Since Instagram contests bring in followers – one industry study showed a +70% increase in followers for accounts using contests – we wanted to share some ideas that any business could try. In this post, we’ll look at award-winning contests, examine why they were successful and identify key elements that drove their appeal. Award-Winning Instagram Contests Sawhorse Media, a...
Instagram contests are popular. They're powerful. And they're a perfect way to grow lists of engaged users. Did you know: Instagram contests get 64x more comments than regular posts. 91% of posts with 1,000 comments are contests. Instagram contests get 3.5x more likes than regular posts. Contests conducted with partners get 79% more engagement. But here's the truly eye-opening...
Want to get a bunch of free Instagram followers really, really quickly? Want to turn those followers into customers? Of course you do! Who wouldn’t? Good news: Getting free Instagram followers is relatively easy. Bad news: Getting free Instagram users quickly is not. Unfortunately, despite what some businesses selling followers and likes would lead you to believe, there’s...
When you’re hosting an Instagram contest, there are so many decisions to make. How do you want people to participate? Will you have entry restrictions? What will the prize be? Will you collect UGC? Who will be the winner? That last consideration complicates contests for lots of brands. Deciding who will win—and how to actually pick the...
After Instagram’s algorithm revision in March 2016, Instagram feeds went from showing posts in chronological order to to delivering content in the order Instagram calculated would be most engaging to the individual user. Instagram took into account the number of likes, comments, likes on comments, post saves, direct message replies, and posts to someone else by...
Visibility through Facebook’s organic reach just dropped even more, making other points of contact with followers even more important. Stepping up your Instagram game is a strong antidote to this declining Facebook reach. While Instagram’s algorithm still shows content out of order, it does prioritize strong, engaging content, so building up your followers there can help...
When looking to connect with new customers and win over potential leads with Instagram contests, a lot of small businesses rely on the “tag a friend!” strategy as a requirement to enter the contest. There are two problems with this. The first is that it actually goes against Instagram’s policies, and could potentially land your account in hot...
This post has been updated to reflect changes in Facebook/Instagram's policies, as announced on April 4, 2018 Facebook (which owns Instagram) announced today it has disabled several Instagram Platform APIs. Third party Instagram apps will no longer be able to use APIs that provide access to follower lists, likes, relationships and public comments. What does this...
The holidays are almost here! Is your business ready? If one of your challenges is figuring out how to compete for consumers' attention and engagement (not to mention their dollars!), consider hosting a contest. Instagram contests are hot right now, and are one way to get in front of your existing customers, plus bring new followers. Instagram’s visual...
Have you run a hashtag contest yet? Have you used hashtags on Instagram and Twitter as a way to organize your content, or to find new people and businesses to follow? Most important: Did you know you can run hashtag contests using ShortStack? The first user to try out our new hashtag capability is Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). They...
