In this post, we\u2019ll take a close look at social media contests in 2025. What are they, and how do you measure their success? We\u2019ll even spotlight a few top brands to see their take on the tactic. Let\u2019s dive in.<\/p>\n
What Is a Social Media Contest?<\/h2>\n
At its core, a social media contest is simply a way to get people interacting with your brand online. You ask followers to do something \u2014 like, comment, follow, share \u2014 for a chance to win a prize.<\/p>\n
So why do brands run them? A well-designed contest can grow your followers, spark conversation, and drive conversions. You can also use contests to collect user-generated content (UGC) that you can repurpose later. It\u2019s a win-win: Your audience gets a reward, and your brand gets attention and content.<\/p>\n
There are a few popular types of contests you\u2019ll see online:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Like, comment, and follow to win<\/b>. This classic approach is quick to enter and easy to promote.<\/li>\n
- Tag-a-friend giveaways. <\/b>Followers tag friends to enter, helping your contest reach more people<\/a>.<\/li>\n
- Photo or video submissions. <\/b>Fans create content for a chance to win the prize. Submissions can be shared by using a branded hashtag, tagging your account, or uploading through your website.<\/li>\n
- Polls or quizzes.<\/b> People vote or answer questions for a chance to win, boosting interaction while helping you learn more about your audience.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
You can also lean on tools that help implement the contest. Platforms like Comment Picker<\/a>, SweepWidget<\/a>, and RafflePress<\/a>, for instance, handle entries, random draws, integrations, and basic tracking. This helps cut down manual work and keeps things fair.<\/p>\n
That said, a contest isn\u2019t always a guaranteed win for your brand. Next up, let\u2019s look at whether contests still work and how to measure that.<\/p>\n
Are Social Media Giveaways Effective?<\/h2>\n
The short answer? Contests can<\/i> be effective \u2014 but there are a few things to keep in mind.<\/p>\n
What Makes a Giveaway Successful vs. Not?<\/h3>\n
The difference often comes down to alignment with business objectives:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Successful giveaways<\/b> have a purpose. They\u2019re built around a clear goal, whether that\u2019s building awareness, driving engagement, or growing an audience. The prize, entry method, and follow-up plan all work together to support that goal.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- \n
- Unsuccessful giveaways <\/b>tend to focus on vanity metrics alone. They chase likes and followers with no plan to keep those new people engaged. They attract \u201cfreebie seekers\u201d who disappear the second the prize is gone.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
There are also legal requirements to consider. Every platform has its own promotion guidelines<\/a>, and ignoring them can get your campaign shut down. The FTC<\/a> also expects transparency. That means clear rules and proper disclosures. Data privacy should also be handled with care to maintain audience trust.<\/p>\n
The good news? When your contest is tied to measurable goals and backed by strategy, it can deliver real results. The key is tracking the right metrics \u2014 which we\u2019ll dive into next.<\/p>\n
Measuring Contest Success<\/h2>\n
Running a contest is one thing, but knowing whether it actually worked is another. The key is tracking metrics that tie directly to your goals. Different contests have different objectives, so the \u201cright\u201d metrics depend on what you\u2019re trying to achieve.<\/p>\n
Awareness: Reach, Impressions, Views<\/h3>\n
If your goal is to get your brand in front of more people, you\u2019ll want to track reach and impressions<\/a>. Reach tells you how many unique users saw your contest, while impressions show the total number of times it appeared in feeds. For video content, you may also want to look at views to understand how many people actually watched your content.<\/p>\n
Some brands, like Owala<\/a>, use giveaways strategically to bring attention to new products. Ahead of a launch, they\u2019ll host a giveaway featuring the latest item, generating excitement and visibility before the product even hits shelves. In fact, 13 of Owala\u2019s top-performing Instagram posts by impressions were giveaways, showing how effective contests can be for awareness.<\/p>\n
Take Owala\u2019s Lilo & Stitch themed giveaway shown below, which received an estimated 4.26M impressions. It also earned a 17.3% engagement rate by follower, making it the brand\u2019s most engaging Instagram post so far this year.<\/p>\n
![\"Owala](\"https:\/\/www.rivaliq.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Social-media-contests-1-700x761.png\")
<\/p>\nEngagement: Likes, Comments, Shares<\/h3>\n
