How to Run a Competition on LinkedIn

Running a competition on LinkedIn can be a powerhouse for boosting engagement, generating leads, and growing your professional network, but only if you map it out correctly. This guide breaks down every step, from setting clear goals to announcing the winner, so you can launch a contest that delivers tangible results for your brand or business.

Why Even Run a Competition on LinkedIn?

Unlike other platforms where contests can feel purely for show, a LinkedIn competition has specific business advantages. When done thoughtfully, it's not just about getting more likes, it's a strategic move to build a professional community and credibility. The right contest can help you:

• Boost Brand Awareness: Get your company page or personal brand in front of new, relevant audiences as people engage with your content.
• Increase Engagement Rates: Contests are among the most engaging types of content. Comments, likes, and shares signal to the LinkedIn algorithm that your post is valuable, increasing its organic reach.
• Generate High-Quality Leads: By offering a prize that appeals directly to your ideal customer, you ensure that the people who enter are genuinely interested in what you do.
• Showcase a New Product or Service: Making your latest offering the centerpiece of the prize is a natural and effective way to introduce it to the market.
• Gather User-Generated Content (UGC): A well-designed contest can provide you with a library of authentic content from your community that you can repurpose later.

Step 1: Set Your Goals and Choose Your Prize

Before you write a single word of your contest post, you need to know what a "win" looks like for you. A successful competition starts with a clear goal and an irresistible prize.

Define a Clear, Measurable Goal

What is the single most important outcome you want from this competition? Vague goals like "more engagement" are hard to measure. Get specific. Your goal will shape every other decision you make, from the type of contest you run to the prize you offer.

Examples of strong goals include:

• Gain 500 new, relevant followers on our Company Page.
• Generate 100 qualified leads by directing participants to a landing page.
• Drive 1,000 clicks to our new "Features" page.
• Collect 25 pieces of user-generated content showcasing our product.

Choose a Prize That Actually Matters

The prize you offer is your magnet - it determines who you attract. Avoid generic prizes like Amazon gift cards or a new iPad. While popular, they attract everyone, not necessarily your ideal customer. A successful prize is directly related to your brand and offers genuine value to your target audience.

Excellent Prize Ideas for LinkedIn:

• Your Product/Service: Give away a 1-year premium subscription to your software, a bundle of your physical products, or a free course.
• Access to Expertise: Offer a one-on-one consulting session, a strategy audit, or free tickets to a webinar or industry conference you're hosting.
• Professional Development: Give away an in-demand business book, a pass to a relevant online course, or a mentorship call.

A great prize signals who the contest is for and pre-qualifies your participants as people who are interested in what your business provides.

Step 2: Understand and Follow LinkedIn's Rules

LinkedIn has official Page Terms that include guidelines for running promotions. While they aren't as restrictive as other platforms, it's good practice to know the basics to keep your page in good standing.

Here are the key takeaways:

• You are responsible. LinkedIn makes it clear you are solely responsible for the legal and compliant operation of your contest, including the official rules, eligibility requirements, and prize fulfillment.
• Be professional. This is LinkedIn, after all. Keep your contest aligned with the professional nature of the platform.
• Don't ask for inappropriate tagging. A common rule on other platforms is never asking users to tag people in photos they aren't in. While not explicitly stated in the context of general posts on LinkedIn, it’s a good rule to follow to avoid spammy behavior. Asking to tag a colleague who might be interested in a comment is generally fine.
• State your rules clearly. You must have a clear set of rules and make sure participants can find them. We'll cover what to include in those rules in the next section.

When in doubt, always review LinkedIn's official guidelines before you launch.

Step 3: Pick the Right Type of Competition

The type of contest you run should align directly with your goal. A low-effort sweepstakes is great for maximizing reach, while a UGC contest is better for building community. Here are some of the most effective formats for LinkedIn.

The Simple "Like and Comment" Sweepstakes

This is the most straightforward contest format. You ask participants to follow your page, like the post, and leave a comment answering a simple question.

• Best For: Maximizing reach and quickly boosting engagement on a post.
• How it Works: "To enter: 1. Follow our page. 2. Like this post. 3. Comment below with your favorite productivity hack!"
• Pros: Very low barrier to entry means you'll get a high volume of participants.
• Cons: Engagement can be superficial. It doesn't generate strong leads or create lasting user content.

The "Tag-a-Colleague" Contest

This format leverages networks by encouraging participants to bring other people into the conversation.

• Best For: Expanding your audience and reaching new, relevant professionals.
• How it Works: "Tag a mentor in the comments who has made a huge impact on your career and tell us why."
• Pros: Incredible for organic reach. Each tag introduces your brand to someone new.
• Cons: Can feel a little spammy if the question isn't genuine or meaningful. Frame it around connection and appreciation.

The User-Generated Content (UGC) Contest

Here, you're asking your audience to create content for you. They might share a story, a photo, or a video related to a prompt you provide.

