Your Guide to International Sweepstakes & Contests: Giveaway Terms And Conditions

Learn how to host successful international giveaways with this how-to guide!

There are plenty of reasons to host your own contest or giveaway. Likely the most common is to bring attention to your brand or business and increase your online presence. By hosting a giveaway in which followers are encouraged to tag friends and share the contest on their own social media pages, you are almost guaranteed more readers and organic followers.

Whatever your own reason for hosting a giveaway, sweepstakes, contest – whatever you want to call it! – maybe, doing it well will guarantee results. Let’s dive into it.


Get to know the basics: General competition terms and conditions

Are you serious about running your own giveaways, contests and other prize competitions? The best place to start is by getting to know the general competition terms and conditions that typically apply across all platforms, regions and industries.

If your goal for this giveaway or contest is to promote partner brands, generate buzz for your brand or sell products, it’s important to take the necessary steps to ensure success. It is impossible to generate the right kind of awareness without first complying by certain rules and regulations. Use the below guidelines to set up your contest and be on your way to the attention you want and need:

  1. The first thing to make sure to include in your giveaway terms and conditions is the name of the company running the contest or giveaway (YOU!). Without properly outlining who is behind the contest itself, you put yourself at risk in many ways, including legal trouble and concerns over the legitimacy of the contest.It is also important to include that the contest is in no way sponsored by the platform you are running your contest on. For example, if you are hosting a contest on Instagram, be sure to reiterate that the contest is NOT endorsed or sponsored by Instagram in any way.BONUS: This may be an obvious one, but partnering with other brands and companies to sponsor your contest will not only benefit you but also the other brand. By asking them to sponsor the event, you are providing free advertising for them and their generous (monetary or otherwise) sponsorship will help your giveaway reach more eyes and ultimately be a success.
  2. Next, be sure to include the dates and times of the contest, making sure to define time zones, so participants know exactly when they have to have submissions in by.
  3. Are there any restrictions to applicants based on age or location? Make sure to let your audience know and you’ll eliminate underage applicants or applicants that aren’t within the location range of your contest.
  4. Outline how and WHEN the contest winner will be chosen! This is important to include so you can manage the number of applicants and reduce the inevitable number of people direct-messaging you for the time and date that a winner will be announced. Give the people what they want and your life will be instantly easier!
  5. Finally, include anything else that may affect the eligibility of your participants to cover all the bases. For example, will winners have to cover the cost of shipping anything themselves? How quickly will winners have to respond to their win before another winner is selected? These are the types of questions you need to consider before you start your giveaway and the ones you will want clearly defined.

Following these general giveaway terms and conditions for online contests and sweepstakes will help your brand and business’ success explode! Let’s take a look at contest rules for Instagram in particular, which is one of the more successful platforms to host a giveaway or contest on!


Instagram Competition Rules Australia, UK, US & more

Which platform is the best platform for hosting a successful and profitable online giveaway, contest or sweepstakes? 9 times out of 10, online brand owners and marketing will tell you it is Instagram. If Instagram is King, then knowing Instagram competition rules Australia, UK, US and beyond is clearly very important.

Generally, the rules above apply to all platforms. Be sure to double-check the rules in your particular region and make sure all legal baselines are covered before you launch. Failure to do so could mean Instagram, Facebook or another online facilitator or platform shutting down your contest or deeming it illegal. Which brings us to our next subject…

Are Instagram Giveaways Legal?

There is quite a bit of debate about the legality of Instagram and other online contests. In the age of increasing online presence and technology in business, it comes into question are Instagram giveaways legal, to make money or otherwise?

One perspective is that it shouldn’t be legal to promote products, advertise brands and do business via Instagram or other social media platform because many people work very hard to secure a business license and build a brand themselves.

On the other side, social media platforms have become a profitable and legitimate way to make passive and remote income. Without social media advertising and marketing, many brands would not even exist.

The truth is, Instagram giveaways ARE legal as long as you follow and clearly outline the above guidelines, along with regional rules and laws!

You’re ready!

By now you should have all of the information and guidelines in front of you to host a successful, profitable and engaging giveaway, contest or sweepstakes. Now you are armed and ready to take on the internet with force. Whatever reason you are hosting a giveaway and however you choose to set up your giveaway terms and conditions, remember to clearly define them early and to always be transparent with your followers.

Good luck and remember to reach out if you still have questions or concerns!

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