Running a giveaway on Instagram can quickly increase your brand's visibility, but to keep it from becoming chaotic, your Instagram giveaway rules need to be clear from the start. A giveaway with unclear entry conditions misleads your followers and leads to disputes and complaints later. In this article, we explain step by step how to write your entry conditions, how to choose a winner fairly, and what you need to pay attention to.
If you want to see all the general steps of a giveaway, you can also take a look at our guide How to Run an Instagram Giveaway? Step-by-Step Rules and a Free Tool.
Follow, tag and share conditions
Entry conditions should clearly state what the giveaway requires and what you expect from participants. The most commonly used conditions are:
- Following: Following your account or a partner account. Write the exact usernames of the accounts that must be followed.
- Liking the post: A like can be used as a mandatory condition on its own, but tying entry only to likes can reduce the quality of the giveaway.
- Tagging: Tag your friends in the comments. If you specify a number of tags (for example "tag 2 friends"), state it clearly.
- Sharing (story or post): If sharing to a story is requested, specify which account to tag and for how long the share must remain up.
Keep the number of conditions reasonable. Every additional condition reduces participation. In most cases three conditions (follow, like, one comment) are enough.
What to watch for when writing conditions
- Write each condition as a separate item.
- State the final entry date and time.
- Clearly write the number of winners and the content of the prize.
- Specify the countries where the giveaway is valid.
- Briefly add the shipping, delivery or usage conditions of the prize.
Sample entry texts
You can adapt the examples below to your own brand:
Example 1 (simple): To enter the giveaway: 1) Follow our account, 2) Like this post, 3) Tag a friend in the comments. The giveaway ends on November 15, 2026 at 8:00 PM. The winner will be randomly selected from those who meet the entry conditions.
Example 2 (with story sharing): To enter, follow our account and share this post to your story, tagging us. Your story must stay up for at least 24 hours. Winners will be announced from this account within 3 business days.
Example 3 (comments only): To win the prize, write your favorite product in the comments. Comments are accepted until November 20, 2026. Each user can enter only once.
Phrases such as "the winner will be randomly selected" in these texts help show that the giveaway is fair.
Fair winner selection and announcement
For a fair selection there are two basic principles: everyone who meets the entry conditions should have an equal chance, and the selection must not be changeable afterward. To achieve this you can:
- Save the participant list before the giveaway ends and take a screenshot.
- Make the selection with an impartial random selection tool and keep the result.
- Remove fake or multi-account participants from the list.
- Announce the winner clearly in the comments or on the account.
- Give the winner a short time to confirm; if they do not respond, select a backup winner.
Briefly stating the method you used to select the winner in the entry text increases trust. To manage the giveaway process, you can list participants and make a random selection with the Instagram Giveaway Tool.
Platform rules compliance checklist
Following the platform's rules in Instagram giveaways is important for the safety of your account. Check this list before publishing:
- Do the giveaway conditions violate Instagram's community and promotion guidelines? Check the current rules on the platform's official help pages.
- Did you avoid asking participants for passwords, personal financial information or unnecessary personal data?
- Are you avoiding presenting the giveaway with a false statement such as "supported by Instagram"?
- Can the prize be legally offered, and have you checked that the giveaway complies with local regulations?
- Are the entry conditions, final date and winner announcement method clearly written?
- Did you have someone else review the text before publishing the giveaway?
For definitive information on legal matters, we recommend seeking legal advice. This article is for general informational purposes only.
If you want to keep your giveaway plans and posting calendar organized across multiple accounts, Plexorin's shared calendar and automatic publishing features can help you publish your giveaway announcements at the right time.