20 creative giveaway ideas for small businesses (2024)

Win big with top 20 creative giveaway ideas for small businesses (2024)

June 26, 2024 GemPages Team 0 Comments

In this fast-paced eCommercial world, it’s all about standing out from the crowd and capturing your potential customers. For small businesses, what better way to do that than with a giveaway?

Compared to traditional advertising methods, giveaways offer a cost-effective marketing strategy that can yield remarkable results, even for businesses with limited budgets. They have the power to generate buzz, drive engagement, and ultimately boost your sales

But let’s be real. The same old “like and comment to win” just isn’t going to cut it anymore. You need fresh and innovative sales ideas for small businesses that will make your customers go wild with excitement.

That’s why we’ve curated the top 20 giveaway ideas for small businesses on Shopify in the year 2024.

Let’s dive in!

Why giveaways are beneficial for small businesses

Generate leads and boost sales

Giveaways can directly impact your sales. By offering a special discount code or exclusive offer to participants, you create a sense of urgency and incentivize them to make a purchase. Additionally, the increased brand awareness and engagement generated by the giveaway can lead to an uptick in sales from both new and existing customers.

Promote social media engagement

Giveaway ideas for small businessess are a fantastic way to ignite social media engagement and create a buzz around your brand. By encouraging participants to share, comment, and interact with your giveaway posts, you’re not only increasing your reach and visibility but also fostering a sense of community and connection with your audience.

Increase brand awareness

A well-executed giveaway can be an excellent branding opportunity for small businesses. By offering desirable prizes related to your products or services, you’re introducing your brand to a wider audience and creating associations with positive experiences and emotions. This increased brand awareness can translate into more website visits, social media followers, and ultimately, more customers for your business.

Gain deeper customer insights

Giveaways can serve as a valuable source of customer data and insights. By analyzing the demographics, preferences, and behaviors of your giveaway participants, you can gain a better understanding of your target audience. This information can inform your product development, marketing strategies, and overall business decisions, ensuring that you’re catering to your customers’ needs and desires more effectively.

They are affordable

One of the most appealing aspects of giveaway ideas for small businesses is their affordability. Unlike expensive advertising campaigns or large-scale promotions, giveaways can be executed on a relatively modest budget. By offering desirable prizes that align with your brand and target audience, you can create a significant impact without breaking the bank. This cost-effectiveness makes giveaways an accessible and budget-friendly marketing tool for small businesses with limited resources.

20 cheap giveaway ideas for small businesses on Shopify

Here are 20 cheap giveaway ideas for small businesses on Shopify, along with how to host them and examples.

Product giveaway

A product giveaway is an excellent way for Shopify store owners to engage with their audience and potentially attract new customers.

How do you host product giveaways successfully? Yes, you’ve guessed right. You absolutely need the right prize first. It’s best to choose a popular or highly sought-after item from your store to generate maximum interest.

A successful giveaway is more than just a killer prize. It’s also about the rules and regulations that will keep everything running smoothly. Consider these key elements: entry period, eligibility criteria, and winner selection (e.g., random draw, voting, judging criteria for user-generated content).

Gift card giveaway

Gift cards are relatively low-cost prizes, making it easier for small businesses with limited budgets to host giveaways without a significant financial investment.

First up, choose a gift card value that is enticing enough to generate interest while still being feasible for your business. Popular amounts range from $25 to $500.

Next, set clear rules for entry, such as following your social media accounts, sharing the giveaway post, leaving a comment, or submitting an email address to join your mailing list.

Bundle giveaway

By bundling multiple products together, small businesses can create an attractive prize for their giveaway. Bundling lower-cost items can increase the perceived value and appeal to customers.

In addition, consider bundling best-sellers with newer or lesser-known items to expose customers to your full range of offerings.

Now look at how Taza Chocolate groups their vegan snack into their bundle combining different tastes. To promote their giveaway and customers’ engagement, Taza Chocolate leverages their Instagram channel by encouraging their customers to like and tag a friend below the post as an entry rule. By this way, their bundles get the chance to reach a wider audience.

Tips: A high-quality visuals and descriptions of the bundle can better generate excitement and interest. Try GemPages to create an engaging and visually stunning representation of your bundle.

