Spin the Names

Social media giveaways are one of the fastest ways to grow your audience, reward your community, and generate engagement. They’re also one of the fastest ways to destroy trust if the winner selection looks rigged.

Here’s how to run a giveaway that builds your audience and your credibility at the same time.

Why Winner Selection Matters More Than the Prize

A common mistake: pouring energy into the prize and the promotion, then announcing a winner with a simple “DM me!” comment that offers no transparency about how they were chosen.

Your audience watched your giveaway. They followed the rules. Some of them really wanted to win. When you announce a winner without explaining the process, their first thought is often: do I actually believe this was random?

The answer to that question determines whether they enter your next giveaway.

If you want repeat participation — and you do, because giveaway participants are your most engaged audience members — you need to show your work.

Collecting Entries for Different Platforms

Instagram

Common entry mechanisms:

Like the post (easy entry, high volume)
Comment on the post (requires more effort, higher quality engagement)
Tag a friend in comments (each tag = one entry, or each comment = one entry regardless of tags)
Follow the account + comment

For comment-based entries, screenshot or export your comment list before the giveaway closes. Remove duplicate entries if your rules specify one entry per person.

Twitter/X

Retweet to enter
Quote tweet with a hashtag
Reply with a specific phrase

Export your retweets or replies and compile the list. Third-party tools can automate this for large giveaways.

Facebook

Comment on the post
React to the post
Share (note: Facebook’s algorithm de-emphasizes share-to-enter giveaways; comment entry often performs better)

TikTok

Like and comment
Duet or stitch
Follow + comment

Export your comment list from the analytics dashboard or manually compile it for smaller giveaways.

Building Your Entry List

Once you have your raw entries, clean the list:

Remove duplicate names (if one entry per person is your rule)
Verify entrants followed the entry requirements (followed your account, used the hashtag, etc.)
Note any multi-entry participants (e.g., they tagged 3 friends = 3 entries = name appears 3 times)

Paste the cleaned list into the name wheel. For multi-entry participants, add their name multiple times so their additional entries are reflected.

Picking the Winner Publicly

This is the key step most people skip. Record yourself picking the winner.

Option 1: Record a video of the spin

Open the wheel with your entry list loaded, hit record on your phone or screen recorder, and spin. Post the video alongside your winner announcement. Viewers can see every name in the pool and watch the selection happen.

Option 2: Go live

Run the giveaway draw as a live event. Announce you’re picking the winner on Instagram Live (or TikTok Live, YouTube Live, etc.), show the wheel, and spin in real time. This is the most transparent option and generates significant live engagement.

Option 3: Post a screenshot series

Screenshot the full wheel (showing all entries), then screenshot the result. Post both screenshots together in your announcement. Less dramatic than a video, but still shows the full entry list and outcome.

Announcing the Winner

Tag the winner in your announcement post. Give them a deadline to claim (48–72 hours is standard) and specify what they need to do to claim (DM you, fill out a form, reply to the post).

If the winner doesn’t claim within your deadline, re-spin for a new winner — and document that you did so, including what the deadline was and when it passed.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Picking without showing your work. The “DM me!” announcement with no process shown is the most common trust-killer. Always show how you selected the winner.

Ignoring your own rules. If your rules said “one entry per person” but you picked from a list with duplicates, someone will notice. Be precise about your rules and precise about following them.

Picking friends or familiar names. Even if it’s genuinely random, picking someone who regularly engages with your content will look suspicious. The wheel protects you here: if the wheel picks a regular follower, you have proof the selection was random.

Slow prize delivery. Announce a winner promptly after the giveaway closes. Deliver the prize quickly. Follow up publicly if the winner posts about receiving it. This closes the loop and demonstrates the giveaway was real.

Scaling Up: When to Use a Dedicated Tool

For large giveaways with thousands of entries, a manual name wheel becomes impractical. For smaller giveaways — under a few hundred entries — it’s the perfect tool: fast, transparent, and easy to record.

If you’re running giveaways regularly as part of a growth strategy, consider batching entries into groups of 100–200 for the wheel, or using the wheel for a semi-final draw before a final spin.

The transparency is the thing. Whatever your method, show it.

Pick your giveaway winner for free — paste your entry list, spin the wheel, record the moment. No account required.