I ran a giveaway on Instagram with over 2,500 followers and only got 5 signups. What did I do wrong?

The main issue was insufficient promotion. When running a giveaway, think of it as paying for leads—if you spent $50 on the prize and got 5 signups, that’s $10 per lead, which is expensive. You need to dramatically increase your promotional content. Instead of 4 videos over 7 days, double down on promotion. Post multiple reels AND stories throughout the giveaway period—aim for at least 2 stories per day. One can be a reshare of your reel, the other a simple reminder (a photo of yourself with the print and text saying the giveaway is happening). Always mention the giveaway in your caption text, not just the video—use attention-grabbing phrases like ‘Giveaway Alert!’ so people scrolling don’t miss it. Promote to both new audiences (reels) and your existing followers (stories). Stories go directly to people already following you, which is valuable when you have a larger following. Plan 15-20 pieces of content (reels and stories combined) for a 10-day giveaway. The giveaway execution was fine; you just needed much more promotional volume.

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Asked by a photographer with over 2,500 Instagram followers · Answered by Mili · art-marketing-101 · 2026-06-29