Main navigation

  • Home
  • About
  • Work With Me
    • Level Up With Kachet
    • Coaching
    • Partnerships
  • Press
  • Blog
    • CATEGORIES
      • Lifestyle
      • Home
      • Travel
      • Fashion + Beauty
      • business
  • Contact
    • Skip to primary navigation
    • Skip to content

    The Kachet Life

    Lifestyle Influencers + Coach for Solopreneurs

    Loop and Secret Giveaways: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

    May 5, 2018business

    If you follow bloggers, influencers or small businesses on Instagram, chances are that you’ve seen them participate in a loop or secret giveaway. For bloggers, they can be a way to grow your following and for businesses, a way to get in front of potential customers, but is a loop or secret giveaway right for you? Here’s some information on those types of giveaways, and the good, bad, and ugly that comes with them.

    First, what is a loop giveaway?

    A loop giveaway is when a group of bloggers post the same photo at the same time and tag each other in the comments. They can vary between 5 and 35+ participants depending on how much the participant pays as a buy-in and the average size of the giveaway. Followers must follow each account mentioned in the caption of each photo until they’ve “looped” all the way back to the original account they follow. Depending on the organizer, the buy-in, and participants, you can garner anywhere from 100 – a few thousand followers over the giveaway period.

    What is a secret giveaway?

    A secret giveaway is similar to a loop giveaway but it’s done completely different. For starters, you don’t have to post a picture on your account. In fact, you don’t have to do anything, but the sponsors of the loop do. The loop organizer makes sure to have the sponsors drive traffic to their account and to follow all of the accounts they are following. The groups are usually around 15-30, depending on the host. You can get between 500 – 24,000 followers over a two day period depending on a variety of factors.

    The Good

    There are many reasons why someone would take part in a loop or secret giveaway on Instagram, but usually, the main reason is to grow followers on the platform and to grow them fast. Loop and secret giveaways are fast and easy ways to do so without buying fake followers in bulk. Usually, the hosts of the giveaway encourage the followers to like the last (few) picture(s) on the accounts they follow, which can boost your engagement on other posts during the giveaway period.

    The Bad

    So, depending on your social media strategy, growing your followers can be good. Let’s be real: it’s the first thing people want to know when they measure your blog’s success (I frickin HATE that, but that’s for another post), and some brands want to see a good amount of people behind your brand. BUT, now that you have the followers, can you be so sure that they are going to stick around? Be prepared to lose about 20% or more of your new followers within a couple of days. The rest will slowly taper off, that is, unless you participate in another giveaway, get lucky and get reposted on a highly engaging account, put in a lot of work, go viral, or a combination of the previously mentioned.

    Now, if they remain a follower, are they going to engage with your content, or just wait for your next giveaway? Sometimes it’s the latter and that can really affect your engagement rate, which to me and many industry experts, is the true selling point of influence to a brand. If you’re not getting the engagement that matches your following number, it can actually work against you.

    The Ugly

    Last year I participated in a handful of giveaways. One giveaway that I did two months ago was a secret giveaway. Being honest,  it left me feeling odd, and not just me, but my Instagram account.

    At first, I thought it was in my head, especially after a couple of my blogger friends questioned my reasons for doing a giveaway. Everyone does their own thing but the fact that my account seemed to be “dinged” for participating in one, really made me regret doing it. It took about three weeks for my account to “reset.”

    A little more to chew on

    • If you participate in the same loop or secret giveaway group, you’ll find that your numbers won’t grow as much because most of you share the same followers as it is, which in a way, is good, because you are retaining followers. While everyone is focused on growth, many forget to keep their loyal followers engaged.  Don’t forget about them! You need them!
    • There are so many perspectives on this, What works for someone else won’t necessarily work for you and vice versa, so take it all in and decide what the best option is for you and your blog. If you have any questions along the way, you can schedule a strategy session with me to talk through it all!

    With all that I’ve said, here is where I’m at: I’m not sure how I feel about participating in another loop or secret giveaway. But whatever I do, it’ll be on my terms!

    Here’s to growth on our own terms!

     

    If you loved the post or have a question, please leave a comment! Thank you for stopping by!

    You may also like

    • alli-webb-drybar-founder-interview-sacramento-location

      10 Minutes of Real Talk with Drybar Founder Alli Webb

    • 10 Creative Sacramento Women Who Inspire Me

    • My Experience at Alt Oasis and What I Learned

    ABOUT Kachet

    The Kachet Life is a relatable lifestyle blog for the modern woman. Well-rounded, bright, beautifully photographed and playfully written, The Kachet Life is driven by entertaining, travel, beauty and life hacks, but also dishes out advice for life’s more stressful moments.

