Here at Vertical Ledge, we give away a new stand every time we create one- it is a well-known fact if you’ve been following us for the last few months as it may seem like we do giveaways every week. Now, giveaways are great for a multitude of reasons but we’ll stick to 6 main reasons we use giveaways to grow our online presence and more!

Giveaways can be so much more than simply having your audience follow you. You can use giveaways as a tool to further your business- but you have to utilize all the different ways, not just the same giveaway each time. Trust me, your loyal audience will get frustrated by the same thing every time. Make sure to say somewhere in the giveaway that Instagram has nothing to do with it, it’s in the user agreement buried down like 20 scrolls.

6 Ways Giveaways Can Grow Your Business:

// 1. To get feedback on a new product right away:

• For our product line, it is imperative that we get feedback on how a new stand fits into a certain niche. Does it work well for that artisan in their specific niche? We do giveaways based on our new stands so that we can find an artisan who will be able to give us critical feedback before we release it to the masses.

// 2. To grow your Instagram following:

• This is the easiest giveaway to set up because all the followers have to do is follow you and comment on the post. Inevitably people will unfollow after, but for us, it has not been an issue.

• The best way to get people to participate in a giveaway is to simply have them follow you. By doing this, you gain followers! Simple as that.

// 3. To grow your email list:

• Your Instagram followers are not yours- meaning if Instagram crashes tomorrow, how will you reach your potential customers? That’s right, old school email. Oh, wait… what’s that you say? You don’t have an email list yet? Look no further because all you have to do here is make a giveaway in order to enter, they need to subscribe.

• Make sure your Instagram links are set up so it is easy for them to sign up. The easier, the better! Use an app like milkshake to help UP your link in bio game!

// 4. To grow your Pinterest following:

• Hey, why not use Instagram to boost other media outlets like Pinterest. Have a link set up for Pinterest and have people follow you there in order to be entered into the giveaway.

• This is really helpful when you are first starting out but have a lot of good pinnable content on your Pinterest. It helps to have more followers there too because when they pin your stuff, it has more ability to be seen by their audiences as well. This means upping your presence.

// 5. To partner build potential relationships to do collaboration giveaways:

• Y'all know how much I love to collaborate, it’s practically all I think about these days. Being able to partner with unique artisans from all over the country has brought so much joy to Vertical Ledge. That being said, why not use a giveaway as a means to simply just get to know your followers?

• You can have your followers comment on how they’d work with you for a fun giveaway, and it gives you lots of new ideas! It might not work for everyone but, again, you will not know until you try.

// 6. To boost engagement on posts

• Having low engagement or none at all? A great way to get people to start commenting on posts is to do a giveaway where they comment on your last 3 posts (or any posts at all really) and make sure to respond, striking up a conversation.

• When you strike up a conversation, the follower is more likely to continue to engage and make connections. Are you on Instagram not connecting with anyone yet? Then it is time for you to start commenting and being an active follower for some of your favorite accounts.

That wraps up the six ways you can grow your business online. Make sure to switch it up and get creative. Giveaways do not always have to be about you getting something either. You can do it just for fun! We do a 12 days of Christmas giveaway, and there really is not much in it for us- we like it that way for that time of year!

That’s all for now-

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Sydney