Gift card giveaways are affordable, easy, and effective campaigns that can drastically grow your brand’s social following, email list, and brand presence.
Because gift card giveaways are inexpensive, you can afford to host them regularly (weekly or monthly). This will allow your brand to experience growth consistently.
Online brands like PC Perspective and Lola Blu have found plenty of success from their gift card giveaways. Even brick-and-mortar stores use online gift card giveaways to drive traffic to their socials and physical stores.
This guide will show you how to achieve this and more with case studies and examples of previous campaigns hosted by growing brands.
But first, let’s find out how effective a gift card giveaway will be for your brand.
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Who Should Host Gift Card Giveaways?
According to WalletHub, 41% of people prefer receiving gift cards over regular gifts. This is why gift card giveaways are excellent campaigns that can attract a broad audience.
Any brand can benefit this way simply by giving away popular gift cards. However, if you want to attract your brand’s right audience, you will have to choose your gift cards wisely.
Here are some of the most popular gift cards available now:
- Amazon
- Xbox and Playstation store
- Netflix
- Starbucks
- Walmart
- iTunes
- Sephora
- Chipotle
- Best Buy
- Target
- Victoria’s Secret
Giving away Amazon gift vouchers might bring in many eager entrants to your giveaway. However, if you are looking to target specific audiences, you will have to choose gift cards that your audience finds the most appealing and niche-specific.
For example, If your brand works with gaming peripherals, you can give away Xbox and Playstation gift cards. People can use these gift cards to purchase games and subscriptions.
Examples of Brands That Host Gift Card Giveaways
Here are some brands that can benefit from gift card giveaways:
- Electronic
- Clothing
- Makeup
- Gaming
- Food & Beverage
- Software
- Business (B2B)
- Photography
- Artists
- Etc
Electronic Brands/Stores
Electronic (or computer) brands (like Apple, Samsung, Sony, etc.) can undoubtedly host successful gift card giveaways.
For example, Samsung can host a giveaway to promote the launch of their latest smartphone. The prize? A gift card that can be used at the Samsung store to redeem complimentary phone accessories like chargers, Galaxy Buds, and phone cases.
This also works great for cell phone carriers that are looking to promote new phone deals. The carriers can give away a store gift card that can be used to buy phone accessories. Or, a digital store gift card, like the Play Store or Apple App Store gift cards.
Electronic brands that sell their products on Amazon or physical stores can host an Amazon gift card giveaway (or store gift card giveaway) to promote their brands or generate leads. However, users may enter just for the Amazon gift card and may not be interested in using the Amazon gift card to buy the brand’s products.
If this may potentially be the case, you would rather give away your own products to attract a crowd interested in your brand.
Clothing Brands/Stores
A gift card giveaway works exceptionally well for online and physical clothing stores. Clothing giveaways are great.
However, there’s always the risk of having to do a size swop with the person who won (in the event that the garment you sent them isn’t fitting correctly).
For example, Your store gives away a Ferrari Jacket to a happy winner who kindly accepts the gift only to find that the Jacket is a small cut. Therefore, you will have to have the prize picked up so you can drop off a larger size.
With a gift card (or store card), you can just set a price for the winner and let them choose on their own.
Another tip for running successful giveaways is to base the campaign around an event or special day (Christmas, Easter, birthdays, Fathers Day, World Peace day, etc.).
Makeup and Beauty Brands
Makeup Giveaways are viral on YouTube and other social networks. Brands give away exclusive makeup sets, brushes, vanity mirrors, and more. A common theme with most makeup giveaways is to feature large prize bundles.
So, instead of just giving away a makeup set, brands add other complementary gifts to the prize to create one large prize bundle. This helps to ensure that more people enter the giveaway because of the size of the prize. To let them know of such an option, compare SMS vs MMS, consider email, and other means of communication to share the news quickly.
Gift cards for exclusive makeup and beauty brands (like Sephora) can make great additions to makeup giveaway prize bundles.
Makeup gift card giveaways are also ideal for smaller makeup influencers looking to grow their following.
Gaming and Entertainment Brands
A gift card giveaway is ideal for brands that are in the gaming and entertainment industry. Here are some examples:
Earlier, we spoke about how peripheral gaming brands can leverage a gift card giveaway to acquire more leads. A similar giveaway can also help Twitch streamers to build their audience online.
Up and coming Twitch streamers can host relatively inexpensive giveaways to quickly build their subscribers on Twitch and YouTube (and socials too). A $50 Xbox Game Pass or PSN (PlayStation Network) gift card is ideal here.
