch Giveaway

Promoting your new product launch with a strategic product launch giveaway is a brilliant idea. Such contests build excitement around your latest offering and increase engagement and awareness among your audience.

By leveraging the anticipation of a new product, you can drive significant interest and participation in the giveaway.

You can ask the users to participate by reposting or retweeting a post promoting the product, sharing the giveaway with their friends, and following you on social media.

Example:

Wildcraftcare, a natural skincare brand, regularly launches new product giveaways for its target audience.  This campaign was a success and encouraged interaction and engagement from potential customers genuinely interested in the product.

Giveaways attract large audiences to your brand, which is the kind of exposure you need when launching a new product. We have an entire guide on using giveaways to promote a product’s launch.

Click here to learn more about Product Launch Giveaways.

6. Travel Giveaways

Who wouldn’t like an all-sponsored vacation to a gorgeous beach destination? In fact, your followers will jump to the idea of a travel giveaway, following all instructions to bag the big prize.

Adding a few photos of the destination and details about the accommodation is a great idea to entice social media users further.

Example:

Klook is an online travel agency. We came up with a giveaway concept in our Father’s Day Giveaway post. Users would need to send over selfies of themselves and their dad to enter. This entry method would produce tons of UGC.

The above contest idea is ideal for brands looking to gain valuable exposure during Father’s Day.

Another idea is a giveaway with the prize being a trip to Italy. Klook could ask entrants to submit a list of things they would do if they had a week in Italy. The most creative entries win, or a winner is selected at random.

7. Trivia Contest Giveaways

This is a giveaway campaign in which participants are required to answer a trivia question to win the prize.

Choosing the question is entirely up to you. It is a good idea to ask a question related to your brand that only your loyal customers would know. You can also ask niche-specific trivia questions to engage your followers.

Along with the question, ensure you ask the participants to like the post and follow your brand on relevant social media platforms to boost engagement.

Example:

Here is an example from a famous influencer, Auri, who offered a bundle of cleaning products as the giveaway prize. The participants had to play a guessing game where they had to guess the money raised by the influencer from recycling plastic bottles. Cool, isn’t it?

8. Holiday or Seasonal Giveaways

Every business has its peak season. For instance, Black Friday, Valentine’s Day, or Christmas are busy times for many eCommerce retailers. Organizing a well-timed seasonal or holiday giveaway contest can help you convert maximum customers and boost your business revenue.

Combine this type of giveaway with an effective follow-to-win or engage-to-win entry technique. Ask your followers or subscribers to like your post, tag a few friends, and follow you on every platform to win prizes.

You can also use email newsletter software to encourage sign-ups and offer exclusive contest updates, creating a more direct connection with your audience. You can also pair your giveaway with an attractive seasonal/ holiday sale on your products and services for an effective marketing strategy.

Example:

Popular food blogger Tieghan substantially grew her social following by hosting a three-month holiday giveaway. She offered cookbooks and a handful of kitchen gadgets to the winners. The participants only had to tag a friend in the comments of her Instagram post.

The entire campaign received over 400,000 likes for the blogger.

9. Digital Scavenger Hunt Giveaways

Most online businesses think that giveaways are primarily organized to spread brand awareness. While that might be true, giveaways are also great for engaging your audience and solidifying your relationship with them. Organizing a digital scavenger hunt lets you do just that.

This giveaway contest asks users to search through your blog or website to complete the treasure hunt. As they scour your website to find clues and enter your giveaway, they also get a chance to check out your product offerings, blog posts, sales events, and much more.

Example:

Mr Stanley’s, a fudge and toffee brand, hosted a cute easter giveaway. To enter, users had to comment on where they saw the egg. The comments instantly boosted X engagement for the brand, resulting in a viral post.

Why Consider Our Social Media Giveaway and Contest Ideas?

When giveaways and contests are adequately integrated into social marketing campaigns, they offer several benefits. From engaging existing customers to attracting new ones, they create a sense of excitement and participation.

These giveaways also prove to be a simple yet effective way to boost brand exposure and increase loyalty, making them useful tools in every marketer’s arsenal.

Here are some of the leading benefits of organizing regular contests and giveaways:

• Increase brand exposure, brand recognition, and audience reach
• Encourage deeper customer engagement
• Gather valuable customer data, often provided as a part of the entry procedure, and derive meaningful insights
• Build customer loyalty
• Increase sales for the business

How To Run a Social Media Giveaway or Contest

Now that you know the benefits of organizing contests and giveaways, let’s discuss the steps involved in the process.

Step 1: Understand the Platform’s Rules and Regulations

Before you begin any giveaway campaign, you need to finalize the social media platform where you want to host it. You can check out this ranking list to identify the best platform for hosting giveaways. 

Next, you must familiarize yourself with the regulations set by your chosen platform. Doing this will prevent you from receiving a penalty on one of your important social media profiles. For instance, X does not approve of brands requesting their followers to share identical tweets since it violates their policies on duplicate content.

Step 2: Know Your Goals

Each business may have a unique objective when planning a social media contest. Choose your goal – whether it be gaining new followers, increasing engagement, generating more leads, or boosting revenue. Determining your objectives will simplify the remaining steps.

Step 3: Decide on the Right Campaign Budget and Prize

You must know your budget and how much you want to spend on the contest. Most users tend to participate in giveaways that offer attractive and valuable prizes.

Step 4: Plan and Run Your Giveaway Contest

Create a giveaway following the steps below:

• Know your potential customers and audience and accordingly select a theme for your giveaway. 
• Decide on the duration of the contest. Create a timeline for running the contest, when to launch, and when to announce the winners.
• Set the contest rules. Ensure they are clear and communicated effectively to the target audience.
• Create a concise and attention-grabbing copy that attracts the users to participate.
• Showcase the prize to build excitement among the participants.
• Cross-promote your campaign on various social media platforms to spread the word. If you have the budget, you can also try paid ads.
• Closely monitor the entries and the engagement you receive from the campaign and make adjustments if required.

Step 5: Analyze the Results

After the contest ends, ensure to evaluate how well the campaign met the targets and objectives established beforehand. Utilizing specific software tools enables you to collect data on hashtag usage, follower growth, engagement rate, and more, which can assist in improving the effectiveness of future giveaways.

TL;DR: Social Media Giveaway and Contest Ideas

• When planning a campaign, the best place to start is with social media giveaway and contest ideas.
• Organizing social media contests and giveaways is an excellent way to engage your audience and strengthen your relationship with them.
• These contests can also help you maximize your reach and attract new followers.
• The social media giveaway and contest ideas above can help you enhance your social media presence, generate leads, and boost revenue.
• You know your target audience the best, so select the giveaway idea that works for them. And have fun when doing so!

FAQ: Social Media Giveaway and Contest Ideas

Author Bio

Natasha Merchant: 
[email protected]
I specialize in content marketing & I have been doing it for more than 6 years. I love creating content marketing maps for businesses. I have written content for various publication websites.

At present, I am helping SaaS to improve online visibility with the help of SEO, Content Marketing & Link Building.