Not a day goes by that we do not encounter strangeness on social media. This time, Instagram is at the center of the issue. I called this the new weirdness of Instagram, but it’s not really Instagram’s fault because it’s about “sweepstakes sponsorship”!

I’m careful with the article!  Let me start by saying. You will understand better why I said this when you read the article. 

Today, exceeding the 1 billion user threshold is no longer a success criterion for social networks. Because now there are social networks with 2 billion users and messaging applications that exceed the threshold of 1 billion users.

Yes, that’s the case for social networks.

In terms of users, it has become commonplace to reach the number of followers / friends / connections / subscribers such as 1,000, 5,000, and 10,000. For example, having 5 thousand friends on Facebook and reaching 30 thousand connections on LinkedIn is no longer an indicator of popularity. On the contrary, if you do not have thousands of friends, followers, subscribers, or connections, it is perceived as something strange. Because people start to look at you as” it means you are not doing a job worth following”.

It is not possible if we evaluate the issue in terms of channels and users and do not say anything to the companies. Now let’s look at the issue from the point of view of companies.

Yes, if you are a corporate structure, you should definitely be on social media. We don’t have a word for it. You should even digitize whatever you can digitize. Otherwise, you can neither catch up with the day nor keep up with the times.

By the way, since the subject of the article is social media, I will evaluate the responsibilities of companies towards digitalization in the focus of social media. In fact, in order not to extend the word too much, I will narrow the subject a little more and go directly to Instagram.

Instagram’s New Oddity

Just as it has become normal for a social network to exceed the 1 billion user threshold today, just as any social media user has an average of 1,000 followers/links, there are some numerical limits that prove the success of brands in social networks. Of course, I   cannot make a general judgment such as ” it is necessary to have this many followers in this medium”. However, for brands, this situation, the number of followers, has become a matter of pride.

For this reason, many brands resort to unexpected methods to increase the number of followers. However, if you want to increase your followers on a social network, what you need to do is simple.

Let’s say this while we’re at it. If you want to physically increase your followers, you should contact those who are giving you very cheap instagram followers. And we should pay attention to these 3 basic facts.

•          Strategy

•          Communication

•          Contents

Of course, when you write / say it like that, it seems like a meaningless and general statement.

Anyway let’s move on. Yes, brands do all sorts of oddities to increase followers. Recently “sweepstakes sponsorship” has come among these oddities.

So what is this weirdness called sweepstakes sponsorship?

What is Sweepstakes Sponsorship?

Let’s briefly explain the issue of raffle sponsorship, which I mentioned as the new weirdness of Instagram and which has increased considerably in Instagram in recent months.

As it is known, gaining followers by organizing raffles on social media is a method that has been used since before. And when this action is applied well, you can really attract an active audience to your page. However, making an unplanned draw will do more harm than good to the brand. You can’t even find 10 people to participate in the lottery.

Here, some people who know this promise to serve the brands at this point by creating a page just for the draw.

How Does the System Work?

First of all, you receive a DM on your brand’s Instagram page. In other words, these raffle-focused pages that I mentioned will definitely reach you. Incoming message; “Hello, I am writing to you on behalf of this page. Do you want to grow your Page and reach a wider audience?”  It starts with phrases like

Afterwards; “We are currently holding a raffle. On average, this number of people participates in our sweepstake
s; as a result, so many people can/will follow your page”.

Sponsorship, that is, pricing, is determined according to the gifts to be given in that lottery. Because in the raffles organized through these pages, sometimes a set of pens, sometimes a smart phone, sometimes a camera, sometimes a tablet, sometimes a smart watch, sometimes a tray of cookies, sometimes all of these are given as gifts.

Here’s how the system works: If you pay the fee specified for the sponsorship and sponsor that lottery, your username is written in the description part of the lottery image. The draw condition; following the pages in the description. Therefore, everyone who participates in this lottery automatically follows your page.

BUT

This situation is fine, but the audience that comes to your brand through these pages (which is about 10%, 20% of what is promised follows your page) actually does not benefit your brand much.  

There is no question that audience members assume a critical part in the achievement of Instagram. But to build a wide audience for your brand, you need to invest in Instagram Likes UK. Instagram likes are the way to turning into a star on this stage.

How so?!

First of all, I don’t want to create an image like “drawings are not useful” in your mind. Draws are helpful. I just want to say that sweepstakes implemented using this method is of no use.

Therefore, if you are going to sponsor a lottery, you should sponsor a lottery organized by a well-known person, institution or phenomenon. Because the followers who come from these pages, which were established just to organize raffles and organize a few draws almost every day, sometimes even a day, are actually of no use to you, your brand. There are several reasons for this.

       These;

•          People create profiles just to participate in sweepstakes. In other words, they can follow those pages from the profiles they opened for the draw, not from their own profiles. So technically they don’t represent a real person.

•          They do not have an emotional connection with your brand.

•          They are not active.

•          They unfollow.

•          They do not show action such as liking, commenting, and re-sharing, viewing stories.

•          There is no interaction.

•          They break your algorithm.

•          They can reduce the efficiency of your ads.

•          They can be bots

As a result, it is your natural right to grow your audience on social media, but trying to do it unplanned and in a short way will do more harm than good to your brand. My advice to you; strategy is to perform your social media management by sticking to communication and content facts.