Know the Rules of Instagram Promotions
What is a better way to gain brand awareness than through a platform designed simply for social interaction?
Instagram contests are growing as a popular way to gain engaged users. They receive 3.5 times more Likes and 64 times more comments than regular posts leading many brands to turn to Instagram to promote themselves. But, before you start your Instagram promotion, make sure you know the rules.
Instagram promotion rules and guidelines
Step 1: Understand what kind of promotion you want to run
There are two different kinds of promotions you can run. The first, a prize draw, is simply when the participants can win a prize based on chance. There is no purchase necessary, participants simply enter and then a winner is picked at random. The second kind of promotion is a competition. To enter the entrant must have merit or skill and the winner is picked based on judging criteria.
Step 2: Know the 5 different ways to enter on Instagram
There are many ways to run an Instagram promotion, it is just important to keep entry easy and accessible
- Like to Win: Participants must like one of your Instagram posts to enter
- Comment to Win: Participants must comment on your Instagram post to enter
- Tag to Win: Participants must tag a friend on your Instagram post to enter
- Repost to Win: Participants must repost your Instagram post to be entered
- Photo Competition: Participants post a photo on their own personal account using your brand’s hashtag to be judged or voted on
Step 3: Understand Instagram’s rules and guidelines regarding promotions
You have the responsibility to post the official rules, terms and eligibility requirements in an accessible place for participants to find. These can be posted on your own website or on a contest host, as long as a link is provided in the Instagram post. You also have the responsibility to comply with the rules governing the promotion and all prizes offered.
Instagram promotions must also include a complete release of Instagram by each participant as well as include an acknowledgment that the promotion is in no was affiliated with Instagram. You must also not inaccurately tag content or encourage users to inaccurately tag content.
Now that you are ready to launch your Instagram promotion, there are some final tips to make your promotion stand out from the rest
- Make sure to use a branded hashtag to make tracking entries and conversations about the competition easy
- Create an amazing graphic to catch the eye of as many people as possible
- Give away a relevant prize in order to promote your brand and get people interested
- Promote your contest on other forms of social media to get as much exposure as possible
- Get your T&Cs right – your terms are a contract between you and the entrants and will protect your promotion from abuse or problems down the line
- Include a link to your T&Cs in your promotional post – our PromoTerms.com website is a simple way to do this
- Winners Lists – don’t forget to publish your winners once your promotion ends, again our PromoWinners.com website provides an easy platform to do this quickly.