Twitch also has its own gift cards that can make excellent prizes for gamer giveaways.
Another example would be entertainment channels on YouTube (movie reviews, reaction channels, etc.) trying to grow their audience with a giveaway. A Netflix gift card can be an ideal prize for these channels/brands to use for their giveaway.
They can also try gift cards for other streaming services like Hulu, HBO Max, and Apple if they are available.
Gift Card Giveaway Examples
We analyzed 3 gift card giveaways to find key strengths and weaknesses. As a result, these campaigns are excellent examples of how brands should host gift card giveaways.
We hope that our analysis will provide you with a deeper understanding of gift card giveaways and inspire your next campaign.
PC Perspective Steam Gift Card Giveaway
- Entry Method: Register for a PC Perspective account to enter
- Prize: Steam gift cards for 3 winners
- Ideal for: Blogs looking to boost traffic and grow an online presence
PC Perspective, a technology blog that’s focused on computer hardware and software, hosted an intriguing giveaway on their website.
They gave away 3 gift cards (1x $100 and 2x $50) that can be used at the Steam Store (an online computer gaming service). Users can use these gift cards to purchase games to play on their PCs.
PC Perspective was specific with this giveaway in choosing gift cards for a niche platform. They could have found a broader audience with Xbox and PlayStation gift cards. However, Steam is a service designed for PC gamers.
Seeing that PC Perspective’s audience is PC users, it makes sense that they would want to attract that audience.
Key Takeaways:
- The giveaway is hosted on the PC Perspective website. This allows them to use the giveaway to drive traffic to the blog, register for accounts on the website, and boost fans on socials.
- A niche gift card that attracts a specific audience is a great idea if your brand caters to niche audiences.
- Multiple prizes mean more winners. This can lead to more people entering the giveaway as they will feel like they will have a better chance of winning at least 1 of the 3 prizes.
Lola Blu Boutique Gift Card Giveaway
- Entry Method: Follow @lolabluboutique on social me
- Prize: $100 Store gift card
- Ideal for: Small Shopify stores looking to boost traffic, sales, and social fans
Lola Blu Boutique is a cute little online store that features lady’s fashion and accessories. A Shopify store with excellent potential and an awesome-looking Instagram profile.
Having a solid online presence is extremely valuable for online stores. Especially if those stores plan to drive traffic from their socials directly to their products. This can lead directly to sales.
Lola Blu Boutique was trying to achieve just that with their gift card giveaway. Users were required to follow Lola Blu Boutique on social media and engage with the brand and other users to enter the giveaway.
Another remarkable aspect of this giveaway was the prize. The brand offered a store gift card as the prize. This meant that they didn’t have to go out and purchase an Amazon (or other) gift card.
Also, offering your own store gift card will help you to minimize the costs. With lower costs, you can afford to host gift card giveaways regularly (evergreen giveaways).
Key Takeaways:
- This is a gift card giveaway that creates engagement and new fans on social media.
- Using your own store gift card reduces costs and makes it easier for brands to host giveaways regularly.
- An excellent example of hosting a gift card giveaway on social media (for Shopify or online stores).
Hosting low-cost contests regularly will help you to consistently grow your business.
Want to learn more? Read the full post here.
Winesburg Meats Gift Card Giveaway
- Entry Method: Engage with the giveaway post to win
- Prize: $50 Butchery Gift Card
- Ideal for: Brick and mortar stores looking to boost engagement on socials
Yes, a physical butcher store can create awareness online and on social media with a well-designed giveaway.
Giving away a store gift card worth $50 is an excellent way for Winesburg Meats to build brand awareness online. Users are required to simply like, comment, and share the giveaway post to enter.
Just like the previous example (Lola Blu), a $50 gift card is relatively inexpensive. It will not cost Winesburg Meats a lot of money to host this kind of giveaway regularly.
The entry method requires users to like, comment, and share the giveaway post. This kind of engagement can lead to a viral post.
The more people that share your post, the more discoverable the post will become. For example, when a person shares your giveaway post, then all of his followers will potentially see your post and discover your brand.
This is the reason why you should always encourage people to share your giveaway posts.
Key Takeaways:
- This gift card giveaway is purely for boosting engagement on social media. The giveaway post will instantly receive a ton of likes, comments, and shares, making the post go viral on the platform.
- Using their own store card ensures that expenses for the giveaway prize are kept to a minimum.
- This is a great example of how a brick-and-mortar store can host a gift card giveaway on social media. Also, a good example of creating your own store gift card to use as a giveaway prize.
