Do you market your small business on Instagram? Do you engage with Instagram contests? Do you need better results? If you’re a small business, this mobile platform can be a very hip and visual way to connect with your customers. Add a few Instagram contests, and you could have a viral marketing hit on your hands. Now, as you know, most small businesses don’t often have a massive marketing budget, or a team of graphic designers and marketing creatives. As I was researching for this article, I found a lot of super cool contests. I also found a lot of epic fails. Here’s a diverse selection of 10 small business Instagram contests, and tips on what you can learn from them. To read more: blog.wishpond.com

1. Small Business
Tips:
10 Instagram
Contest Critiques

3. Table of Contents: Types of Contest Examples
“Like” to Win Instagram Contests1
2 Photo Contest of “Selfies”
Photo Contest with Voting3
In-store Photo Contests4
Photo Contests through Your Website5
Photo Contest with Products6

4. “Like” to Win
Instagram Contests
1

5. “Like” to Win Contest: Drinkwel
1
Simple and easy to enter: Gets more
entries, more followers
2
3
Weekly contests: Creates quick and
frequent entries from contestants
(Potential customers get to interact a lot
with your brand)
Change the image to be more people-
centric: Contest has great CTA, but image
is boring, and impersonal for Instagram

6. Photo Contest of “Selfies”2

7. “Selfies” Photo Contest: Omnomnom Cookies
1
Friendly contest image: Makes contest
fun and personable
2
3
Short entry period: Makes quick CTA for
entrants
Contest is a one-off: Weekly contests,
with various themes/ prizes = momentum
and engagement

8. “Selfies” Photo Contest: Wedding Wire
1
Brand related contest theme: Gets
entrants thinking about weddings when
they enter to win
2
3
Promote contest: Post a follow-up
reminder to get more entrants
Contest image is boring: Customize
graphic to make it more personal and
friendly

9. Photo Contest with Voting3

10. Photo Contest with Voting: Habby Travels
1
Include public voting: Get your contest
(and business) shared even more
2
3
Make themed UGC: Make company
related theme to get lots of authentic
photos
Many entry methods is logistical
nightmare: Use third party contest app to
make it easy - for you - and for customers
to enter.

11. In-store Photo Contests4

12. In-Store Photo Contest: Travel Country
1
Gets foot traffic: Photo entries must be
from in store
2
3
Great Prize: Prize is brand
related, and motivating
Too long: Contest is one month. Get
faster action by running weekly contests

13. In-Store Photo Contest: Tender Greens
1
Gets patrons in the door:
Photo entries must be from
inside restaurant
2
3
Great contest graphic:
Make your image easy to
read, with example
photos, and friendly font
Be more interactive: Include public voting to choose the
contest winner(s)

14. Photo Contests through
Your Website
5

15. Photo Contest through Website: Mommy Page
1
Great prize: Prize is
relevant to target market
2
3
Make a community online:
Share all photos on website
or hashtag, making
community for your market
Enter photos via Instagram: Set up your contest to get photos
through Instagram too. (Use a good Instagram Photo Contest app)

16. Photo Contest through Website: Eyemimo Cosmetics
1
Keep contest image simple: Make
sure your contest graphic is easy to
read, and not too busy
2
3
Use common hashtags: Spread the
word about your contest with tags
like #photocontest
Promote website contest on
Instagram: Make it easy to enter your
photo contest directly through
Instagram, too

17. Photo Contest with
Products
6

18. Photo Contest with Products: AMP Diapers
1
Increase prize offering: To get more
moms to enter, offer a more
valuable prize
2
3
Get great product UGC: Use
product photo contests to get
authentic photos from your
customers
Create Instagram community: Use a
contest specific hashtag, for your
entrants to share photos

19. Photo Contest with Products: Friday and River
1
Use Instagram photo contests to market wares: Easy way to
get UCG, and share your own product images
2
3 Show product well: Photograph real people using products,
to connect better on Instagram
Run frequent contests:
Have contest run every
week, to get a quicker
CTA from your entrants.

20. Thank you for viewing!
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