A giveaway is the fastest way to add followers to a pet account, and the fastest way to add followers who never look at you again. Done well, it rewards the people already cheering for your pet and gives a brand a reason to work with you twice. Done badly, it tanks your engagement for a quarter. Here is how to run one that helps, with the rules you have to follow and a template you can paste.
Pick the goal first
Most giveaways fail at this step because nobody did it. The goal decides the prize, the entry mechanics, and whether it is worth running at all. The goals that actually make sense for a pet account:
- Thank the people who are already here. A milestone giveaway (1K, 5K, 10K) that rewards existing followers. Low churn, high goodwill.
- Deliver for a brand. The brand supplies the prize; you deliver comments, saves and email sign-ups they can measure. This is the giveaway that can lead to a paid deal.
- Launch something of your own. A new series, a freebie, a product. The giveaway is the announcement with a bow on it.
- Grow, carefully. Possible, but only if the prize filters for the followers you want. More on that next.
Choose a prize that filters for the right people
The prize decides who enters. A gift card or a phone attracts everyone on the internet, and everyone on the internet will unfollow you the day the winner is announced. A prize only a dog owner would want attracts dog owners, which is the whole point.
- Niche beats generic. A month of the food your dog eats, a harness in the winner’s size, a custom pet portrait. Cheaper, more relevant, and it self-selects.
- Something your pet uses on camera. If your audience has watched your dachshund in that sweater for weeks, the sweater is the prize. You already did the advertising.
- Modest is fine. In our experience a $30 to $60 prize that fits the account performs about as well as a $300 one and brings far fewer prize-hunters.
Rules and platform guidelines you can’t skip
This is the part people wing, and it is the part that gets posts removed or, worse, attracts trouble. Three layers apply.
1. Instagram’s promotion guidelines
Instagram allows giveaways, but its promotion guidelines put the responsibility on you. In practice that means your post needs to:
- Include a clear statement that the promotion is not sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Instagram. This line is required, and most people forget it.
- State the official rules, eligibility and any restrictions (age, location).
- Avoid asking people to tag themselves or others inaccurately in photos they aren’t in.
- Acknowledge that entrants release Instagram from any responsibility for the promotion.
Other platforms have their own versions. If you run it on TikTok too, read that platform’s promotion policy before posting.
2. Disclosure, if a brand is involved
If a brand supplied the prize, or paid you to run the giveaway, that is a material connection and the FTC expects you to disclose it clearly in the post, not buried in the rules. “Prize provided by [Brand]” or “#ad · in partnership with [Brand]” at the top of the caption does the job. Our guide to FTC disclosure for pet creators covers the wording. Use the paid-partnership label as well when the brand is a real partner.
3. Sweepstakes basics
Giveaways are legally sweepstakes, and sweepstakes law varies by state and country. The habits that keep a small pet giveaway on the safe side: no purchase or payment required to enter, an age minimum, a clear geographic limit (shipping a prize internationally is often where things get messy), a start and end date, and “void where prohibited.” For a big prize, a large brand partner, or entries from many countries, this is educational only and you should check with a professional.
To enter:
1. Follow @[yourhandle] [and @brand]
2. Like this post
3. Comment with [a specific question, e.g. your dog’s favorite snack]
Optional: share to your story for a bonus entry (DM us a screenshot).
Rules: Open to [US / your country] residents 18+. No purchase necessary. Entries close [date, time, time zone]. One winner chosen at random from eligible entries and announced in Stories on [date]; winner has 48 hours to reply by DM or a new winner is drawn. We will never DM you first from a different account and will never ask for payment or card details. Void where prohibited. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Instagram. By entering, you release Instagram from any liability.
The Petfluencer Playbook is the system we used to reach millions of views from a small following: content that gets shared, a posting rhythm you can keep, and the brand-deal templates for when the audience is ready. No giveaways required.
How to pick a winner fairly
Fairness is mostly about being able to prove it. Do it this way and nobody can argue:
- Close entries at the stated time. Edit the caption to say “closed.” Late entries don’t count, even from friends.
