How to do a giveaway: Social media techniques to build your membership

Running a social media giveaway can be a great way to increase engagement with your community and attract new followers/members. However, you need to plan your giveaway carefully and follow a few key steps.

Before you start, be sure you are laser-focussed on what you want your giveaway to achieve. Is it more brand visibility or awareness? More (paying) members? Simply to get your product or service in front of more people? This will help to guide you through the questions outlined below.

In this article, we'll outline five easy steps that you can follow to run a successful social media giveaway that will delight your existing audience, attract new members and strengthen your community. Here’s our checklist for how to do a giveaway to build a membership!

Step 1: Choose a prize

The first step in running a successful social media giveaway is to choose a prize that is relevant to your brand and will be appealing to your target audience. Your prize should be something that your audience will love and appreciate, and that aligns with your brand values.

When choosing your prize, consider the following factors:

Value: Your prize should be valuable enough to encourage people to participate in your giveaway. The higher the value of the prize, the more interest you're likely to generate but you don;t want to bankrupt yourself in the process!

Relevance: Your prize should be relevant to your brand and your target audience. This will ensure that the people who enter your giveaway are genuinely interested in your brand. For example, if you run a fitness company, you might offer a free gym membership as your prize. If you have written a book, you could give away a copy of that book.

Appeal: Your prize should be something that your audience will find appealing. Consider the interests and needs of your target audience when selecting your prize. It usually needs to be something that will entertain or inform or both.

Step 2: Decide on the entry method

Once you've chosen your prize, the next step is to decide on the entry mechanics for your giveaway – as in, what people will have to do to qualify for winning the prize. This usually requires some sort of online interaction with your social media pages.

There are many different ways you can ask people to enter your giveaway, including:

Liking or commenting on your post Following your account Tagging friends in the comments Sharing your post Filling out a form Creating user-generated content (and adding a hashtag)

When deciding on your entry mechanism, you should bear the following in mind:

Simplicity: Your entry method should be simple and easy for people to complete. The more complicated the entry process, the fewer people are likely to participate. A simple ‘Comment and like this post!’ will usually generate the most activity.

Engagement: Your entry method should encourage engagement with your brand. For example, asking people to tag their friends in the comments can help to increase your reach and get your social media presence in front of new people.

Shareability: Your entry method should be designed to encourage sharing and, ideally, virality. For example, asking people to share your post can help to increase your visibility and potentially attract new followers which you can then convert to paying members.

Step 3: Set the terms and conditions

Before you launch your social media giveaway, it's important to set clear rules that outline the terms and conditions of your giveaway. Your rules should be easy to understand and should cover the following areas:

Eligibility: Specify who is eligible to enter your giveaway. For example, you might limit your giveaway to residents of a specific country or to people over the age of 18. They might also need to be following one of your social media pages/

How to enter: Clearly outline how people can enter your giveaway. Be sure to include any specific requirements, such as using a specific hashtag or tagging your account. Using hashtags will also make it easier to follow the reach of your giveaway.

How the winner will be chosen: Explain how and when the winner will be chosen. This could be through drawing names at random, or choosing based on a specific criteria such as creativity or level engagement. You may need an independent judge to help you to ensure transparency.

Prize details: Provide details about the prize, perhaps including its RRP value, any restrictions for when it can be used (such as a restaurant booking that is not valid at the weekend), and how when the winner will receive it such as via email a week after the giveaway closes.

Duration: Specify when your giveaway will end – put this in simple numerical times and dates such as “The competition will end at 23:59 on July 19, 2023. Entries after this time will not qualify for the prize.” This will also encourage people to enter sooner rather than later.

Step 4: Promote your giveaway

Once you've set the rules for your social media giveaway, it's time to start letting the world know! There are many different ways you can promote your giveaway, including:

Social media: Use your social media platforms to promote your giveaway and encourage people to enter. Be sure to use eye-catching visuals and clear calls to action in order to attract attention.

Influencer marketing: Consider partnering with influencers in your niche/industry who have a significant following in your target audience. They can help to promote your giveaway and increase your reach.

Paid advertising: You can also consider using paid advertising on social media to promote your giveaway. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram offer targeted advertising options that can help you reach a wider audience – you can ‘boost’ posts to relevant people for a fee.

When promoting your giveaway, be sure to use clear and consistent messaging across all channels. Emphasize the value of your prize and the benefits of entering your giveaway.

You can also use social proof, such as testimonials or reviews, to help build trust and credibility with your audience. If you have run a giveaway before, why not ask the previous winner to share a few words about how happy they were when they won?!

Step 5: Choose a winner and celebrate their success

Once your giveaway has ended, it's time to choose a winner and follow up with them. Use the criteria outlined in your rules to choose a winner, and be sure to notify them as soon as possible.

When following up with your winner, be sure to:

• Congratulate them on their win
• Provide any additional instructions or requirements for claiming their prize
• Follow up a week later to ensure that they have received their prize and are happy with it

It’s also crucial to thank all participants for entering and encourage them to continue following your brand. Following up with your winner and participants can help to build relationships with your audience and increase loyalty to your brand for future community-building exercises or even another giveaway.

Conclusion: How to do a giveaway to build a membership

Running a successful social media giveaway requires careful planning and execution. By following the five steps outlined in this article, you can create a giveaway that generates engagement with your brand, and attracts new followers and members.

Remember to choose a prize that aligns with your brand values and is appealing to your target audience and decide on a simple and engaging entry mechanism. You’ll need to set clear rules that outline the terms and conditions of your giveaway and how to enter. Then promote your giveaway through the social channels you have at your disposal, and follow up with your winner and participants to build relationships and increase loyalty to your brand.

With these steps in mind, you can run a successful giveaway that helps you achieve your marketing goals and grow your membership and brand. Good luck!