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You’ve heard about all the benefits of running a TikTok giveaway.
And you want some of them for your business.
But you need to set up your TikTok giveaway the right way to get those benefits.
How do you pick the best giveaway prize, create a compelling giveaway post, or even promote your TikTok giveaway?
This guide will walk you through how to do a TikTok giveaway to achieve your marketing goals.
Let’s dive in.
How to do a giveaway on TikTok
1. Set a TikTok giveaway goal
While a TikTok giveaway can put smiles on your followers’ faces, it should also achieve a goal for your business.
A TikTok giveaway goal is simply what you want to achieve through your giveaway campaign.
Common goals you can achieve include:
- Increase in TikTok followers
- Increase in TikTok engagement
- Collect user-generated content (UGC)
- Lead generation
- Website traffic
- Sales
Setting a TikTok giveaway goal before your campaign drives most aspects of your campaign.
For example, the goal determines your entry criteria, prize, and how long your giveaway will run.
To set a goal, use the SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) framework.
So, a goal may be to acquire 500 more TikTok followers in the 2 weeks of running a giveaway.
Once you set a goal, you now have a focus for the rest of your giveaway campaign.
2. Use a TikTok giveaway idea that aligns with your goal
TikTok giveaway ideas are the concepts you employ for your giveaway.
They dictate what participants need to do to enter your giveaway.
Some TikTok giveaway ideas include:
- Follow and comment
- Hashtag contest
- Photo upload
- Video upload
- Survey
Want to see more ideas? Find them in the TikTok giveaway ideas guide.
However, whatever giveaway idea you want to implement should align with your goal.
That means a follow and comment giveaway will work if your goal is to increase followers and engagement. Meanwhile, photo uploads will work better to collect user-generated content on TikTok.
For example, here’s a photo upload contest by Jackery:
This giveaway will deliver UGC, which the company can use for future marketing campaigns.
While planning for your giveaway, use the best giveaway idea that will let you achieve your goal.
3. Pick a compelling and strategic giveaway prize
The ultimate attraction of a giveaway is the prize. Whatever participants do to enter your giveaway, their sight is set on the prize.
While a compelling prize attracts many participants, a strategic prize ensures you attract the right people.
That said, what’s the best prize for your next TikTok giveaway?
I’d say you can’t go wrong with your products and services.
Using your product as the prize ensures you attract people interested in your products. This means they can buy your products even after the giveaway.
Beyond that, maintain a balance between the value of your gift and the entry requirements for your giveaway.
For example, many people can follow and comment for a $30 gift but won’t create a video for it. So, pick your prize with that in mind.
See this giveaway by ghd:
The brand used its products as the giveaway prize. And if you check the comments, you’ll see that the participants are people who can become the company’s customers in the future.
Pick a prize that will make your giveaway irresistible to your ideal audience.
4. Create TikTok contest rules
Contest rules provide information that guides your contest before, during, and after the campaign.
This ensures that your contest is legal on TikTok and your location. Contest rules also help you avoid legal troubles in the future.
Of course, not everyone creates official contest rules for their giveaways.
Many small and personal accounts don’t use it during their giveaways. They include their rules in the giveaway announcement post.
However, if you run a business, contest rules can help reduce your legal liability to the minimum.
How do you create contest rules?
Unless you’re a lawyer, you probably have little knowledge about it.
Luckily, you can find contest rule templates online.
Then, some giveaway tools have a contest rule generator. So, all you have to do is enter information about your business and giveaway.
After creating the rules, you can have them on your website or the contest landing page.
5. Create a TikTok giveaway post
Your TikTok giveaway post provides information about your giveaway prize, entry criteria, and other things participants need to know.
There are 2 main vehicles to provide information in your giveaway post: the video and caption.
Through these, you should provide information such as:
- Giveaway prize
- Entry criteria
- Duration of giveaway
- The number of winners
- How winners will be picked
- Locations eligible
Your TikTok giveaway post is the official announcement of your giveaway. So, you want to make it as enticing as possible.
To create your giveaway post, show the prize in your video and provide the necessary details.
Then, write a detailed caption providing the information too. This way, nobody will miss the information.
Another thing is to create an attractive thumbnail for the video. This thumbnail will include the word “giveaway” and a picture of the prize.
Using an attractive thumbnail can encourage people to click the post on your profile or in TikTok search.
See this TikTok giveaway post by 4 Feet Shoes:
The video provides clear instructions on how participants can enter. The caption also explains the location eligible and how winners will be picked.
This giveaway post leaves participants in no doubt about what’s needed to win the prize.
6. Use the right TikTok giveaway tool
A TikTok giveaway tool helps you create a giveaway landing page, set up entry methods, manage participants, and pick winners.
While you can run some TikTok giveaways without a tool, managing your campaigns with a tool is much easier.
TikTok giveaway tools let you manage various aspects of your giveaways in one place. Then, giveaway tools let you add entry methods on other social media networks.
For example, it can help you host entry methods for TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter.
Another thing you get with giveaway tools is the ability to execute many giveaway ideas (photo uploads, surveys, galleries, etc.).
To find the right tool, explore a few options with your needs in mind.
Here are 2 robust giveaway tools you can check out:
- SweepWidget: SweepWidget is one of the best giveaway tools you can use. It’s easy to use, packed with features, and affordable. With it, you have over 60 entry methods, AI creation tools, and security features. You can read my full SweepWidget review for more information.
