Is it time for your brand to run an Instagram giveaway?
Because giveaways are a great way to boost engagement and build buzz among your followers. Not to mention introducing your brand to totally new audiences and potential customers.
Given the chance, people will gladly participate in giveaways for brands they’ve never heard of. In fact, 61% of consumers have engaged with brands on social media in exchange for an incentive.
Thing is, giveaways can be daunting if you’re running one for the first time. That’s why we put together this list of twelve Instagram giveaway examples featuring brands and influencers.
Not sure what makes a “good” giveaway? Need caption ideas? Don’t know what prize to pick?
Don’t sweat it! Below are a dozen IG giveaways from brands of all shapes and sizes. No matter what you’re selling, these examples can clue you in on how to level up your own giveaways.
Note: Make sure you’re explicit about your giveaway rules and double-check Instagram’s promotional guidelines before running a campaign yourself!
We’re totally in love with this influencer giveaway posted on behalf of Smartsweets.
The creator went all out by coordinating outfits inspired by the brand’s health-conscious candy. A brilliant example of how to use Instagram Reels, this giveaway post is bursting with personality.
Source: @destiny.schriver
You can feel the creator’s enthusiasm for the brand in the video itself and the giveaway caption.
Creative influencers can shine a spotlight on your products in ways you might never think to try yourself. This example also shows how an influencer focused on one industry can promote a product from a completely different niche. That’s the power of influencer marketing!
Check out this collaborative Instagram giveaway from Blendjet and Kiehl's that earned over 4000+ comments. This is an example of a straightforward but solid like-and-tag promotion. Note the crystal clear instructions and enticing prize.
Not every giveaway needs to reinvent the wheel or blow your followers’ minds. When in doubt, keep it simple but don’t be afraid to get creative.
Source: @blendjet
The purple snapshot is a nice creative touch for grabbing the attention of customers scrolling through their Instagram feeds. On that note, collaborative giveaways like this can maximize your brand’s reach as you get your product in front of multiple target audiences.
Notice how the brand accepts additional entries by encouraging participants to post to their Instagram Stories? This instantly introduces the giveaway to new potential entrants.
Hey look, another collaboration!
Again, teaming up with multiple brands for a promotion is a smart move for stretching your reach. Two heads are better than one when it comes to giveaway ideas, too.
Through collabs, you can also pool your products and resources to create an eye-popping prize package. That’s exactly what Olipop does below.
Source: @drinkolipop
Breaking down the giveaway prize in dollars is a subtle way to grab the attention of potential entrants. Promoting multiple winners likewise makes winning the contest itself seem more tangible to people on the fence about entering.
This post is unique among our Instagram giveaway examples by featuring an actual celebrity.
Source: @rosaliecchiang
But even though we’re all about smaller creators, this giveaway is still awesome!
Playful? Check. Lighthearted? Double-check! Big engagement? Yep, that too!
Earning over 14,000 “Likes,” there’s no denying that this promotion was a winner for both the brand and influencer alike. This example likewise highlights how an Instagram giveaway can correspond with a time-sensitive promotion like a product drop.
This partnership giveaway between Krave Beauty and ZitSticka earned over 4,000 entrants.
That level of engagement is no accident. After all, both brands go out of their way to engage and interact with their audience outside of their giveaways.
Source: @kravebeauty
Know what makes this promotion unique? The fact that participants were offered additional entries for following the brands on TikTok.
This is an example of how brands can cross-promote their social followings and build a presence on multiple platforms at once. Even established brands on TikTok have trouble growing on Instagram and vice-versa. Giveaways are a smart way to introduce your existing fans and customers to your social presence elsewhere.
Giveaways traditionally aren’t as popular via Reels versus In-Feed posts.
That said, this trend might change as the Instagram algorithm prioritizes short-form video content. Our advice? Start brainstorming giveaway ideas that involve influencers filming themselves.
Below is an effective IG giveaway example from Too Faced Cosmetics using Reels. Although some types of products lend themselves better to video content than others, we’re anecdotally seeing a ton of Reels and TikToks published in our own network.
Source: @iomakeupofficial
Beauty and skincare brands should take advantage of videos to highlight their products in action. These types of products are also perfect for bundling as part of a bigger prize package.
This Pride Month promotion highlights how brands can use giveaways to support causes and delight customers at the same time. Note how Liplab points out that the collaboration is between themselves and an LGBTQ+ founded brand.
Source: @liplab
Multiple winners, a large prize and an off-the-cuff photo of what the recipients will receive all help this Instagram giveaway shine.
We actually spotted this giveaway ad in the wild while looking for examples for this post!
Running ads around a giveaway allows brands to raise awareness and potentially build up their list of participants. This ad’s cute creative and theme (“Socks of Summer”) are both memorable, as is the giveaway post’s conversational caption.
Source: @sockwellusa
Again, Instagram influencer giveaways don’t need big-name creators to be effective.
We’ve recently seen an uptick in big-box brands actually collaborating with smaller creators. Doing so helps larger companies maintain connections with their core customers. The authenticity of micro-influencers also helps giveaways feel more organic.
Below is an example of a giveaway between Ipsy and an influencer celebrating her 4,000-follower milestone. Given Ipsy’s 3+ million followers, this is an impressive collab for a smaller creator.
Source: @thelifeofclarissa
We love the super personal caption and detailed prize breakdown that makes the giveaway seem like a big deal. This sort of authenticity is easier to achieve when your influencer marketing campaigns are based around smaller creators.
If you’re not 100% sure what you should include as part of your brand’s Instagram giveaway, a product bundle is a safe bet. Below’s a good example from Jot.
Source: @jot
Consider that most influencer product gifting campaigns are based around multiple products. The more items you’re able to send to influencers, the higher the dollar value of your giveaway.
And the more valuable your prizes, the more generous your brand seems by default.
Translation? Don’t skimp on your giveaway campaigns!
Beyond the bundle, we love the tone of the last line of the instructions. Anything you can do to inject some personality into your giveaway posts is a plus.
Although massive prizes don’t guarantee engagement for your Instagram promotion, they certainly can’t hurt. Case in point, check out this giveaway from Girlfriend Collection that earned over 8,000+ comments.
Participants can see that they stand to win a ton of awesome swag at a glance.
Source: @girlfriend
Meanwhile, the giveaway caption makes the promotion seem like that much bigger of a deal. Like we said earlier, highlighting specific dollar amounts is a great way to grab the attention of potential participants.
$7,000 worth of prizes? Why didn’t we enter this one?!
To wrap things up, we’ll say it again: power-middle and micro-influencers are ideal for Instagram giveaways!
These creators usually have active audiences that love getting in on a good promo post. The high engagement rate on this post on behalf of SGX below is a perfect illustration of how smaller content creators crush it.
Source: @thefitishbrunette
If you’re already brainstorming giveaway ideas to promote on Instagram, we’re all for it!
Whether you’re getting products into the hands of current followers or new customers, earning positive word of mouth on Instagram is key to ranking in the algorithm.
Earning a high volume of content from creators can make it happen. The challenge? Earning enough organic UGC in-house is next to impossible at scale. This is especially true for consumer brands that need hundreds of post to stand out from the crowd.
That's where Statusphere can help.
Our micro-influencer marketing platform matches brands with creators from our vetted influencer community. Unlike other platforms, we can guarantee content for brands at scale.
Statupshere's creator-first fulfillment also ensures that your products get into the hands of influencers in a timely manner for your next giveaway.
Want to learn more about how our software works? Get in touch with one of our experts to see how we can scale your influencer marketing efforts in a fraction of the time.
This article was first published in December 2018. It was last updated May 23, 2022.