Spike follower growth, increase organic social engagement and achieve more user-generated content (UGC) by executing the following tips for a successful Instagram contest. 

• Establish Contest Logistics

1. 1. 1. To ensure your contest adheres to Instagram platform guidelines and your followers have a good user experience, solidify the contest duration, entry guidelines, messaging, and unique hashtag before deploying. 
      2. TribalVision recommends the contest run for at least three weeks to get the most participants as possible and allow the contest promotions to be circulated. Be sure to get contest messaging approval from your legal team.

• Develop Posting Schedule and Cohesive Creative

1. 1. 1. TribalVision recommends posting three to five days before the contest begins, the day of launch, midway through, the day before it ends, and then after the contest. 
      2. Creative for promotions should all look consistent so content messaging is streamlined and followers can easily recognize this is a limited-time contest. Utilize text overlay to clearly communicate the giveaway and prize in the creative. The caption and image should both clearly state how to participate in the giveaway and when the winner will be announced.

• Cross-Promote the Contest

1. 1. 1. To maximize the reach of your contest across all social channels, deploy supporting posts on Facebook and LinkedIn and drive traffic to the Instagram account. Send an email blast to a relevant contact list in your database to engage existing leads or customers.
      2. Repost entries on Instagram Stories to show followers people are participating and create an Instagram Highlight to store all the campaign stories.

• Feature the Winner

1. 1. TribalVision recommends selecting one grand prize winner and two to three runner-ups, as featuring the runner ups can help show the popularity of the contest. 
   2. Deploy a post and story announcing the winners to notify followers the contest has completed and a winner was selected. Participants like seeing contests be completed and winners being announced so they know the contest was legitimate. 

At the conclusion of the contest, be sure to report on the performance so you can closely analyze the metrics and identify areas to optimize. Each industry participates in contests differently, so continue to tweak your contest process and execution plans until you find what resonates best with your unique audience.