Engagement measures how people interact with your contest. This includes likes, comments, shares, and saves \u2014 anything that shows your audience is actively participating rather than just scrolling past.<\/p>\n
Many contests specifically request engagement as a requirement, asking users to like the post or comment to enter. And there\u2019s a good reason for this: Social media algorithms<\/a> reward engagement.<\/p>\n
The more interactions a post receives, the more likely it is to be shown to other users. In other words, each like, comment, or share not only counts as participation but also amplifies the contest organically.<\/p>\n
Most importantly, engagement metrics show how well your content resonates. A contest post that performs above your usual engagement rate is a good sign that the prize, messaging, or format hit the mark. You can also benchmark against the industry average<\/a> to see how your campaign compares to your peers.<\/p>\n
Pro tip: <\/b>With Rival IQ, you can track both your own performance<\/a> and see how you stack up against the competition<\/a> in one intuitive dashboard.<\/p>\n
![\"Rival](\"https:\/\/www.rivaliq.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Social-media-contests-2-700x416.png\")
<\/p>\nPlus, with the Post Tags feature, our platform automatically tags contests, making it easy for you to find similar campaigns in your competitive landscape, get inspiration, and compare your contests\u2019 performance to your industry peers\u2019.<\/p>\n
![\"Rival](\"https:\/\/www.rivaliq.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Social-media-contests-3-700x401.png\")
<\/p>\nAudience Growth: Followers and Subscribers<\/h3>\n
If one of your goals is growing your social audience, track follower or subscriber growth during and after the contest.<\/p>\n
Having participants follow the brand account is a popular contest requirement for a reason. It\u2019s not about inflating numbers \u2014 it\u2019s a way to connect with participants after the contest ends, giving you the opportunity to engage them with future campaigns, promotions, or content.<\/p>\n
If you want to boost growth even more, consider collaborating with another brand<\/a>. When two brands co-host a giveaway, they both get exposure to each other\u2019s audiences \u2014 and that means more potential followers all around.<\/p>\n
Take Kitsch<\/a> and Goli Nutrition<\/a>, for example. They recently partnered on an Instagram giveaway and, by cross-promoting, are reaching people who might never have come across their brand otherwise.<\/p>\n
![\"Instagram](\"https:\/\/www.rivaliq.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Social-media-contests-4-700x559.png\")
<\/p>\nUser-Generated Content: Hashtags, Tagged Posts, Online Submission<\/h3>\n
Another valuable goal for social media contests is encouraging user-generated content<\/a>. UGC introduces your brand to new audiences in a way that feels more genuine than a paid ad. Plus, it gives you authentic social media content<\/a> to fold into your own strategy.<\/p>\n
The simplest way to track UGC is by asking users to use a unique hashtag or tag you in the post. Tracking hashtag usage or tagged posts will tell you how many people are sharing your brand and how far your contest is traveling beyond your existing followers.<\/p>\n
Pro tip: <\/b>You can create rules to tag and track certain kinds of posts<\/a> in one centralized and customizable dashboard in Rival IQ, making it easy to keep up with campaigns.<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t have to limit submissions to social platforms either. Some brands collect UGC directly through their websites. A great example is GoPro<\/a>. Their entire social strategy thrives on customer-submitted content. After all, it makes more sense for users to capture epic footage out in the world than for GoPro to try to create it all themselves.<\/p>\n
Through their GoPro Awards<\/a>, the company runs themed challenges where users submit clips for a chance to win gear, cash prizes, and social features. It\u2019s an effective strategy. This year, GoPro\u2019s most engaging posts on both Facebook<\/a> and Instagram<\/a> \u2014 measured by engagement rate by follower \u2014 came from contest winners, each earning a $500 prize.<\/p>\n
![\"GoPro](\"https:\/\/www.rivaliq.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Social-media-contests-5-700x575.png\")
<\/p>\nConversions<\/h3>\n
Giveaways are great for boosting exposure and brand awareness, which may lead to sales down the line \u2014 but unlike reach or engagement, it\u2019s harder to draw a direct line between a contest and a purchase.<\/p>\n
- Unsuccessful giveaways <\/b>tend to focus on vanity metrics alone. They chase likes and followers with no plan to keep those new people engaged. They attract \u201cfreebie seekers\u201d who disappear the second the prize is gone.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Tag-a-friend giveaways. <\/b>Followers tag friends to enter, helping your contest reach more people<\/a>.<\/li>\n