Massive brands like Maybelline and influencers are drastically boosting their social media followers and subscribers with simple makeup giveaways.

Up-and-coming micro-influencers are also using makeup giveaways to create a solid online presence for themselves. This helps them establish themselves on platforms like YouTube and Instagram, leading to colossal brand deals and more sponsorships.

So, if you are in the makeup industry and you haven’t hosted your own makeup giveaway, then nows the time, and we’re here to get you started.

It’s OK if you have no idea how to host a makeup giveaway. We’re we to show you how with our guide to hosting a makeup giveaway!

Setting Goals for Your Makeup Giveaway

Why are you hosting a makeup giveaway? What do you plan to get out of a makeup giveaway?

These are crucial questions that you should ask yourself when setting a goal for your giveaway.

It may seem like there’s no need to have a specific goal when hosting a giveaway. However, having goals means optimizing your giveaway to achieve that goal, leading to better results. 

Cosmetics4less (below) used their makeup giveaway to grow their brand on social media.

It’s easy to see that this giveaway aims to increase the brand’s social media presence (on Instagram). This giveaway is an excellent example of how to achieve multiple goals from a single makeup giveaway. 

Every person that enters the giveaway will take the brand one step closer to each of their multiple goals, which are:

• A viral Instagram post – Entrants are required to “Like” the post and tag two friends to enter. The more likes and engagement the post gets, the better its chances are of going viral.
• Boost in Instagram Followers – Entrants are required to follow the giveaway host to enter.
• Engagement on older posts – Asking people to comment on older posts to increase their chances of winning is an excellent way of using a giveaway to revive older Instagram posts.

It doesn’t end here. You can set up your giveaway to achieve other goals like: 

• Building an email list
• Increasing website traffic
• Get people to watch your latest YouTube video
• Sign up to your service or membership site
• Download your software or app

Whatever your goal may be, you can simply adjust your entry method so users can perform the actions necessary to achieve your goal.

Choosing Prizes

Our No.1 Rule of Choosing Giveaway Prize:

Select a Prize that will attract your target audience.

There is nothing wrong with giving away an iPhone or a smart TV. Even in a makeup giveaway. However, these prizes will attract a large number of people that are not interested in your brand. 

The host created a mega prize bundle in the giveaway below that included a bag of makeup and an iPhone.

These prizes are ideal for attracting a large audience to your brand. However, you still run the risk of acquiring entrants that are just interested in the iPhone. 

What if the winner is a guy with no interest in makeup? You will have to award your prize to a person that will probably never use makeup or engage with your makeup content.

Use Prizes That Compliment Each Other

These prizes are ideal for attracting a large audience to your brand. However, you still run the risk of acquiring entrants that are just interested in the iPhone.

What if the winner is a guy with no interest in makeup? You will have to award your prize to a person that will probably never use makeup or engage with your makeup content.

The giveaway above is an excellent example of creating a unique prize made up of products that complement each other and purely attract a targeted audience.

These prizes may seem simple, but they create a prize with significant value to the target audience when bundled together.

More Makeup Giveaway Prize Bundle Ideas

Heres more products that you can include along with makeup to create an enticing prize bundle for your giveaway:

• Mirrors and compact mirrors
• Vanity bags
• Perfumes
• Brushes and makeup applicators
• Nail kits
• Beauty tools – Eyelash curlers and dermarollers

Pro Tip:

Team up with other brands to co-host a giveaway. You can sponsor the makeup and the other brands can sponsor the complimentary products. If your company is based in Singapore, there are brands like Dior that offer makeup in Singapore which are excellent to partner with. 

The benefits of this are that the other brands will help you to create a larger, more attractive prize, and they will also help you to promote the giveaway!

Launching and Promoting a Makeup Giveaway

Promotion is probably the most crucial aspect of a makeup giveaway. 

You want to get as many people as possible to discover your giveaway early on because of the limited time you have. Giveaways usually run for a couple of weeks, so make every moment count!

Also, by getting massive exposure early on, people will still have time to share your giveaway with friends and spread the word on social media.

So, where to start? Perhaps you can start with a social media post:

The giveaway above is an excellent example of creating a social media post to launch a makeup giveaway. 