- Shortstack: Shortstack is a great tool that lets you create giveaways and landing pages. You get over 70 templates and a robust editor to create a giveaway landing page of your taste. Read my Shortstack review to see what the tool offers.
If you expect hundreds of participants in your giveaways and run giveaways regularly, using a tool becomes a necessity rather than a luxury.
7. Promote your TikTok giveaway
No matter how enticing your giveaway prize may be, only people who know about it can enter the giveaway.
Promoting your giveaway includes activities to get your TikTok sweepstakes in front of more people.
Promotion helps to drive more giveaway participation. And more participants means a better chance of achieving your giveaway goals.
Here are some common ways to promote your TikTok giveaway:
- Promotional entry criteria: Some entry criteria (like sharing your giveaway post and tagging friends) help you reach a wider audience and attract more participants.
- Emails: You can send emails to your subscribers before and during giveaways to encourage them to participate.
- Promotional posts on social media: Before and during your giveaways, you can publish posts on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and other platforms to create awareness.
- Collaboration with other brands: You can collaborate with complementary brands. This means your giveaway will reach both your and their audiences. You can also use products of both brands as the prize.
- Collaboration with influencers: Influencers have built trust with their followers over the years. So, find influencers in your industry and collaborate with them to promote your giveaway. This way, many of their followers will enter your giveaway.
To get more information, read my guide about contest promotion.
See this collaborative TikTok giveaway by Bubble and Scrub Daddy:
This giveaway will reach the audiences of both businesses.
Keep in mind that your contest promotion starts before your contest. So, you want to build anticipation in your audience before launching the giveaway.
8. Pick and announce giveaway winners
Participants have trooped into your giveaway, and now the end date is here.
What’s next?
You need to pick a winner and announce it to your audience.
Just like you announced the commencement of your giveaway, it’s important to announce its end.
This will assure your audience that you’ve run a real giveaway. You don’t want participants thinking you’ve done engagement farming.
To pick a winner, you have to go through your entries. For entries like comments, you can go through comments on your TikTok post.
With a giveaway tool, this is easier.
A giveaway tool will provide each participant’s details and their entries. You can also use the random winner picker to pick a winner.
However, if you’re running a contest, you’ll have to judge the entries.
Once you pick a winner, reach out to the winner on TikTok or through email.
You’ll inform them of their win and discuss how to get the prize across to them.
Also, encourage the winner to create a video with their prize and publish it on TikTok.
After doing this, you’ve brought your giveaway to an end on the side of participants.
But for you, there’s more.
9. Analyze your TikTok giveaway results
After your TikTok giveaway, it’s time to measure your results.
These results are metrics that align with your goals.
Analyzing your results helps determine whether you’ve achieved your goal or not.
Beyond that, you can gain valuable insights to improve your future giveaways.
To measure results, you’d need a tool to track your analytics.
For example, if your goal is to increase followers, you can use TikTok Studio to track the increase in followers during your giveaway.
You can also use your giveaway tool to track metrics.
If your goal is related to actions on your website, you can use Google Analytics to track metrics.
So, define your metrics and see how your giveaway has delivered the right numbers.
Run a TikTok Live giveaway
TikTok Live is a popular content type for many because it attracts high engagement.
But a TikTok Live giveaway lets you push the engagement numbers even further.
When viewers know there’s a giveaway at the end of your TikTok Live, they’ll likely stick around until the end.
That said, you need to operate a TikTok shop to do a TikTok Live giveaway. Another option is to be invited to a TikTok Live giveaway as a creator.
To create a TikTok Live giveaway, go through the process of starting a Live session.
Among the options, you’ll see Live giveaway.
Source: TikTok
Click on it and select a product from your TikTok shop as the giveaway prize.
Then, complete the setup and go live.
TikTok will randomly pick your giveaway winner after the Live session or when your countdown ends. Keep in mind that you’re responsible for shipping the prize to the winners.
You can read TikTok’s guide for more details about how to do a TikTok Live giveaway.
Apart from using TikTok’s tools, you can also run giveaways during Live sessions with giveaway tools. Then, pick a winner towards the end.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about running a TikTok giveaway
What’s the best time to run a TikTok giveaway?
Since you can run TikTok giveaways for various seasons, any time of the year is good for a giveaway. Once you have a reason to run a TikTok giveaway, go for it.
What’s the best prize for a giveaway on TikTok?
The best prize for your TikTok giveaway is usually a product or service you sell. With such a prize, you can attract people interested in your product. These are people who can buy your products even after the giveaway.
How long should my TikTok giveaway run?
Most giveaways run between 2 and 3 weeks. But your giveaway can be shorter or longer. The most important factor in determining the duration of your giveaway should be how long you think you can achieve your goals.
What’s the best tool to run my TikTok giveaway?
SweepWidget and Shortstack are 2 excellent options for running giveaways on TikTok and other platforms. Of course, there are other options, and you should consider them before picking a tool for your TikTok giveaway.
How do I pick a winner for my TikTok giveaway?
How you pick a winner depends on your entry criteria. For TikTok giveaways, you can pick a winner randomly from participants. However, for a contest, you have to judge the entries based on the expertise of participants in following your instructions.
Conclusion
What’s the next thing to do?
Follow these steps and create your TikTok giveaway.
You’ll create a buzz among your audience and achieve your marketing goals in the process.
Samuel writes long-form guides to help businesses and entrepreneurs achieve better results from their marketing activities. He also writes for marketing and SaaS companies that want more leads and customers. Get in touch with him to discuss your content needs.