How to Do a Raffle on Instagram

Running an Instagram raffle is one of the most effective ways to accelerate your follower growth, boost engagement, and get your brand in front of new eyes. When done right, a great raffle can create a wave of excitement around your account. This guide breaks down exactly what you need to do, step-by-step, from planning your prize to announcing the winner, so you can host a successful raffle that achieves your goals.

Before You Start: Understanding the Rules

First up, let's talk about the technical side of things. While everyone calls them "raffles" or "giveaways," there are actual legal distinctions, and Instagram has specific rules you have to follow. Getting this right from the start protects your account and keeps things fair for everyone involved.

Raffles vs. Sweepstakes (and Why It Matters)

Technically, a raffle is a game of chance where a person has to pay for a ticket or give some other form of "consideration" to enter. This type of contest is heavily regulated and can be classified as a private lottery, which is illegal in many places without a proper license.

A giveaway or sweepstakes, on the other hand, requires no purchase for entry. This is what nearly all "raffles" on Instagram actually are. To keep your contest legally sound, you cannot require participants to buy a product to enter. Simple engagement actions like following your account, liking a post, or tagging a friend are generally not considered a "purchase" or "consideration."

Quick disclaimer: This is not legal advice. It's always smart to check your local and national laws regarding contests and promotions.

Instagram's Promotion Guidelines

Instagram also requires you to play by their rules. A key rule is to include a simple disclaimer in every raffle post. It should state clearly that the contest is not affiliated with Instagram in any way. Just copy and paste this into the bottom of your caption:

"This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Instagram."

This is a non-negotiable step. It protects both you and the platform, so don't forget it.

Planning Your Instagram Raffle: The Prep Work

A successful raffle doesn’t happen by accident, it’s the result of smart planning. Before you even think about designing a graphic or writing a caption, walk through these key questions to set a clear direction for your campaign.

1. What is Your Goal?

Start with the "why." What do you want to achieve with this raffle? Your goal will determine the entire structure of the contest, especially the entry requirements. Common goals include:

• Follower Growth: Get more followers for your account. The primary entry rule here would be "Follow our page."
• Increased Engagement: Boost likes, comments, shares, and saves on your posts. Your rules might focus on "Like this post" and "Comment below."
• Brand Awareness: Introduce your brand to new people. The "Tag a friend" and "Share to your story" mechanics are perfect for this.
• Promote a Product: Generate buzz for a new launch or a specific product. The prize should be that product, and your entry might ask a question related to it.

Pick one primary goal. An unfocused raffle with too many goals will end up with complex rules that confuse and deter participants.

2. Who Is Your Audience?

You want to attract people who are genuinely interested in what you do, not just freebie hunters. Think about your ideal follower. What prize would they find genuinely exciting? What kind of content do they engage with? Tailoring your raffle to them ensures the new followers you gain are more likely to stick around long-term.

3. What's the Prize?

The prize is the centerpiece of your raffle. It needs to be desirable enough to get people excited but also highly relevant to your brand. Giving away an iPad or a generic Amazon gift card will attract a massive audience, but most of them won’t care about your brand. Once the raffle is over, they'll unfollow or ignore your future content.

A better strategy is to offer a prize directly related to your business. Examples include:

• For a skincare brand: A bundle of your best-selling products.
• For a coach or consultant: A free one-hour coaching session.
• For a coffee shop: A month’s supply of coffee beans and a branded mug.
• For a graphic designer: A complimentary logo design package.

This approach acts as a magnet for your ideal customers and filters out people who have no interest in what you sell.

4. How Long Will the Raffle Run?

Duration is important. Too short, and not enough people will see it. Too long, and the initial excitement fizzles out. For most Instagram raffles, a period of 5–7 days is the sweet spot. This gives you enough time to promote it but maintains a sense of urgency. Announce the start and end dates (including the specific time and timezone) very clearly in your post.

Step-by-Step: How to Run Your Instagram Raffle

With your plan in place, you're ready to bring your raffle to life. Follow these steps to set everything up for success.

Step 1: Set Your Entry Rules

This is where you tell people exactly what they need to do to enter. Keep the rules as simple and clear as possible. The more complicated the entry, the fewer people will participate. Combining two or three simple actions is usually most effective.

Here are some popular entry methods, from easiest to most effort:

• Follow Your Account: A must-have if your goal is an increase in followers.
• Like the Post: The lowest-effort action possible. It's a great, simple addition to any other requirement.
• Tag One or More Friends: This is the secret to viral growth, as every tag is a notification to a potential new follower. Asking for 1–3 tags is reasonable, asking for 5+ can feel spammy. Specify if tags need to be in separate comments.
• Comment with an Answer: Ask a simple question to drive meaningful engagement. (e.g., "Comment with your favorite way to spend a Sunday!")
• Share the Post to Their Story: This dramatically increases reach but is a higher-effort task. Use this rule if you’re offering a high-value prize. You'll need to ask them to tag you so you can see the share.

