The Blog Hotline :: The Scoop On International Giveaways
Y'all know, I am always looking for ways to grow the gram & blog. That's not something I hide or am ashamed about. I try all kinds of methods, try to find hacks, and invest time in educating myself on what works and what doesn't. annnnnnd then, I share my findings with you via this little series because I like to be transparent.
++ I bought into an international giveaway, so you don't have to ++
I'm here to share my experience -- the pros and the cons of that experience and if I'd buy into one again. I've had several people reach out to me and ask how it went, so I thought I'd just blog about it rather than message everyone individually. With each segment, I'll explain my thoughts / reasoning going into it.
The Giveaways
I bought into two giveaways -- one that projected 3K and one that projected 10k-20K gain. While skeptical, I wanted to see if they delivered what they promised. In essence, that little boost sounds amazing to get on your feet. I also bought these giveaways a few weeks apart, so I could watch the numbers closely.
The Price
K, the prices are ridiculous and expensive. There is nothing more to it -- they suck.& with these awful prices, the giveaway brands sometimes provide a disclaimer saying that they can't guarantee the gain because it's just a projection and that buy-ins are taken at your own risk. Others promise to promote the giveaway until they hit the projected gain, so that's kind of reassuring.
I worked on several collabs that were paid to place in a "giveaway fund" for this blog post, so mom, if you're reading this, don't freak out, I'm not a money waster.
The Results
3K projected gain got me around 700 followers.
10K to 20K projected gain barely scraped the barrel with a 10, 500 gain.
The Aftermath
So, none of the giveaways projected correctly. I did gain some, but then again, not as much as I hoped / expected, so that is a huge disappointment in itself.
But, you're probably thinking that now that I've got all these new followers, I should be happy right? meh, I'm finding myself not that happy with these results because, with both giveaways, more than half of the people unfollowed me. Now, I expected a few hundred to unfollow as all giveaways have unfollowers afterward, but when the buy-in is so high -- that's unacceptable.
Another thing I noted is that my engagement rate took a big hit with my engagement numbers. I went from 4.59% to 2.35% which is a big hit. The thing is -- engagement rates are so important when you're a creator and are looking to collaborate with brands. The higher your rate, the more likely you're gonna score a collaboration!
While it's known that the higher your numbers are, the lower your engagement rate will be, I found that the large scale numbers gained in a giveaway impacted my numbers in a negative way and I'm still recuperating from that hit.
While it's known that the higher your numbers are, the lower your engagement rate will be, I found that the large scale numbers gained in a giveaway impacted my numbers in a negative way and I'm still recuperating from that hit.
Final Thoughts
First, if you ever see someone that increased followers and it seems like they grew overnight like Jack's bean stock, they've purchased an international giveaway -- I am 100% sure of this. It's the only way especially with the algorithm making it harder for micro-influencers to be seen.
If they're growing fast and they haven't done a giveaway, then they are either super-rich and are sponsoring every single post with a large budget or they're a celebrity. Honestly, that's the only way I can explain it. MAYBE, they've found the key to fast engagement without these things, but I find that hard to believe because I have researched and researched this topic pretty thoroughly.
In all honesty, I used to think that great content produces massive growth, but you guys -- it doesn't. Sorry to burst the bubble, but great content produces a quality following and steady growth over time. it's naive to think otherwise and in all honesty, a quality following is better than a big number in the long run.
Secondly, I would not recommend buying into a large scale, international giveaways & I personally won't be buying in ever again because it's not worth it. You get a BANG for your buck at the beginning, but then the bang dwindles and they have your money and you're back where you were in the first place.
If you're wanting to grow, smaller-scale giveaways that are niche-oriented are a great tool, but my favorites are follow for follow threads, follow trains and follow loops because you're getting support and supporting others too -- which is what Instagram is all about.
So yah! That was my experience with international giveaways. I hope this helped answer any questions you may have had about them. If you'd like to know anything else, my DMs and inbox are always open!
As always, thanks for being here, I appreciate you!
So yah! That was my experience with international giveaways. I hope this helped answer any questions you may have had about them. If you'd like to know anything else, my DMs and inbox are always open!
As always, thanks for being here, I appreciate you!
MINI DISCLAIMER:
I'm not nagging or ragging on BIG giveaways, this was just my experience with them! If you had a different experience, I'd love to hear your take on them.
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