Using Contests to Gain Instagram Followers For CBD

Key Findings

Competitors are using free product giveaways on Instagram to generate awareness and build their audience: Both NuLeaf Naturals and CBDistillery saw significant spikes in weekly follower growth and far above-average post engagements when posting simple product giveaways requiring entrants to tag friends and follow their account. 

What Brands Should Be Thinking About

Consider running giveaways and engagement-based contests on Instagram to build your following and educate about key products: Cross-promote the giveaway on other social channels to increase reach, and consider implementing a similar contest format - simple and low-cost to run, and easy for new audiences to enter and get involved.

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CBDistillery saw +477% and +456% increases in average weekly IG followers in May and June after running giveaways contests aimed at generating awareness for new product releases and bestsellers.

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These two dramatic increases in weekly followers came as a result of CBDistillery running simple, easy to enter giveaway contests intended to build product awareness and reach new audiences - which received post engagements that were +1544% and +1155% above account average.

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Similarly, NuLeaf Naturals saw a +580% increase in average weekly IG followers in July after running a giveaway following a near-identical contest format.

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The primary driver of this spike in weekly followers came as a result of NuLeaf running a giveaway contest to reinvigorate their IG following after several weeks of below average post performance, which generated +162% more engagements than their account average.