Permanent link for The dos and don'ts of running a social media giveaway on April 21, 2021

Giveaways can be a fun way to engage with your followers on social media. At Grand Valley, we love showing Lakers some love by giving out gift cards, apparel and more! 

But wait - before you hit send on that giveaway Tweet, it’s important to review the rules put in place by various platforms to ensure your giveaway complies with all guidelines. 

Let’s review some ground rules for hosting a giveaway on some of social media’s most popular platforms. 

Twitter

Twitter guidelines are pretty giveaway-friendly, and is University Communications’ preferred platform for hosting a giveaway. 

DON’T:

• Require users to create multiple Twitter accounts in order to enter the giveaway. 
• Encourage posting the same Tweet repeatedly in order to win the giveaway. (a.k.a spam posting)

DO:

• Encourage users to mention you (by using the @ sign with your username) in their entry.
• Use relevant hashtags to help aggregate giveaway entries.
• Create giveaways that spur engagement through likes, retweets and replies. 

More specifics on Twitter guidelines can be found here. 

Instagram

Instagram is often the platform of choice for hosting a giveaway, given its many options for entry, including likes, comments, mentions and sharing to Instagram Stories. 

DON’T:

• Be vague about the rules of the contest. This goes for all platforms, but is especially important on Instagram. Text is featured under images, and is often not read as carefully as it is on other platforms. 
• Make it too complicated to enter. Entries for an Instagram giveaway typically include tagging a friend in the comments or quickly sharing a post to your Instagram story. Asking a user to post a photo on their profile may be too much work for many users. 

DO:

• Include in the text of your giveaway a statement acknowledging that the giveaway is not sponsored, administered, endorsed by or associated with Instagram in any way. This rule may seem pretty strict, but please remember to include it every time!

Further information on Instagram promotions can be found here. 

Facebook 

Giveaway guidelines on Facebook are generally similar to Instagram. 

DON’T:

• Ask users to share a post on the Timeline to enter.
• Ask users to tag their friends in comments to enter.

DO:

• Include in the text of your giveaway a statement acknowledging that the giveaway is not sponsored, administered, endorsed by or associated with Facebook in any way.

Facebook promotion guidelines are listed here. 

Have more questions about the rules of a social media giveaway? Contact us at [email protected]. 

 

Categories: best practices
Posted by Anna Young on Permanent link for The dos and don'ts of running a social media giveaway on April 21, 2021.