Gift Card Giveaway Ideas with VYPER
Are you low on ideas for creating your own gift card giveaway?
Not to worry! We created a few giveaway concepts using VYPER’s giveaway designer. We hope our gift card giveaway examples will help inspire your next campaign.
NB. The giveaways below are all demo campaigns created using our service. You can signup for free here and create your own designs using VYPER – https://vyper.io/user/register?redirect=freeaccount
Netflix Gift Card Giveaway
- Entry Method – Subscribe to Jeremy’s YouTube channel to enter
- Prize – $100 Netflix gift card
- Goal – Grow YouTube channel and social media presence
Jeremy Jahns is a popular movie critic and YouTuber. He is well known for his quirky yet excellent analysis of the latest blockbuster movies, TV shows, and classic films.
Jeremy’s channel receives income from YouTube and various sponsorships. In addition, growing channel subscribers with a gift card giveaway will benefit Jeremy’s channel.
Jeremy can achieve all of this with a simple Netflix gift card giveaway. People interested in a Netflix gift card will most likely appreciate Jeremy’s movie review channel, making it the ideal prize to attract his target audience.
Benefits of this campaign:
- All entrants must subscribe to Jeremy’s channel. This will instantly boost his subscribers and grow his channel.
- By using bonus actions, Jeremy can get users to follow him on his socials and refer more people to enter his giveaway. This can instantly boost the results of his campaign.
- Hosting an inexpensive giveaway like this every two months will allow Jeremy to grow his channel over a long period of time consistently.
The Feed Feed Amazon Gift Card Giveaway
- Entry Method – Visit our socials to enter
- Prize – $300 Amazon gift cards (1st place $150, 2nd place $100, 3rd place $50)
- Goal – Grow social media presence. Bonus: Boost website traffic
The Feed Feed is a digital cooking publication and community. Their successful blog serves as a platform for influencers, cooks, and businesses.
The Feed Feed already has a strong social media presence and is constantly churning out quality posts.
However, staying consistent and relevant can be challenging. This is why the ability to produce new content constantly is crucial.
Hosting a UGC Giveaway is an excellent way to use your giveaway to produce user-generated content (UGC).
Such a campaign can generate hype towards your brand and produce content for your socials.
Benefits of this campaign:
- The entry method requires users to visit The Feed Feed’s social media profile. Users will also have to interact with past posts to find a suitable recipe.
- Engagement numbers will go through the roof as contestants submit their tagged posts on social media. It’s also a great opportunity to build a strong hashtag on social media related to your brand.
- Such a contest will require a lot of work from entrants, which is why you will have to raise the value of the prize. It’s also not advisable to host such a campaign frequently.
- To make the most of this campaign, you can request that users submit their entries to your website. This entry method will automatically drive traffic to your website.
How Partner Gift Card Giveaways Generate Sales
Partner giveaways are excellent campaigns that allow multiple brands to benefit from a single giveaway.
With two or more brands working on building and promoting a single giveaway, the results are sure to be much more substantial.
Here is an example of a partner giveaway hosted by The Feed Feed and Ghirardelli:
The giveaway above will generate mass exposure to both brands. After sharing the giveaway on socials, each brand’s followers will end up discovering the other brand (leading to more followers on socials).
Ghiradelli directly benefits (in sales) from this giveaway as users must purchase and use their chocolate squares to enter the giveaway.
Why Host a Partner Gift Card Giveaway?
Not having to pay for the gift card:
You can partner with a brand that is willing to sponsor the gift cards. In return, you will promote the giveaway. Or, you can be the one that sponsors the gift cards.
E.g., You are a makeup influencer that is looking to grow their YouTube channel. You can approach an online makeup brand/store and get them to sponsor gift cards for your giveaway.
Improved results:
As mentioned earlier, two brands promoting a single giveaway can potentially lead to better results.
E.g., Pewdiepie and Razer partner influencer giveaway:
Pewdiepie can promote the giveaway on his social media and get his followers to follow Razer. Then Razer can do the same on their socials and get their followers to follow Pewdiepie.
This strategy can help to build both brands’ social media audiences efficiently.
Click on the banner above to view a live demo of the Pewdiepie/Razer giveaway created with VYPER.
Tips for Hosting a Gift Card Giveaway
Gift card giveaways are a great way to boost brand awareness, engage your audience, and generate leads. They’re also relatively easy and inexpensive to run. People love the idea of a free gift, so they will enter a giveaway for a chance to win.
