Before You Run An Instagram Giveaway, Read This FAQ

So, without further ado, here’s the essential Instagram giveaway FAQ:

What’s the easiest way to run an Instagram giveaway?

Use an Instagram giveaway to run a contest for users who comment on your posts. You can filter comments by the number of @mentions they include. So you can set a minimum number of mentions, and exclude users who don’t keep the rules.

You can also run a giveaway for users who post photos or videos with your chosen hashtag.

How much does it cost?

If this is your first time using the Easypromos platform, then your first Instagram giveaway is free. If you want to run more giveaways after that, you’ll need an active BASIC PRO subscription plan or higher. You can view and compare all the plans here.

You’ll need a business profile in order to run an Instagram giveaway. It’s free to switch from a personal to business account, and it only takes a few minutes. Just click here for a simple tutorial.

What does my free trial include?

You can only run giveaways from an Instagram business profile. Business profiles use the unlimited Facebook API. So that means you can import comments, apply filters, and run the giveaway with Easypromos.

However, you cannot include promoted posts in a free trial giveaway. You cannot repeat giveaways on the same post. And finally, you cannot download participants’ data. To enjoy all these benefits, you’ll need a BASIC PRO plan or higher.

Can participants get extra entries by adding more comments?

We often see giveaway posts which say “more comments = more entries”. However, this is not possible, and we don’t recommend writing it on your posts, to be aligned with the network’s best practices. Each user gets one entry in the prize draw, even if they comment multiple times.

You can set a minimum number of mentions for users to join the promotion. For example, you might ask users to tag three friends. They could tag all their friends in one comment, or write three separate comments. The system will count all these mentions.

What information can I collect from participants?

You can’t collect detailed user data with an Instagram giveaway. Instead, you can only use the network’s public information, which includes usernames and profile links.

If you have an active plan, you can download an Excel file with this data, as well as individual users’ comments.

How many posts can I include in an Instagram giveaway?

You can collect comments from up to 10 posts in a single giveaway, if you have an active BASIC PRO plan or higher. You can only include one post in your free trial giveaway.

How many Instagram giveaways can I run from one post?

You can repeat giveaways on the same post, if you have an active BASIC PRO plan or higher. There’s no limit on how many times you can run a giveaway.

Can I team up with another brand for a co-branded giveaway?

Yes, you can! Use the Invitations tool to run a giveaway with other brands, sponsors, or influencers.

Post on your account to start the giveaway, and ask your collaborators to make posts too. Then send them an Invitations link so that you can collect the comments on their posts. They don’t need an Easypromos account, and nobody has to share their Instagram password.

Remember that because of Instagram’s rules, you cannot require users to follow you or anyone else. You cannot use the giveaway app to check if someone follows you or not.

Can I run a giveaway based on Instagram Stories?

At the moment, users can’t comment on Stories – they can only send direct messages. So it’s not possible to run an Instagram giveaway by posting on your Stories.

Stories are still a vital tool for your Instagram giveaway. Use them to publish the promotion, keep followers updated, and announce the winners. Get more creative ideas here.

Can I run a giveaway based on sponsored posts?

If you have an Instagram business profile, you may already be familiar with the Instagram Ads platform. You can include sponsored and promoted posts in your Instagram giveaway, so long as you have an active BASIC PRO plan or higher. Read this post to learn how.

What happens to excluded or blacklisted users?

You can exclude users from a single giveaway, or blacklist them permanently. You might filter users by their use of mentions, or actively remove users who behave badly.

However, when you download an Excel file with participants’ data, excluded participants will still be included. Everyone who enters the promotion will be on the list.

Can I run a giveaway on Instagram and Facebook?

It is possible to run a giveaway with cross-posts on Instagram and Facebook. However, you must be very careful to keep the rules of both platforms at once.

To successfully run a Facebook and Instagram giveaway, you’ll need a BASIC PRO plan or higher, and the multi-network app. We recommend keeping it simple with a comments contest.

Ready for your first Instagram giveaway? Simply create your account and select a post from your Instagram profile to start.