Tutorial: How to create an Instagram contest with Hashtag – Easypromos - Online Helpdesk

The "Instagram contest with Hashtag" application allows you to organize a contest in which users can participate by posting photos, videos or Reels on their Instagram profile using a specific hashtag.

With this contest, you can create a micro website where you can share more information and contest instructions to participate, host the promotion's Terms and Conditions, present a gallery with all the Instagram posts participating in the contest, select the winners by random draw or voting, and much more. You will get a link to the contest website, which you can add to the organizing brand's Instagram bio, making it easy for followers to enter and participate.

The posts from public Instagram profiles will be automatically imported into the contest, while users with private profiles will need to manually register their posts through the contest website.

In this tutorial, you will find more information about the contest application, how to customize your Instagram contest and how to select the winners.

The content of the tutorial is organized as follows:

1. Description of the contest

The Instagram Contest with Hashtag application will allow you to organize a contest where users can participate by posting a photo, video, or reel directly on their Instagram feed. These posts are imported in real time into the contest. The application allows you to display these posts, if desired, and select the winners.

The main characteristics of the application are:

Website to present the contest and host the legal terms
System for registering Instagram posts in the contest
Gallery to publish contest entries
System for selecting the winner: random draw or votes

1.1. Website for submitting the contest and hosting the legal terms

The application allows you to create a fully customized landing page with the purpose of:

Presenting the prizes, participation instructions, contest dates, sponsors, etc. In other words, everything a contestant needs to know to participate.
Hosting the Terms and Conditions and privacy policy of the contest. Every contest needs legal terms.
Enabling a registration system for private Instagram profiles. Posts from private profiles cannot be imported automatically due to the own network's restrictions, so a registration system is necessary for these users to upload their Instagram posts.
Displaying a gallery with photos, videos, or reels participating in the contest. Later in the tutorial, we will explain how to moderate this content.

Tip! The web page is optimized for mobile viewing, and it is recommended to communicate it in the link of the bio of the organizing brand's Instagram profile. The web page will open within the user's Instagram app browser.

Example of a contest informational web page optimized for mobile.

1.2. System for registering Instagram posts in the contest

For a user to participate in the contest, they must have posted a photo, video, or reel on their Instagram feed. The user must then add this post to the contest. This registration can be automatic or manual depending on whether the user has a public or private profile.

1.2.1 Automatic Registration of Public Profile Posts via Mention + Hashtag

Instagram users with a public profile can add their photo, video, or reel to the contest simply by adding a #hashtag and mentioning your @brand on Instagram.

The application includes a real-time Instagram mention monitor, which detects whenever a user with a public Instagram profile posts on Instagram and mentions the brand. If the post includes the contest hashtag, it is automatically imported into the contest.

In this case, the Instagram user can participate without needing to visit the contest website and manually register their post.

Tip! The Instagram mention monitor includes an auto-response feature that allows the administrator to schedule automatic replies. When a new entry is detected, the application automatically posts a comment on behalf of the brand to the Instagram post, for instance to confirm the participation and thank the user.

1.2.2 Manual registration of posts from private profiles via web form.

Instagram users with a private profile can also participate in the contest, but in this case, the user must register through the contest website. The website includes a registration system for the user to identify themselves with their email and accept the contest's terms and conditions and privacy policy.

Once identified, the user must connect their account with Instagram, authorizing the Easypromos application to access the content of their profile. After authorizing the application, the user can select their post and thus complete their contest registration.

This video shows the user experience when manually registering their post on Instagram for the contest.

Tip! Manual registration is not limited to private profiles. Public profiles can also register their posts this way. This method allows you to collect user data and explicit consent to the contest's Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policies.

1.3. Gallery to publish contest entries

The application includes the option to present a gallery with all the photos, videos, or reels registered in the contest, either automatically or manually. For each contest entry, the gallery includes: the photo and the description of the post, the Instagram username, a direct link to the post on Instagram, and a button to easily share the entry.