Here are some key takeaways from the post:

• An image that clearly displays the prizes. This is crucial for entrants who want to zoom into the image to identify each product.
• One giveaway with multiple goals – This giveaway is exclusive to Instagram. But instead of using the giveaway just to boost followers, Colour Pop Cult is requesting users to further engage with the post (like, comment, and save).
• A viral post – The popularity of the prize and all those entries in the form of likes, comments, and more is a recipe for a viral giveaway. Crafting a good giveaway while getting those engagement numbers up will help push your Instagram post up the ranks. This post was No.1 in #MakeupGiveaway.

If your brand is not big on Instagram, then you should create your post on the social platform that your brand is already established on.

Scroll further down to the next section that has more examples and case studies on makeup giveaways on the different social media platforms.

Makeup Giveaway Examples and Case Studies

We selected some of our favorite makeup giveaways online and analyzed them to determine why those giveaways were such a success.

Each makeup giveaway example has a list of takeaways that we think you should pay attention to.

If you ever need more tips or assistance with hosting a giveaway, please feel free to contact us, and we will be glad to help.

Allie Glines Spring Makeup Giveaway – YouTube

• Entry Method: Subscribe to YouTube channel, follow on Instagram, leave a comment
• Prize: Eye shadow and cheek palettes, glow kits, lips kits, and paints

This is an excellent example of how to create a simple yet effective makeup giveaway on YouTube. It features a variety of prizes for multiple winners.

The giveaway video is straightforward. It features Allie explaining the details of the giveaway while also showcasing the prizes that are on offer.

The thumbnail is also straightforward. However, it is effective as it includes all the correct elements – prizes, the brand’s face, and text stating that it’s a giveaway.

While this giveaway keeps things simple, the description is filled with as much information as possible (how to enter, prizes, dates, etc.). This is a must for any giveaway.

Key Takeaways:

• Hosted on YouTube to boost channel subscribers
• The giveaway is also used to boost the host’s Instagram followers
• Users are given the option to submit bonus entries by engaging with the host’s Instagram posts

Laroc Makeup Giveaway – Instagram

• Entry Method: Follow Laroc and Face Halo on Instagram and tag a friend in the post
• Prize: Laroc and Face Halo bundles

Laroc Cosmetics teamed up with Face Halo to host a makeup giveaway on Instagram. Two brands working on one giveaway means better prizes and more people promoting the giveaway.

Both brands can also gain maximum exposure from a single giveaway. 

Hosting the giveaway on Instagram will allow the makeup brands to boost their followers and engagement on their posts quickly. 

Key Takeaways:

• A single giveaway hosted by two brands on Instagram to boost followers and engagement
• A giveaway post was created on each of the two host’s profiles. This allows for maximum exposure. It’s also an excellent way to get Laroc’s followers to follow Face Halo (and vice versa)
• Unlimited entries allowed in this worldwide giveaway

Wei Too Bunny Makeup Giveaway – Twitter

• Entry Method: Like and Retweet the makeup giveaway Tweet
• Prize: A set of lipsticks

Wei Too Bunny teamed up with a Twitter influencer to giveaway a set of lipsticks. This giveaway is as simple as it gets with a relatively small prize.

The goal of this giveaway is to create a viral Twitter post that has a ton of likes and retweets. A viral tweet from an influencer that has the prize sponsor tagged in it can be beneficial for both of them.

Even though this giveaway has a small prize, the post has still received over a thousand likes and retweets. 

This is an excellent idea for micro-influencers that managed to secure a few small products from a brand.

Key Takeaways:

• A Simple, small giveaway that is focused on making a Twitter post go viral
• Easy entry method to a worldwide audience
• A great example of a brand using a micro-influencer to gain exposure on Twitter.

TL;DR

Makeup giveaways are popular campaigns that makeup brands and influencers use to boost their online presence. These popular campaigns are also excellent for getting that extra exposure on social media platforms.

Selecting the right mix of makeup and complementary products like perfumes, vanity cases, and mirrors are the way to go when choosing a prize. You want your prize to attract people that are interested in your brand, products, and content.

What do you think about makeup giveaways? Have you hosted your own giveaway before? Let us know in the comments below.