    NEWER
    OLDER

    Reader Interactions

    1 Comment

    1. Jp says

      April 30, 2019 at 10:46 pm

      Hey! Love this piece of content. I recently participated in a loop giveaways and gained about 15k to my personal brand.( i should of done more intense research about it) it also has me feeling odd about my account. I was honestly thinking of just resetting my account. Would love your input

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM

    @thekachetlife

    Happy weekend, friends! Wanna know what sandals I’ll be wearing all spring? These right here 👆🏾. They are so comfortable and I got a couple of compliments at the crosswalk! Every person was pleasantly surprised when I told them they were @crocs in collaboration with @verabradley because of the style, but if you didn’t know, there’s a wide variety of sandals from Crocs and these just scream spring. The floral botanical print is quintessential Vera and I’m obsessed. I know I’m rocking the denim today, but I’ll be steppin around town in them and at the pool, with stripes and solids — and with dresses and swimsuits, too. The spring style possibilities are endless. Tell me what you would wear yours with! #VeraBradleyXCrocs
    Y’all, I couldn’t be more excited to share wit Y’all, I couldn’t be more excited to share with you what’s been going on around here lately!

After three rounds in 2020, the doors to Level Up With Kachet have finally re-opened! If you're ready to achieve your big goals, truly build a thriving business, and to finally feel confident about your brand direction, I’m here to guide the way over the course of four months to make sure you do.

Participants will have access to weekly implementation sessions, bi-weekly coaching, guest coaching sessions and more. Unlike before, this program is for four months instead of six weeks. 

It’s truly a mastermind, designed to ensure your long-term success.

Maybe you know what you want for your brand, but you’re feeling overwhelmed and don’t know what to do next to get you there.

Maybe you hate to admit that you need better business habits, but you know that you do and you're ready to build custom processes.

Or maybe you feel deep down that 2021 is your year — and you are ready to do what it takes to make it happen.

Whatever your particular scenario is, I invite you to join us—your time is now! Applications close in 2 weeks and we’ll begin immediately after. 

Want to know more? Click the link in my bio for the info and to apply, and please be sure to DM me with any questions! 

THIS IS OUR YEAR, and I can’t wait to get started! #LevelUpWithKachet #LevelUpShowUp #ThisIsYourYear
    Happy first full week of April, y’all. 😁 Maki Happy first full week of April, y’all. 😁 Making a point to celebrate + take a pause from the scroll is part of my biz processes this year and I didn’t even realize a week passed. I never used to stop, which means that I was going forth with blinders on + getting caught up in comparison, for better and for worse. I have to be honest, even with the absence on Instagram, the business activity didn’t stop!  In fact, here’s what went down in the past five days: 

▪️The Level Up + Show Up Challenge went down via email + Facebook. See ya, IG!
▪️I booked two Strategy Sessions for April.
▪️I put the finishing touches on the new Level Up With Kachet...DOORS OPENING THIS WEEK. Y’all ready?!
▪️My team + I turned a gifted offer from a brand into a paid one with ONE email. My #CoachKach advice: Stop saying yes (or no) off the bat. Open up the conversation to see what can happen.
▪️I beat my Q1 income goal by 25%, which made me adjust my quarterly goals for the rest of the year.

Sometimes you just need a win to get fired up and re-focused.

Sometimes you need to put that scary number out there to see if you can make it happen. 

Knowing that I did when half of the time I was weary, lost + fighting to show up in all areas, it affirms that I am made to do this. It shows me that there is a bigger plan for me, so long as I show up. 

Perfection is not required. Effort is.

That’s the energy I’m taking into April and the rest of the year. I’m going to reach higher. I’m probably going to squirm, sweat and scream while doing so, but I’m here for all the smoke that comes with it.

What are you going to reach higher for? And how can I help? Let’s 👏🏾Get 👏🏾It!
#LevelUpShowUp
    You work hard, lady — schedule a breather this w You work hard, lady — schedule a breather this week and treat yo’self! It doesn’t have to be for the whole day. Heck, five minutes will do the trick. 

I hadn’t taken myself out for a coffee date in a while so I made it happen. But for you, it could be:

▪️A coffee without your phone in hand
▪️A walk around the block
▪️A bubble bath
▪️A call with a loved one. 

This isn’t the first time I’ve said this, and it won’t be the last. Count on that! 😁
—
Curious about my look? Well, my love for polka dots is coming back! I’m rockin more classics from @appleseeds, including the Dennisport Twill Chinos with this shirt. I plan to wear it with shorts + skirts this spring, too. That’s why I love classic pieces so much. You can remix them in whatever way you feel like depending on the mood.

A classic — and taking a moment to celebrate you — will never go out of style. Click the link in my profile to check out all of my Appleseed’s picks this season, + comment below 👇🏾and tell me what you’re going to do for yourself this week! 
#AppleseedsClassics

    The Kachet Life © 2021