How do you run an Instagram giveaway for a restaurant?

A giveaway asks people to do two things you want anyway. They follow your account. They also tag a friend who might come with them. That tag is word of mouth you can see.

Word of mouth still leads how guests find a new place. In a Toast survey of U.S. diners, 38% found new restaurants through word of mouth. Instagram was a source for 15%.

Half of U.S. adults use Instagram, Pew Research Center found. Younger adults use it far more than older ones. A giveaway puts your post in front of their friends for the cost of one meal.

The prize decides who enters. Cash, a tablet or a large gift card pull in prize hunters from everywhere. A meal at your restaurant pulls in people who live nearby and like your food.

Make the prize easy to claim. Name the stores where it works. Set a date by which the winner must use it. Put its value in the rules as a plain dollar amount, so nobody argues later. A modest meal prize also keeps the paperwork light, as the section on purchases explains.

Instagram’s Promotion Guidelines are short. You are responsible for the official rules, the eligibility terms and following the law. Every promotion must include a complete release of Instagram by each entrant. It must also say Instagram does not sponsor, endorse or administer it.

The same page bars inaccurate tagging, so never ask people to tag themselves in a photo they are not in. Tagging a friend in the comments is different, and it is the usual entry step. Instagram also says it will not help you run the promotion. The rules, the draw and the prize are all yours.

The post holds the short version. The full rules live on a page you control, such as your website, linked from your bio. A Story disappears after a day, so it is the wrong place for rules. Write them in plain English and keep them to one page. Use the same rules for every store, and change only the store name and the dates. This is general information, not legal advice.

No. Keep entry free, and keep it to steps on Instagram or a free form. Florida’s game promotion law makes it unlawful to require an entry fee, payment or proof of purchase. Other states have their own rules, so check yours.

The same Florida law adds paperwork for big prizes. When the prizes total more than $5,000, the operator must file the rules with the state at least 7 days before the start.

You can still thank guests who buy. Post a separate offer, or give every entrant the same small thank-you. Just never tie the chance to win to a sale.

Fewer steps bring more entries and fewer arguments. Two steps are enough for a local restaurant. Ask entrants to follow your account and tag one friend who would actually come.

Skip “tag ten friends.” It fills the comments with strangers and looks like spam. Extra entries for sharing to a Story are hard to check, so leave them out. If a creator co-hosts the post, ask them to label the paid partnership, as in what creators must disclose.

Shoot the post on the prize itself. A real plate from your kitchen, in your own room, beats a stock graphic. Pin the post to the top of your grid while it runs.

One week is plenty for a local giveaway. Start on a Monday and close on Sunday night. A longer run loses energy, and a shorter one misses people who check in once a week.

Post a Story on the first day, midweek and on the last day. Ask staff to mention it at the counter. Put a small card by the register that points to your account. You can also pay to show the post to adults near each store, as in how to run Facebook ads for a restaurant.

Time the visit, not just the post. Let the prize work on the nights you want to fill. A winner who comes on a slow Tuesday with friends is worth more than one on a full Saturday.

Close entries at the time the rules say. Remove entries that break the rules, such as staff, duplicates or accounts from outside your area. Then pick at random with a free comment picker or a random number tool. Record your screen while you draw.

Message the winner only from your official account, and say the same thing in a Story. Fake accounts often copy a business and message entrants. KickoffLabs advises telling entrants you will never ask for payment details to claim a prize.

One franchise group put the steps of this guide together. Its names and numbers are made up.

Many franchise systems control social accounts, promotions and prizes. Ask your franchisor to sign off before you post a giveaway. A store’s own giveaway can clash with a brand offer or a rule about local accounts.

Get the answers in writing, and follow the brand’s social media policy if it has one. Then reuse the same approved rules at every store. A giveaway is one tool in local store marketing.

Count visits, not comments. Before you post, note your follower count and your sales on the nights the prize can be used. Compare both a few weeks after the giveaway ends.

If most entries came from far away, tighten the rules. Pick a prize that only works in person. For the other places guests find you, see where diners discover new restaurants.

A giveaway post lands better next to a real video of the prize meal. CreatoRain books creators from its food-creator network to film your food at each store. Each video costs $300, and the creator’s pay is part of that price.