Free & Low-Cost Social Media Contest and Giveaway Ideas for Musicians
Keeping fans engaged does not have to be complicated or expensive. Here is a list of free and low-cost Social Media contest and giveaway ideas for Musicians.
by Randi Zimmerman of Symphonic Blog
If you’re looking to get more engagement on socials, hosting a giveaway is a great way to do that! Whether you’ve got exclusive online content or merch you want to give away or even free tickets to your next show, there’s a lot of ways you can get your fans to meaningfully engage with your socials and win something fun out of it at the same time. In this article, we’ll give you some ideas for both the types of giveaways you can do, as well as what to award your winning fans. Here’s the rundown…
Contest and Giveaway Ideas for Musicians
Host a Trivia Quiz
If you’re thinking of rewarding your most dedicated fans, consider hosting a trivia quiz on your IG, TikTok, Twitter, etc.. Try to come up with questions about your career or individual releases that only your real fans would know. For example, if you’re open about your influences as an artist, consider a question about that. Alternatively, you could ask questions about specific releases from the past that only a true fan would know. Whoever knows you the best can win early access to your upcoming music video, song or whatever else you’ve got coming up.
To share your upcoming music videos or songs, a private YouTube link (which also then leads them to your YouTube profile with all your other juicy content while they’re at it) is a great way to do this. For merch, you can typically share a unique access code or private link only the winner can access. You can even create a private Instagram or Facebook group chat to share everything in. However you decide to share it, getting early access to your favorite artist’s latest creation is one of the best feelings there is as a fan.
Fan Art Contest
If you’ve got some artsy fans, consider hosting a contest for fans to create art inspired by your music. You can even share the entries on your profile and let your followers vote for the winner in the comments for added engagement.
Signed/ Exclusive Merch
If you’ve got old merch you need to get out there to make room for new stuff or new stuff you’re looking to promote, consider custom signing some for a giveaway.
To enter the giveaway, ask your fans to like the giveaway post, follow your account, and tag their friends in the comments. If you want to make it more personal, encourage them to share their favorite song or lyric, creating dialogue in the comments and further connecting with what means the most to your fans. This approach not only rewards dedicated fans with unique, tangible memorabilia but also increases your visibility and attracts new followers through the new engagement.
Free Show Tickets / Backstage Pass
Offering a free ticket to your show and/or backstage passes in a giveaway not only creates a buzz around your event, but it also gives your audience a unique experience that’s truly irreplaceable. To enter, you can encourage your followers to share a memory or experience related to your music past shows in the comments and tag a friend who they would bring along. You could also offer an exclusive meet and greet to go along with this one, then you can ask your fan(s) to post any photos or videos they get and tag you on socials after.
Let Them Help You Write Lyrics
Another great way, and my personal favorite, to get your fans involved is to run a lyric writing content. Consider giving a sneak peak to a song you’re working on and get your fans to submit a line to go next. Whether you want to let your fans vote on the best lyric or you choose it yourself, you can include that line in the upcoming song and give a personal shoutout to the winner when it comes out.
Create a Collaborative Playlist
If you’re a big playlist lover, consider running a giveaway where you get your fans involved on the curation or addition to a collaborative playlist on Spotify. To do this, ask fans to submit song recommendations in the comments (or through direct messages) and use a specific hashtag to track the entries. This not only increases engagement on your socials, but also helps to build a diverse and dynamic playlist that reflects the tastes and interests of your fanbase.
As a reward along with getting featured on the playlist, you can offer exclusive content like a shoutout or link to behind-the-scenes footage to those whose suggestions you end up using. Now with this playlist, you can continue to grow it over time and do future submissions for more fans to get featured in the future. If you’re a hands on artist who loves to personally connect with your audience, this is a great option that shows you value the taste of the people who support you most.
In Conclusion…
If you’re looking to drive some engagement to your socials while connecting with your audience on a deeper level, running giveaways can help you do just that. These methods can help you promote big things coming and get you new fans through showcasing the amazing connection you share with your fanbase. Not only that, giveaways also provide valuable insights into your audience’s preferences, helping you tailor future content and marketing strategies to better meet their interests moving forward. If a certain giveaway does well, you can do it again in the future with tweaks to improve it each time.
In the meantime, enjoy the ride! If there’s one thing that will never go out of style, it’s investing in your audience.