• Best For: Building an authentic content library and fostering a strong sense of community.
• How it Works: "Share a photo of your team's biggest 'win' this quarter with the hashtag #MyCompanyWin for a chance to win a team lunch on us!"
• Pros: Provides you with powerful social proof and genuine content to reshare. Engagement is much deeper.
• Cons: A much higher barrier to entry means you'll get fewer participants. The prize needs to be worth the effort.

The Knowledge-Based Quiz Contest

Tap into the professional nature of the platform with a quiz or a "guess the answer" style contest based on industry knowledge.

• Best For: Positioning your brand as an industry expert and attracting a highly relevant audience.
• How it Works: "We just released our 2024 Industry Report. For a chance to win a free strategy session, comment with the correct answer: What percentage of marketers said AI was their top priority this year?"
• Pros: The participants are likely people deeply invested in your field, making them excellent potential leads.
• Cons: Requires some research and thought from participants, which may lower the entry count.

Step 4: Craft the Perfect Competition Post

Think of your announcement post as a mini-landing page. It needs to contain all the information a person needs to get excited, understand the rules, and enter without any confusion.

Grab Attention Immediately

Start with a strong visual - a custom graphic, an eye-catching photo, or a short video explaining the prize. Then, use your first line of text to make it obvious what's happening. Words like "GIVEAWAY," "CONTEST," or "WIN" in all caps work well.

Example opening: "✨ CONTEST ALERT! We're giving away a full one-year subscription to our Pro plan!"

State a Clear Call-to-Enter

Don't make people guess what to do. Use a numbered or bulleted list to outline the exact steps for entry. Make it so simple anyone can understand it in seconds.

Example instructions:
To enter, simply:
1️⃣ Follow our LinkedIn Page.
2️⃣ Like this post.
3️⃣ Comment with the best piece of career advice you've ever received.

Define the Rules, Prize, and Deadline

Transparency is everything. Your post must include:

• The Prize: Be specific. "A strategy call" should become "A 60-minute 1:1 brand strategy call with our CEO."
• The Deadline: Include the exact date and time the contest closes, including the time zone (e.g., "Closes Friday, October 27th at 5:00 PM EST.").
• Eligibility: Mention any restrictions, such as age or location ("Open to US residents only.").
• Winner Selection: Explain how the winner will be chosen ("A winner will be selected at random from all eligible entries.").

Use Strategic Hashtags

Include a mix of hashtags to expand your post's visibility. Use a campaign-specific tag, broader industry tags, and a few contest-related tags.

Example hashtags: #YourBrandGiveaway #LinkedInContest #MarketingTips #SmallBusinessGrowth #ContestAlert

Step 5: Promote Your Contest Strategically

Hitting "publish" is just the start. To get the momentum you need, you have to actively promote your competition while it's live.

Pin the Post to Your Profile

Pin your competition post to the top of your Company Page or personal profile. This ensures it's the first thing visitors see, maximizing its visibility for the duration of the contest.

Cross-Promote on Other Channels

Tell your audience everywhere else that you're running a contest on LinkedIn. Send an announcement to your email list, post on Instagram Stories, and share it on X. Direct all traffic back to the single LinkedIn post so all entries are easy to track.

Engage with Every Entry

As comments and entries roll in, respond to them! Thank people for participating, react to their answers, and ask follow-up questions. This not only makes participants feel seen but also tells the LinkedIn algorithm that your post is popular, giving it another organic boost.

Ask Your Team for a Boost

Encourage your employees to reshare the contest with their own professional networks. A single share from a well-connected team member can introduce your competition to hundreds or thousands of new people.

Step 6: Choose and Announce the Winner Fairly

How you wrap up the contest is just as important as how you launch it. A positive conclusion leaves a great impression on everyone who participated.

Pick a Winner Transparently

For random-draw contests, use a trusted third-party tool like Comment Picker to ensure fairness. If your contest was skill-based (like a UGC contest), have a small team judge the entries against a pre-determined rubric to avoid bias. You can even record yourself drawing the winner to show complete transparency.

Announce the Winner Publicly

Create a short, new post to announce the winner. Tag them in the post (if their privacy settings permit) and in the comments. This signals to everyone that the contest was legitimate and a winner was chosen.

As a courtesy, you should also edit the original competition post's text. Add "[COMPETITION CLOSED]" to the top and mention the winner’s name so anyone who stumbles upon the original post knows the outcome.

Contact the Winner Privately

After the public announcement, send the winner a direct message to congratulate them and arrange prize delivery. This is where you'll ask for necessary information like an email or shipping address - never ask for this information publicly.

Final Thoughts

A properly executed LinkedIn competition is far more than a simple giveaway, it's a strategic marketing campaign that can energize your audience, attract high-quality followers, and drive real business growth. By setting clear goals and focusing on providing genuine value, you turn a simple contest into a powerful community-building tool.

Keeping track of all the moving pieces of a contest - from scheduling the announcement post to engaging with comments across different reminders - can get messy fast. This is exactly why we built Postbase. We use our own visual calendar to map out our promotional schedule in advance and the unified inbox to feel confident we never miss a single entry or question. It lets us focus on the exciting parts of the campaign instead of drowning in the administrative details.