Here are a few tips for hosting a successful online gift card giveaway:
Set your goals: What do you want to achieve with your giveaway? Do you want to increase social media followers, promote new products or services, or grow an email list? Once you know your goals, you can tailor your giveaway accordingly.
Choose the right prize: The prize is the most essential part of your giveaway, so make sure it’s something that your target audience will want to win. Gift cards are an excellent free gift that most people will love. They can be used to purchase anything from your store.
Decide on the entry requirements: How will people enter your giveaway? You can keep it simple and ask people to follow you on social media or subscribe to your email list. Or, you can get more creative and ask people to complete a task, such as writing a blog post about your brand or sharing a photo of themselves using your product.
Choose the Platform: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, and many others have different audiences and rules. Host your giveaway on a platform with users that align with your target audience. Remember to familiarize yourself with the platform’s terms and conditions and their giveaway rules.
Promote your giveaway: Once you’ve created your giveaway, you need to promote it so that people know about it. Create a giveaway post on your social media channels, email list, and website. You can also promote your giveaway through paid advertising or influencer marketing.
Announce the winner: Once your giveaway ends, it’s time to announce it! Be sure to do this publicly on your social media channels and website. You should also contact the winner directly to congratulate them and tell them how to claim their prize.
Beware of Gift Card Giveaway Scams
Gift card giveaways have become a staple marketing strategy for many brands looking to boost their presence and engage with their audience.
However, the rise in popularity of these campaigns has also seen a spike in giveaway scams, tarnishing the reputation of legitimate contests.
Scammers often mimic real giveaways to trick participants into sharing personal information or sending money. Both consumers and brands must stay vigilant.
Identifying Gift Card Giveaway Scams
- Too Good to Be True Offers: If a giveaway seems overly generous without any participation requirements, it might be a scam.
- Urgency Tactics: Scammers often create a false sense of urgency, prompting immediate action to claim a prize.
- Request for Personal Information: Be wary of giveaways asking for sensitive personal information or payments to claim a prize.
- Poorly Designed Promotional Materials: Legitimate giveaways usually have well-designed, brand-aligned promotional materials. Scams often contain typos, low-quality images, and unclear terms.
Setting up a legitimate giveaway is crucial if you wish for best results. However, even some legit giveaways can look like scams to many people.
Having rules in place for your giveaway increases its legitimacy. Our guide on setting up rules for your Instagram giveaway is here to help you get started.
Click here for the 7 Instagram Giveaway Rules Guide.
Gift Card Giveaway Q&A
Gift cards are not always seen as great gifts. Some people consider gift cards as a “lazy” way to choose a gift. However, gift cards are exceptional as prizes.
For instance, if your giveaway prize is a specific makeup kit, people who don’t like that kit might not enter your giveaway.
If the giveaway prize was a gift card to a makeup store (to the value of a makeup kit), then more people would enter because they have the freedom to choose their own makeup kit.
Low-cost monthly giveaways (another name being “evergreen contest”) are excellent for consistently growing your brand’s online presence, email list, etc.
For example, a simple monthly $50 Amazon gift card giveaway, that requires users to submit their emails to enter, will boost your email signups every month. However, the results might not be as good as more expensive gift card giveaways.
If you are looking for huge results fast, then you should consider hosting a once-off giveaway with a larger prize. For example, first place prize – $200 gift card, second place prize – $100 gift card.
Digital gift cards can work just fine. You can email the card to the winner of your giveaway. Digital gift cards are also ideal when hosting gift card giveaways globally (or not restricted to a single country).
TL;DR
Gift card giveaways are awesome online campaigns that are affordable and effective. You dont have to offer physical gift cards. Digital gift cards can do just as fine, allowing you the chance to host global gift card giveaways.
Because gift card giveaways are inexpensive, brands can host these giveaways on a regular basis (evergreen contest funnel). Doing so will allow your brand to grow itself steadily with each monthly (or bi-monthly) campaign.
It’s also crucial to select gift cards that will attract your target audience. Amazon and Best Buy gift cards are great and can attract a broad audience. However, if your brand is in the entertainment industry, then perhaps a Netflix or Hulu gift card will attract the relevant leads to your brand.
Tell us, have you come across any gift card giveaways before? What did you experience? Let us know in the comments below.
Jack Paxton is the co-founder of VYPER, a marketing tool that helps brands build email lists, social followings, and revenue using viral giveaways, referral, and reward programs. After millions of dollars spent testing different marketing strategies at his marketing agency. He then also co-founded Hyax a fast, conversion & design-focused course and funnel builder for creators.
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