Whether you’ve got one toe in the influencer marketing game or have jumped right into the water that is the burgeoning industry, you’ve no doubt heard the term “Loop Giveaway.” Sounds interesting, sure. Beneficial? Possibly. Not sure how loop giveaways actually work? Don’t worry, we got you.

Let’s dig in, answer all the questions, and see if loop giveaways are right for you and your brand or partners in crime:

First things first: Are loop giveaways different from a regular giveaways on Instagram? The short answer is: Yes.

Here’s the long answer:

An Instagram loop giveaway is indeed a giveaway …but with more steps. Rather than being hosted by a brand or an influencer—it’s hosted by a bunch of users (typically between 5-30), all of whom stipulate a series of steps a participant needs to take in order to win.

Why the fancy name? Well, said steps form a perfect loop if done correctly. Meaning, the participate would essentially end where they started.

It is more complicated than a regular giveaway, true. But let’s break it down further–and see if it’s right for you. There are benefits!

  1. ASSEMBLE YOUR TEAM: As we said, a loop is essentially a bunch of like-minded users who get together and procure and giveaway a prize. We’ll get to how the loop is made in a bit, but first—assemble your team of hosts.
  2. SELECT YOUR PRIZE: Once you’ve got your partners in place, it’s time to select your prize. Note: It’s entirely possible that the prize determines the loop. If you’re a brand looking to maximize the giveaway, maybe you’ve already got the prize in mind… in which case, you’d start with the prize and then build you team. Either way!–the prize for the loop giveaway should be something desirable, and something of value—but it should also be something that would appeal to your loop’s niche. For example: If you’re all united by your love of gaming, maybe the prize is a new console–which is something, we’d imagine, your followers would all want!
  3. DETERMINE YOUR CTA’S: Before you post and put the loop into motion, you must determine the CTA’s (Call To Actions). What are you asking the participants of the contest/giveaway to do? Make sure it’s simple and straightforward. Usual asks are: Like, Follow, Tag a friend. The last thing you want to do is confuse anyone…
  4. SYNCHRONIZE: It’s like the part in the movie, where the people attempting to pull off the heist synchronize their watches. Here everyone in the team will decide upon a time to upload their posts, and do so at the same time to kick things off. As one post leads to the next (which leads to the next, etc.), you can’t start a Loop Giveaway at random times; all the hosts need to post in unison.

Synchronize Your Watches!

Wait. Why does that matter?

Remember when we said we’d tell you how a loop is made? We’re at that part. Take a look at the below pictures and read the captions:

Loop Steps

Here you’ll notice not just the CTA’s (Follow, Like…) but how the loop is formed, as well.

STEP 4 directs the participant to the next person in the loop, where they’ll have to honor those same steps, until they reach the starting point.

So, say you have 5 people in the loop giveaway:

Person 1 tags Person 2

Person 2 tags Person 3

Person 3 tags Person 4

Person 4 tags Person 5

Person 5 tags Person 1, thereby bringing the participant back to the start and forming a perfect L-O-O-P!

Makes sense, right?

You might be asking yourself, once again, “why bother?” Social media and social media marketing take up enough time as it is—why overcomplicate it?

To be honest, that’s 100% fair. You’re welcome to streamline everything as you deem necessary, in fact, we often recommend that! But there are possible benefits to this …and that’s why it’s a “thing.” So what are those benefits?

Well, it all depends on the CTA. Most Loop Giveaways we’ve seen require participants to “follow” and “like.” The benefit to running the contest with those steps is the inherent boost in following and engagement it’ll give you. If you have the participants tag a friend it could lead to a viral campaign, but again, that all depends on the prizing.

What’s good for the goose might not always be good for the gander.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Give us a shout: direct@repped.io