If the user participates with a video or reel, the gallery will only show the initial photo, and to play the video or reel, one must click the link to view the post on Instagram.

Tip! The application includes a pre-moderation system, which allows any new post registered in the contest to be marked as pending: in this way, the administrator must accept or reject it manually before publishing it in the gallery. A notification to the administrator can also be enabled each time a new post is registered in the contest.

1.4. System for selecting the winner: random draw or votes

The application offers several solutions to determine the winner or winners of the contest. The 2 main solutions are:

Obtain the winners by running a random draw: a system is included to select the winners randomly. The application will generate a validity certificate as proof of the draw's transparency and a short video with the draw resolution, that you can share on social media.
Determine the winners based on votes: the Easypromos voting system can be enabled in the public gallery. The voting system includes an anti-fraud system, vote frequency control, and a sharing system to viralize the voting.

View of a contest gallery with voting enabled

2. What you need to know before creating the contest

🫰 The application is included in Easypromos' Premium, White Label, and Corporate plans.

❌ Posts in Stories do not count. Only photos, videos, or reels posted in the user's feed are eligible.

Interested in running a contest in Stories? Check out our Instagram Stories Giveaway application.

🔒 Private Instagram profiles must manually register their post through the contest website:

Users must fill in the registration form. The minimum required information is an email and acceptance of the Terms and Conditions of the contest.
Users must authorize the Easypromos application permissions to access the content of their private profile and allow to select a post.
Additionally, you can require that the post include a specific hashtag.

🔓 Automatic post registration without going through the website registration only applies to:

Public profiles
The post description must include the @mention of the brand and the campaign #hashtag.
Mention monitoring is in real-time, meaning only new Instagram posts or past posts edited while the monitor is active will be imported.
Past posts are not imported into the contest.
You can configure an autoresponse message, which will be sent as a comment on the imported post on behalf of the brand.

📷 A gallery can be published with the list of all posts:

The pre-moderation system can be enabled before publishing.

🍀 A random draw can be conducted among all users who uploaded their post (or a subset) in the contest.

🗳️ The voting system can be enabled:

Votes are not based on Instagram likes; they are based on the Easypromos voting system.

3. Contest Setup

3.1. Create the promotion

1. Access the Easypromos Control Panel logging in with your email and password.

2. Next, click on the "Create new promotion" button to start creating your promotion.

3. The available products will be presented. Select "Instagram Contest with hashtag", under the "Contests" section:

All Easypromos applications come pre-configured with templates, so all the main options are already enabled. Your next step is to access the promotion Editor and customize the template for your contest.

3.2. Customize the homepage of the contest website

Access the promotion editor to customize the texts on the contest website's Welcome page, which is the first screen shown to visitors when accessing the landing page of the contest:

Remember to modify the name of the hashtag and the mention in the website's description. It is important to clearly communicate the steps users must follow to participate on this page.

On this same page, the button will appear for users with private Instagram profiles to manually register their posts in the contest.

The link to access the gallery will also appear if it is published.

3.3. Configure the manual registration of posts

When users click the participate CTA/button on the contest welcome page, they will begin the manual post registration process. This process goes through 3 screens:

Identification or Login screen: the user must enter their email to identify themselves.
Registration form screen: the user must enter their Instagram profile name and accept the legal terms (as well as fill in any other field that you configure with the information you need to gather from users).
Instagram post selection screen: the user must connect their Instagram account and select their post.

If multiple post registration is allowed for a single user, the second time the user participates in the contest, they will go directly from the identification screen to the Instagram post selection screen, skipping the registration form.

These 3 screens can be customized from the editor. Each screen has multiple configuration options:

Identification or Login screen

You can customize the screen text as well as the identification methods, and upload the brand's logo or image. See here more information about login methods.

