Instagram raffle – don’t leave success to chance 

Instagram raffle means a raffle held on social media platform Instagram, where the user of the service can win a prize for certain conditions. The most common requirements for participating in the raffle are to like the post in question and/or to follow the account of the raffle organizer. 

These raffles are very popular both within organizers and the participants. They are a “part” of Instagram now and can be seen by all users on the daily in their own feeds.

Who should host an Instagram raffle? 

Who should hold an Instagram raffle? First, make sure your customer segment uses and interacts on Instagram. If you sell walking sticks, your customer segment might not be a big consumer of Instagram. Of course, you can then take this into account and take a different approach and organize a raffle titled “Win a new walking stick for grandpa” but generally it is better to have a direct user segment. 

One of the largest user groups by volume on Instagram at the moment is adults aged 30-40. Women of this user group are particularly active users of the app. So if your product or service works well for the aforementioned group for example, you are already much closer to the right target audience.

What does a good Instagram raffle contain?

When you start making a raffle, you should plan its execution well. First, consider who you want to target with the raffle and make sure your product or service is of interest to your target audience. Think about the details like requirements to enter the raffle, end date, and how the winners are notified of the win.

It is vital to follow the rules of Instagram raffles. Instagram is very precise and strict about what is and isn’t allowed in these raffles. Read below a quick summary of the rules.

Instagram raffles: Rules

Here’s a list of things you can ask or require from your participants, followed by a list of what you shouldn’t ask for. These are Instagram’s own requirements. In addition to this there are a few additional requirements, which are described in more detail below.

You can require or request: 

• Like and / or comment on your raffle post
• Follow your profile
• Vote within the options you provide or request to come up with an optional answer
• Tagging a friend in the comments
• Participation by private message, this is less common since the organic visibility of the lottery will likely be much lower

Remember that you can’t ask people to share your post on their personal feeds. You also cannot request people to change their profile picture as a condition of entering the raffle. 

In addition to this, you must mention that Instagram is in no way involved in the raffle. The other rules of the raffle must also be clearly stated in the post, i.e. who organizes the lottery, the start and end dates, when is the winner picked and how he will be notified of his win. 

You can also create your own tab for the rules of the raffle on your website, or even put a link of it into your biography for the duration of the raffle. This way, you ensure that the rules of the competition are accessible to everyone.

Easy tips for organizing an Instagram raffle

The aforementioned tips are worth giving a try, if you are considering holding a raffle on Instagram. As a recap: What, to whom and how. When these factors are considered, you are off to a good start. You should also figure out how you are going to send the reward to the winner – Especially if the prize is a physical item.

Instagram raffles don’t have to be a big investment financially, as long as it’s thought out sensibly. However, Instagram raffles do take time, so it is feasible to try to make the most out of them. A good way of boosting the visibility of your raffle is with paid Instagram advertising. An even better way is to introduce Instagram ads. This gives the raffle a better chance of reaching your target audience, as well as gaining traction. 

Everyone can surely define their own target audience relatively well, but it’s also important to think about how you’ll find and connect with them on Instagram. Targeting your advertising always requires knowledge and experience, which is why you should learn about it or get the help of an expert in the matter. In the worst-case scenario, a well-thought-out raffle ends up only gathering Indian followers, when the businesses right target audience is in Finland. That’s why targeting your advertising is so important, none of us want to waste our time and money on inefficient efforts. 

If you’re running a raffle concurrently on Facebook and Instagram, check out our blog: Facebook and Instagram advertising

An example: A good Instagram raffle

Take, for example, a Life Coach entrepreneur. He organizes a raffle with a post: 

Win a 60-minute free life coach meeting for two. The meeting is held online or in person. To participate, follow my profile, like this picture and comment below who you want to win an appointment with. The raffle ends at xx.xx.xxxx at xx.xx. Winners will be notified in the comment section of the post the following day. The details of the meeting are discussed directly with the winners.

The raffle is organized by Example Life Coaching. Instagram is not involved in the raffle in any way. Instagram does not sponsor, manage or recommend the campaign.

Concluding remarks

Here we learned a few basics about Instagram raffles. Hopefully you got the answers you were looking for. As with all marketing, the most important thing is to know who the raffle is aimed at and how you ensure that you reach the target audience. The aforementioned example about targeting errors leading to Indian followers entering your competition sounds far-fetched, but is unfortunately common. This is why we recommend getting the help of advertising experts for these types of campaigns.

“When you have a business, you don’t use Instagram as your primary selling storefront. That’s what your website is for. Instead, your Instagram profile is meant to drum up interest for your business, gather followers, and direct them to your website to learn more.” 

― Kevin J. Donaldson 

We at Kubla have organized several raffles for our customers and we still hold them on a weekly basis. You can come to us for more tips – or if you want to spend your time on the company’s core business, we can also run the raffle for you 🙂