- Check eligibility first. Remove entries that didn’t complete the steps or are outside the region before drawing.
- Draw at random and record it. Any of the free comment-picker tools works, or export the usernames to a list and use a random number. Screen-record the draw.
- Announce publicly, then DM. Post the winner’s handle in Stories, then message them from your account. Give a deadline to respond and redraw if it passes.
- Warn about impersonators. Scam accounts copy giveaway posts and DM entrants asking for “shipping fees.” Tell your audience in advance that you will never ask for money, and report the fakes when they appear.
Why giveaway followers churn
This is the part nobody puts in the giveaway post. People who follow to enter are following the prize, not your pet. Once the winner is announced, a large share of them leave, and the ones who stay often never engage. Your follower count goes up, your engagement rate goes down, and the platform reads the drop as “this account got less interesting.” If the giveaway was a loop with a dozen other accounts, multiply all of that by twelve. A brand looking at your engagement rate three months later sees the dent and doesn’t see the reason.
Churn is much lower when the prize is niche, the entry step is a real comment rather than a tag-three-friends, and the giveaway is short. It is close to zero when the giveaway rewards followers you already have.
Better alternatives to a growth giveaway
- A brand-funded giveaway with a measurable ask. The brand supplies the prize; the entry is a comment answering a question the brand cares about. You get content, they get insight, and the follower ask is a footnote. This is also how you turn gifted products into a paid relationship.
- A milestone thank-you. No follow requirement at all. Existing followers enter by commenting. It costs you one prize and buys a lot of loyalty.
- A collab post with one similar account. A shared Reel reaches both audiences with none of the prize-hunter problem.
- A freebie instead of a prize. A checklist, a treat recipe, a wallpaper of your pet. Everyone who wants it gets it, and you can collect emails, which outlast any follower.
- Just make the shareable thing. One Reel that gets sent to a group chat does more than a giveaway, and the people it brings came for the pet. Our pet reel ideas are a good place to start.
Mistakes to avoid
- Joining giveaway loops. The mass unfollow afterward is brutal and brands can see it.
- Leaving out the Instagram disclaimer. It is one sentence. Paste it every time.
- Hiding the brand connection. If a brand gave you the prize, say so at the top, not in a hashtag at the bottom.
- Shipping worldwide by accident. Say where you can ship before someone in another hemisphere wins.
- Running one every month. Your audience learns to wait for prizes and stops engaging in between.
Quick checklist
- Goal written down before choosing a prize
- Prize only your ideal follower would want
- Instagram “not sponsored by” line included
- Brand connection disclosed at the top if there is one
- Eligibility, dates, region and “no purchase necessary” stated
- Draw recorded, winner announced publicly, impersonator warning posted
FAQ
Do giveaways help you grow a pet Instagram account?
They add followers quickly, but a large share of prize-seekers unfollow afterward and the rest rarely engage, which can lower your engagement rate for months. They work best as a thank-you to existing followers or as a measurable campaign for a brand partner.
Do I have to say a giveaway is not sponsored by Instagram?
Yes. Instagram’s promotion guidelines require an acknowledgement that the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Instagram. Paste it into every giveaway post.
Do I need to disclose if a brand gave me the giveaway prize?
Yes. A brand-supplied prize is a material connection, and the FTC expects clear disclosure in the post itself, such as “prize provided by [Brand]” or #ad near the top of the caption, plus the paid-partnership label where it applies.
How do I pick a giveaway winner fairly?
Close entries at the stated time, remove ineligible entries, draw at random with a comment-picker tool or a random number, screen-record the draw, announce the winner publicly, then DM them with a deadline to respond. Never ask a winner for payment or card details.
Next: get the disclosure right with FTC disclosure for pet creators, turn a gifted prize into a relationship with how to get free products as a pet influencer, and grow the slow, sticky way with how to grow a pet Instagram to 10K.