Registration form screen

If this is the first time a user is registering in the contest, they must complete the registration form. This is a mandatory step and allows the user to accept the legal terms and privacy policy. You can customize the form with additional data fields to gather more information about the participating users.

Instagram post selection screen

This is the screen where the user can connect their Instagram account to select the post and upload it to the contest. This screen is part of the Easypromos "participation stages" system and has multiple configurations. Access it from Editor > Participation stages > Register your Instagram post.

In the following video tutorial, we show you how to configure the 3 main options of this screen:

How to allow users to submit more than one post in the contest (frequency and number of participations).
How to restrict users to only register posts with a specific hashtag.
How to customize the text that appears on the Instagram connection screen.

3.4. Enable Instagram mention monitor

The application offers the possibility to enable the Instagram monitor, which allows automatic import of photos, videos, or reels that Instagram users with public profiles have uploaded to their feed. By enabling this option in the contest, you make it easier for users to participate by uploading content directly on Instagram without going through the contest registration form.

To enable the Instagram content monitor, follow the steps outlined below:

1. Exit the Editor, and access the promotion management page where the "Mention+Hashtag Monitor on Instagram" module will appear. Click on "View" to start configuring the monitor, as shown below:

2. Next, you should connect with the profile that manages the Facebook page linked to the Instagram account where you want to organize the contest:

3. Next, select the Instagram business account with which you want to organize the contest:

4. When you click the "Continue" button, the following options will appear to configure the monitor:

a. Mention. By default, the system will configure the mention according to the Instagram business account you selected in the previous step. Click on "change" if you need to switch accounts.

b. Hashtag(s). Add the hashtag you will use and communicate to Instagram users for them to link their photos and videos to the contest. You can write a maximum of 3 hashtags. If you enter more than 1 hashtag, the system will import any post tagged with at least 1 of the 3 hashtags. That is, the user can use any of the 3 hashtags but must use at least one of them.

Use multiple hashtags to: account for the different variations users might use. Example: #TravelToAmerica #Travel2America or #NeighboursDay #NeighborsDay

c. Stage. By default, the stage for contest entries, named "Register your Instagram post," will be pre-selected. However, if you are organizing a multi-stage contest, you can manually select the stage here.

d. Excluded users. Add Instagram accounts from which you do not want to import posts even if they use the hashtag, for example, your own as the contest administrator.

e. Enable automatic response. You can enable an automatic answer message, which will be sent as a comment to the user's post after uploading the photo to their Instagram account.

3.5. Configure the Post Gallery

The gallery is the page where all photos, videos, or reels uploaded by users will be presented.

Below we explain all the configuration options available. To begin editing it, access the "Gallery of posts" stage.

Date Configuration

The start and end dates of the stage will determine when users can access the gallery to view the content uploaded by participants. Additionally, if voting is enabled, these dates will also determine the period during which users can vote.

Gallery visibility: How to Enable/Disable access to the gallery for unregistered users

As the contest administrator, you can control the access and visibility of the contest gallery at any time.

By default, the contest gallery is visible and accessible to all users who access the contest, including users who have not yet registered. In this way, users who have not yet identified themselves to participate in the contest may access the contest gallery:

However, unregistered users will only be able to view and share the photos published there. If they want to participate in the contest by voting for one of the photos, the system will ask them to identify themselves, and if it is their first time, they will also need to register.

Alternatively, you can limit access to the contest gallery to registered users only, so that only users who have already identified themselves can view, share, and vote on the photos. To do this, go to the section Editor > Participation Stages > Public Galleries tab and uncheck the "Enable public galleries" box:

Options to Display Participant Information

As the administrator, you can configure what information you want to display about participants in the public gallery. To do this, go to the "Gallery of posts" stage configuration, and under the "Voting Gallery" tab, you will find the following options:

Display candidate name: Allows you to show or hide the participant's name.
Display candidate avatar: Allows you to display the candidate's profile picture (if any).
Display candidate date: Allows to show or hide the date the participant uploaded their post to the contest.
Display candidate country: Allows you to display the participant's country (if any).
Order of candidate in the gallery: Define the order in which the entries will be presented in the gallery.

