In the dynamic world of social media, bringing visitors and fostering engagement is the primary concern. Out of all the social media platforms, Instagram has emerged as the most powerful and active platform that holds the power to take a brand to the next level. Maintaining a strong page and active audience on Instagram is paramount to harness the full potential of this most effective platform. To bring engagement, creators and businesses use innovative and unique strategies that bring user’s interest to their profiles. There are many strategies that have the potential to bring massive engagement, but hosting engaging contests emerged as the most captivating method. This not only brings engagement but also elevates interaction and brings growth to the page. From classic comments giveaways to throwback contests, this realm of contest ideas is designed to inspire user-generated content, which has the potential to bring engagement that converts to devoted followers. In this blog, we will discuss some engagement-boosting contest ideas for Instagram success and growth.
Additionally, partnering with digital marketing experts such as Upgrow can provide invaluable insights and strategies to maximize the impact of your Instagram contests while enhancing your overall engagement.
Run a Classic Comments Giveaway
It mainly involves hosting a contest where people can give their answers based on their experience or opinions in the comment section of the post, and some selected winners can get prizes. It’s necessary to write an appealing caption, eligibility criteria, rules of the giveaway, deadline, and the image or video of the prize. This not only brings engagement but also boosts interaction and builds a sense of excitement in your community.
Caption this Photo
People love to share their creativity through unique and innovative captions. To take advantage of this, you can post a humorous, appealing, or motivational image and ask people to write a suitable and creative caption in the comment section. It encourages users to participate with your content in a fun and engaging way by tapping their ingenuity and sense of humor. The winners can get a shoutout in the story or a separate post. This strategy brings Instagram engagement in less time and boosts your Instagram presence. However, if you have started a new brand that does not have a good audience and presence on Instagram, the foremost step should be purchasing some Instagram likes, followers, and views in order to fuel up your profile and have some numbers to show.
Tag to Win
Tag to win is a simple and straightforward contest where you can ask people to tag the other person in the comment section based on the content of the post. For example, “mention the person whose birthday is in September” is one of the most popular contest ideas that brings immense engagement in the comment section. More and more people can get to know about your page, which results in new visitors and followers. Another side of this contest is you can ask people to mention, e.g., 5 new people to enter a particular giveaway contest. This strategy helps your post reach those 5 new people who may even show interest in your profile and content.
Selfie Contest
Instagram is a platform where people love to post selfies, so a selfie contest is a great contest idea that can bring massive engagement and build a sense of community. To run a successful and beneficial selfie contest, choose a clear theme and purpose of the contest. If you are a makeup brand, you can host a “Makeup Selfie Challenge,” in which participants share their beautiful selfies using your makeup products along with a short snippet of their product reviews in the caption. The best ones can get discounts, shoutouts, free kits, or even a chance to appear as the face of the brand. This can be used as social proof to demonstrate the utilization of your products and positive user experiences.
Before and After Transformation
If your product leads to some evident and noticeable changes or transformations, then this contest idea is a great way to show the genuine effect of the product. Ask your buyers to add images of before and after using the product to win amazing gifts and giveaways. For example, if your brand sells tanning-removing skincare products, before and after photographs of clients may persuade additional people to visit your page and therefore increase sales.
Interactive Polls and Quizzes
Instagram’s polls and quizzes sticker feature is a great contest idea for Instagram stories. You can add trivia questions/polls related to your niche or industry and motivate your audience to give answers. This encourages followers to show engagement in the stories, and the people who give the maximum number of right answers can get giveaways. Besides contests, general polls and quizzes on stories are also a great way to know people’s likes, dislikes, opinions, and preferences. This allows the collection of your audience’s data and creates an engaging and dynamic experience.
Throwback Contest
A throwback contest is a great approach to engage your audience and establish a sense of connection by inviting them to share their childhood or throwback recollections. For this, select a theme like childhood, travel, milestones, memories, etc., to tap their nostalgia and build a sense of emotional connection with your audience. Allow participants to include a short tale or description with their flashback post. From them, select a few of the most attractive and unique throwback pictures, reshare them on your posts or stories, and offer attractive prizes to the winners.
Like, Comment, and Repost to win
This is the most classic and effective contest idea that allows your audience to enter the contest simply by liking, commenting, and sharing the post on their story. This helps your profile to reach a larger audience via stories and also increases engagement in the form of likes and comments. Choose the winners based on the theme and criteria of the contest and mention their instagram id and the prizes they receive on your instagram story. Besides that, show gratitude and appreciation to all the participants to foster trust and loyalty.
Hashtag contest
Make a distinctive and catchy hashtag for your brand or subject. Ask people to post their pictures using the competition hashtag and add your product to the image. This encourages user-generated content and raises the visibility of your brand. After the deadline, you can simply search the hashtag and choose the winners based on their creativity and the content of the post.
Conclusion
Instagram is all about engagement, and Contests are a great and innovative way to maximize engagement organically. However, if you have a new profile, purchasing a few followers is a useful way to bring the initial engagement to the page and then use organic methods to retain those followers and bring new ones. These giveaway contests are more than just competitions; they serve as bridges between you and your viewers, encouraging meaningful interactions, enhancing engagement, fostering trust, and cultivating a thriving online community. We’ve examined a range of contest ideas aimed to inspire, motivate, and ultimately boost your Instagram presence. So, what are you waiting for? Use these amazing contest ideas and boost your Instagram engagement considerably.