A classic, effective combination is: 1. Follow our page. 2. Like this post. 3. Tag a friend in the comments. It's simple, quick, and hits the goals of follower growth and brand awareness simultaneously.

Step 2: Craft the Perfect Raffle Post

Your post is the front door to your raffle. It needs to be eye-catching and provide all the information entrants need.

The Visuals

Use a stunning, high-quality photo or Reel of the prize. Video often performs better because it's more dynamic. A simple, well-lit clip showcasing the prize can stop scrollers in their tracks. If the prize is a service, use professional brand photography or a compelling graphic with bold text like "GIVEAWAY!" or "YOU COULD WIN!".

The Caption

Structure your caption for clarity. Use emojis to break up text and draw attention to important details. Here's a proven structure:

1. The Hook: Start with an exciting announcement. (e.g., "🎉 RAFFLE TIME! 🎉 To say thank you for your support, we’re giving away...").
2. The Prize: Clearly describe what the winner will receive. Be enthusiastic! Mention the value if it's impressive. (e.g., "One lucky winner will receive our entire new Summer Collection, a $250 value!").
3. The Rules: Use a numbered or bulleted list for the "How to Enter" section. (e.g., "1. FOLLOW us @yourbrand. 2. LIKE this post. 3. TAG a friend in the comments below!").
4. The Deadline: State the exact end date, time, and timezone. (e.g., "The raffle closes on October 26th at 5 PM EST.").
5. The Announcement Details: Let people know how and when you'll announce the winner. (e.g., "The winner will be chosen at random and announced on our Instagram Story on October 27th!").
6. The Disclaimer: Add the required Instagram legal line at the end.

Step 3: Promote, Promote, Promote

Don't just hit "Publish" and hope for the best. Actively promote your raffle throughout its duration:

• Share it on your Stories: Use arrows pointing to your new post and utilize the countdown sticker to create urgency.
• Pin the Post: Pin the raffle post to the top of your profile grid so it's the first thing visitors see.
• Add it to Your Bio: Briefly mention the raffle in your bio and use your link-in-bio to direct people to the post.
• Send it to Your Email List: Let your subscribers know they have a chance to win.

The Final Stretch: How to Pick and Announce the Winner

The way you wrap up your raffle is just as important as how you started it. Transparency is everything here. People need to trust that your contest was fair.

Choosing a Winner Fairly

The winner must be chosen randomly. For a small number of comments, you can manually scroll and pick one. But for anything larger, that method isn't transparent or efficient.

Here are two better options:

• Use a Free Comment Picker Tool: There are many free third-party websites where you can paste your post URL, and it will randomly select a comment for you.
• Use a Spreadsheet: Export the comments to a spreadsheet. Assign a number to each row (i.e., each unique entry). Then use a random number generator like Google's (=RANDBETWEEN(1, [total number of entries])) to select a winning number.

💡 Pro Tip: Record your screen while you're picking the winner! You can post this clip to your Instagram Story as proof of a fair and random drawing. This builds an incredible amount of trust with your audience.

Announcing the Winner

Once you have a winner and have verified they completed all the entry steps, it's time for the announcement.

1. Notify Them Privately First: Send a DM to the winner to congratulate them and collect necessary information, like their shipping address. Heads up about scammers! Sometimes fake accounts will impersonate you and contact entrants asking for credit card info. Warn your audience about this, and reaffirm that you will never ask for financial details.
2. Announce Publicly: After the winner has confirmed, announce it on your Instagram Story. Tag their profile (with their permission) and celebrate! You can also edit your original raffle caption to add "[CLOSED]" and congratulate the winner.
3. Thank Everyone: Make a follow-up post or story thanking every single person who entered. This positive interaction leaves a good impression and encourages them to participate in future raffles.

An Instagram raffle is a powerful tool for building a deeper connection with your audience and attracting new followers who align with your brand. By thoughtfully planning your goals, choosing a relevant prize, and running the contest with clarity and transparency, you create a fun event that supports your marketing goals.

We know that during a raffle, the influx of comments and messages can be overwhelming. Keeping track of all that new engagement while managing your content is a challenge, which is why we built a unified inbox into Postbase. Instead of frantically switching between apps, you can reply to all your comments and DMs from one streamlined place. It makes community management feel less chaotic and helps you keep that great rapport going with your excited new followers.