3.6. Configure the Voting System

By default, the contest template comes with the voting system enabled, which means that all submissions uploaded by users to the gallery can be voted on. Below, we explain the different voting system configuration options. To do this, you will need to access the Editor > Participation Stages > Gallery of posts > Voting Gallery.

Voter Experience

What will the experience be like for users who want to vote in the contest? The promotion consists of different pages that users will encounter when interacting with the promotion to vote. Together, these different pages will form the structure of the promotion and the participation flow that users will follow to complete the promotional mechanics.

Specifically, the voting participation flow in the contest will be as follows:

When accessing the promotion for the first time, the user will land on the Welcome page, where they can see the button to access the Contest Gallery, which displays all the photos that users can vote on.
Before being able to vote, the user must log in using one of the enabled login methods, and if it is their first time participating, they must register by completing the registration form.
If the user is already registered, they only need to log in to vote again.
After logging in, the user will see the participation information for the submission they are about to vote on to confirm their vote.
Finally, if email validation is enabled, the user must confirm their email address for the vote to be counted.

How to Enable/Disable Voting

When creating the promotion, the voting system is enabled by default, but if you prefer, you can disable voting through the "Enable Voting System" option, which can be found under the "Voting Gallery" tab within the "Voting" section:

The "Voting Type" option allows you to configure how the voting system will work in your contest. You can choose between two different types:

Simple Voting (1 vote = 1 point) - default option: In this type of voting, for each image voted on, the system will assign 1 point to the entry. Additionally, you can set the minimum and maximum number of images each user may vote for (minimum 1, maximum 10).
Advanced Voting (1 vote = X points): In this type of voting, for each image voted on, the user can decide how many points to assign to it. To do this, as an administrator, you must first configure the different point levels and define the points that the user can assign for each level.

Additionally, we offer the option to activate a page showing the ranking of the most voted entries, which publicly displays the number of votes each entry has received. A new page will also be created, accessible from the Gallery, that allows users to see a ranking of the votes obtained by the participants in the contest.

Note: If the option "Publish the number of votes and ranking of the most voted" is not enabled, the Gallery will only display the submissions, but the votes for each submission will not be shown. As a result, the number of votes for each submission will only be visible internally to the contest organizer.

Configure Voting Frequency

Under the “Options” tab, you can configure the frequency of participation allowed per user. The number of votes allowed for each user will correspond to the number of times they can vote:

Note: Each user can vote for the same entry only once per voting period. For example: if the allowed number of participations is 2 per day, they can vote for the same submission twice a day.

How to View the Voting Log

From the "Users" section of the promotion, you can view at any time the progress of the contest voting.

Specifically, once in the "Users" section, click on "Votes" where you will see the list of gallery entries, where for each photo you can see the total number of votes it has received, and can even sort them to see the users with the most votes first. Additionally, if you click on "View", you can see the names of the users who voted for that entry:

Additionally, you will also have the following two options:

Export all votes: This option allows you to download a list of all votes and voter information.
Export results: This option allows you to download a list with the final voting results, showing a ranking of participants/candidates sorted by the points (votes) they received.

3.7. Set Up a Notification for new entries

You can use the Email Platform to send an internal notification to an email of your choice every time a new Instagram submission is registered in the contest, whether it's manually from a private profile or automatically from a public profile via the mention monitor.

In this videotutorial, you can see the steps to create the notification:

3.8. Configure the contest's legal terms

The application includes the option to host the contest's Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy. You can copy and paste the text of your T&Cs, or include a link if you already have them hosted on an external site.

Users who manually register their submissions will need to accept the legal terms and privacy policy. These will also always appear on the contest's homepage, making them accessible to all participants.

