Some how Instagram loops have received a bad name and so many people don’t want to participate and don’t even think about hosting an Instagram loop. I am not the type of person that will take someone word as the final answer so I decided to try it myself. I had no idea what I was doing but jumped in the head first and wanted to share with you what I have learned from hosting a loop.

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WHAT IS AN INSTAGRAM LOOP

Now if you’re anything like me, you have no idea what an Instagram loop is or what they even look like so let me try to explain. An Instagram loop is a giveaway that someone enters that makes the individual follow several accounts.

In the loop giveaway, after you follow everyone in the loop, you are entered for a chance to win products or services based on what was selected by the host and those in the loop.

Typically, loops have been known to have a host of individuals to follow that you may get tired of clicking follow which inevitably end it those stop following.

Not only did the extensive following make it experience less than pleasurable for the individuals but typically once the winner is announced, that mass amount of followers tend to massively withdraw their follow. This leaves you with a faction of the followers gained when you first started.

HOW IT’S DONE

When you decide that you want to host a loop giveaway on Instagram, you must first determine who you want to join the loop with you. It’s important to select those accounts that will compliment your brand.

You don’t want to select an account that does not align with your brand as you are indirectly supporting this account. Not only are you saying that you support them but the account is also indirectly representing you.

When determining who you want to join you, it’s important to determine what you want to ask everyone to give to join the loop and know what day and how long you would like the loop to last.

GIVEAWAY OPTIONS

There are a variety of things you can giveaway in a loop. The options are totally up to you or you can request feedback from those that accepted your request to join the loop. Here a few options:

Giveaway Service or Products

This is the cheapest method to hosting a giveaway. Depending on your business, this can cost you as little or as much as you want. If you already have products available, then giving away some for free would only cost you what you paid for it.

Giveaway Money or Items

You will attract a ton of followers with this option, hands down. The incentive to possibly receive money or free items is always a great enticer for any followers. Decide on a budget for you and your potential participants of the loop and determine how it will be delivered.

Keep in mind that those participating in the loop all have different financial situations so requesting a reasonable amount would be ideal.

Combination

This is also a great options as the winner can get the best of both worlds of service and money or items. This would be something that should be discussed in-depth with those that agree to be apart of the loop.

MY STRATEGY

I decided to go with a service giveaway since I was unsure of how it would work and didn’t want to ask for monetary good therefore I decided on a services loop giveaway. I keep the number of those involved under 12 and requested that everyone added something of value to the giveaway for our winner.

I scheduled the loop to start on a Sunday and ended on Tuesday which equaled two full days.

WHAT I LEARNED

LESSON 1: As I stated, the loop lasted two days and during the two days, I gained a totaled of 300 followers. After the loop winner was announced, I lost 120 followers.

Though I tried to prevent losing the followers, it was inevitably that some people will bail after being notified of the winner. Losing those followers that wasn’t interested in my brand and what I did was completely find with me as those are followers that would not purchase my services due to the lack of interest.

However, those that decided to stick around have been great additions to my audience as they frequent comment, like, and purchase different products that I have available.

Having less followers that turn into customers is a lot better than having a ton of followers that don’t engage or respond when I’m posting.

LESSON 2: I also learned that hosting a loop giveaway gives you the opportunity to meet and engage with other like-minded individuals that you may have never met before.

With most of those from the loop, I keep contact with them and support them on what they are doing. I love having a group of women I can communicate with and bounce ideas off of whenever I’m creating something new.

LESSON 3: Giving away one of your services in the loop is a great opportunity to showcase your awesomeness and a great option for gaining a useful testimonial.

Notify the winner that you would like to gain a testimonial from them about the services or products they received and use it on your website or in your sale pages.

WHAT I RECOMMEND YOU DO

As you can see, I learned a lot from hosting an Instagram loop and here’s what I recommend you do if you decide to host your own loop.

RECOMMENDATION 1:

Keep your loop number low

Because the loop giveaway has such a negative connotation with being such a long, lengthy process and people not wanting to join, I recommend keeping your number low. Stay within 8-12 people in the loop.

A way to also make it easier for those in the loop is to list each individual account in the caption. A lot of people stated they appreciated preferred the list of followers instead of clicking each follower.

Though that’s against the entire idea of an Instagram loop (the Instagram “loop” signify going to one person’s account and that account linking to another person’s account). This is totally up to you.

RECOMMENDATION 2:

Giveaway things related to your business

I have a service business therefore I did not want to simply giveaway money but wanted to attract those that are in my target market. I recommend you do the same and keep the giveaway related to your business.

For example, if you are a graphic designer, giveaway things that attract your audience such as three months free of Adobe Photoshop, one year subscription for Squarespace, or free design for their homepage.

Giveaway items such as this will attract your following and discourage those that aren’t interested to join the giveaway.

RECOMMENDATION 3:

Keep in contact

After the loop is over, don’t stop talking to all those that were apart of the loop. Reach out to them to follow-up and to build a relationship. This is a great way to network with other as you never know what you can offer them or what they can offer you.

Plus, you can create lifetime friends with individuals that you may have never had the opportunity to meet. Follow-up with them even if you do not want anything. Keeping in contact will truly show your character and create a pleasant thought with others.

RECOMMENDATION 4:

TREAT THIS AS A PAYING CUSTOMER OR CLIENT

Though whatever you are giving away will be free, it still comes at a cost to you. Word of mouth is still the number one way to get clients and customers therefore you always want to do your best no matter if the product is free or thousands of dollars.

You want your brand and/or your product to be a great reflection of what you do. Leaving a great impression on a customer or client will most always lead to them telling someone about you and what you offer.

Now you know what you need to do to host an Instagram loop, go forth and try it. I look forward to hearing from you.

Have you completed a loop before? If so, what was your experience? Do you think you would try it again? If you haven’t completed a loop, do you plan on trying it soon? Let me know in the comments below.