A giveaway is a quick way to get attention, and it brings the wrong kind as easily as the right one. The trouble people run into is rarely dramatic — a removed post, an angry entrant, a prize that never arrives — and almost all of it is avoidable. This is general guidance, not legal advice; the rules on prize draws differ from country to country.
Read the network’s rules first
- Each network publishes rules for promotions. Instagram’s, for example, ask you to state that the promotion is not sponsored or run by Instagram.
- Do not ask people to tag friends who are not in a photo, or to share something misleading, in order to enter.
- If you are partnering with a brand, the partnership has to be disclosed in the way the network requires.
Write the terms down
- 1What the prize is, and who pays for delivery.
- 2Who can enter, including the countries you will ship to.
- 3How to enter, in one sentence.
- 4When it closes, and when the winner will be named.
- 5How the winner is chosen, and how they will be contacted.
Put them in the post or on a linked page, not in a comment that will be buried.
Choose the winner honestly
Use a method you could explain to somebody who did not win: a random picker, a numbered list, a draw you record on video. Announce the winner in public, and keep your word on the date.
Mind who you are attracting
A giveaway that grows a following of people who only wanted the prize will lift your numbers and sink your engagement rate. Give something your real audience would want and nobody else would, and the people who enter will be the ones you hoped for.
If you are not sure whether something is allowed where you live, ask somebody who knows. An hour of advice costs less than a removed account.