You can configure the legal content from this section:

3.9. Set Up All Contest Dates

For the contest to function correctly, it is very important to properly configure the dates. The contest includes 3 pairs of dates:

1. Contest Start and End Dates: These are the general dates of the contest, which control whether the contest website is visible or not. Configure them from the Editor > General > Dates.

2. Start and End Dates for Instagram Submission Registration: These dates correspond to the period when manual and automatic submission registrations are open. Configure them from the Participation stages section > Register your Instagram post stage > Options tab.

3. Start and End Dates for the Gallery and Voting: These dates determine when the public gallery and voting will be open. Configure them from the Participation stages section > Gallery of posts stage > Options tab.

4. Customize the design and finish the setup

You now have configured the contest, and your next step will be to finalize its customization: adapt the design template with your own colors and texts, add the brand logo, set up viral content, and more.

Check out the tutorial to complete the configuration and customization of your promotion.

5. Share the website link in the Instagram bio

Once you have completed the setup and the promotion is active, you can share the promotion link in your Instagram bio.

To do this, you need to copy the promotion link from the promotion page:

Once copied, go to your Instagram feed. Click the Edit profile button and go to the Links section. From there, Instagram allows you to add an external link, which will appear in your profile bio.

6. User Management and Obtaining Statistics

After the contest ends, you will have various tools as the contest administrator to manage users and their entries. Below, we detail the tools available to you.

6.1. Moderating Submissions Uploaded by Users

If you have enabled the pre-moderation option, the entries uploaded by users will not be published immediately to the gallery. Instead, they will remain pending for the contest administrator to validate before they appear publicly in the gallery. Pending photos must be moderated using the "Candidate Management" tool.

To do this, follow these steps:

1. In the Editor of the contest, go to the "Participation Stages" section and click on the "Candidate Management" tab:

2. Next, click on the folder that contains the candidates information:

3. By clicking, you will see the different candidates, who are the users that have participated in the contest by uploading their post.

Here is an example of how a pending entry looks while awaiting moderation:

You have the following options to moderate the entries:

Moderate the entry: the following actions are available to moderate the submission:
- "Active" to approve the entry and publish it in the public gallery.
- "Rejected" to invalidate the entry so that it does not get published in the gallery.
- "Pending" to put the submission back as pending so it does not get published in the gallery just yet.
Edit entry: Allows you to access the content of the content in case you need to make any changes, such as modifying the description, changing the photo, etc.
Add internal note: Allows you to add an internal comment to the entry for you or a team member to see when managing the contest.

Find more information here on how the pre-moderation of posts uploaded by users works.

6.2. User Management

In the "Users" section, you will have access to the list of participating users throughout the campaign. There, you can perform the following actions:

View the unique participants of the contest.
View the total entries of the contest.
Use participant management tools: delete users, filter participants by different criteria (registration data, number of submissions, assigned prizes, etc.).
Export lists in .CSV format with the information of registered users.
Download photos uploaded by users.

See detailed information about the users management options available to you.

6.3. Viewing Contest Statistics

In the "Statistics" section, you can obtain detailed information about the activity of users who participated in the promotion (number of registrations per day/hour, device used, etc.), as well as data on the different entries (submissions per day/hour, device used, etc.).

See all the statistics and data you can obtain from the promotion to analyze the performance of your contest.

7. Determine the winner(s) and announce the results

Easypromos provides a comprehensive Prize and Winner management system that allows you to create the prize or prizes you want to give away to reward participants. You can also configure how you want to assign the prizes and select the winners.

Specifically, for contests, you have several ways to assign the prize(s), according to your choice:

1. Randomly: you will be able to conduct one or multiple draws among all participants or a subset of participants and obtain a validity certificate with the draw results. Follow the steps of our tutorial to run the draw

2. Manually: you can manually assign one or multiple prizes to participants of the contest. For example, you can assign the prize to participants who have received the most votes. Follow the steps of this tutorial to assign the prize manually .

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