Learn More: How to create a bundle upsell section

Collaborate with complementary brands

Collaborating with another brand allows for cross-promotion and exposes each brand to a wider audience. This can result in increased brand visibility, new customer acquisition, and potentially higher sales.

It’s important to identify your “Mr. Right” brands. Here are some tips:

Look for brands that align with your target audience and have products or services that complement your offerings.
Ensure that the partnership is mutually beneficial and that both brands can contribute value to the giveaway.
To promote the giveaway, leverage the combined audience of both brands by utilizing various channels to increase reach and engagement.

The partnership between Soyoung and Wildcraft allows both brands to leverage each other’s customer base and promote their products to a wider audience.

During the giveaway, customers who made a purchase from Soyoung were provided with a 20% discount code for use on the Wildcraft offerings. This created a mutually beneficial arrangement where Soyoung customers received a valuable incentive while being introduced to the Wildcraft brand, and Wildcraft gained new customers through the collaboration.

Exclusive discount giveaway

By offering discounts, you can incentivize customers to buy more or make larger purchases. This can help increase your average order value and overall sales volume during the giveaway period.

The key is to create a compelling offer, communicate it effectively, and provide a seamless customer experience.

Beardbrand‘s giveaway effectively leverages the holiday season and the desire for discounts to drive sales. Customers who make a purchase between December 1 and December 31 receive a discount code if the last digit of the order matches the corresponding date. This encourages customers to place orders and increases engagement with the brand during the giveaway period.

Limited edition item giveaway

Limited edition items create a sense of exclusivity and scarcity, which can generate buzz and attract attention to your brand. The chance to win a highly coveted item pushes customers to join your game.

Some ideas for limited-edition items could be a rare collectible, a signed item, or a special-edition product.

Take the limited edition items with Messi’s signature, for example.

The Leo Messi signed items giveaway from The Messi Store allows participants to enter for a chance to win items signed by the renowned footballer Leo Messi. By offering limited edition items with Messi’s signature, the giveaway generates immense excitement and engagement among football fans and collectors.

Social media engagement giveaway

By encouraging participants to like, comment, and share your content, you can expand your brand’s visibility and potentially reach new audiences.

Also, this is a chance to actively engage with your audience, thereby foster a sense of community and brand loyalty.

Pay close attention to these crucial factors for a winning social media engagement giveaway:

Have a clear goal: Decide whether you want to focus on increasing brand awareness, growing your social media following, or fostering audience engagement. Clear goals will help you plan and measure the giveaway’s success.
Set clear entry requirements: These could include liking your social media page, liking the giveaway post, tagging friends, sharing a post, or commenting with specific information.
Eye-catching post: Design a visually appealing post that captures the audience’s interest and encourages participation.

Partake Foods’ social media engagement giveaway format successfully engages participants by requiring them to interact with the Facebook page. As participants tag their friends and share their stories, more people are exposed to the giveaway and the Partake Foods brand.

7-day giveaway

Instead of a one-time event, participants have multiple opportunities to participate and stay engaged with your brand throughout the week. Each day brings a new chance to win, keeping participants engaged and interested in your brand for an extended period. This can create a sense of momentum and encourage repeat visits to your store or website.

Here are some notes to host a successful 7-day giveaway:

Offer a different prize each day of the week to keep participants engaged and excited. Consider offering a mix of products, discounts, or exclusive experiences to keep the giveaway interesting.
Daily challenges: Assign daily challenges or tasks. This could involve sharing user-generated content, answering trivia questions, or completing simple tasks that promote your products.
Create anticipation by sharing daily countdown posts or teasers about the upcoming prizes

User-generated content giveaway

Harness your customers’ creativity and enthusiasm to grow your brand through giveaways. Why not?

Encourage participants to submit photos or videos featuring your products in creative or unique ways. This can include showcasing how they use the product, their favorite features, or even a testimonial. This content can be used for marketing purposes.

Fly By Jing invites their participants to share their recipes on the Instagram grid or TikTok and tag @flybyjing for a chance to win. This exciting contest has gone viral on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, captivating the taste buds and creativity of food enthusiasts everywhere.

Event giveaway

Offer exclusive discount codes, product bundles, or limited edition items to event participants. This will incentivize attendees to visit your eCommerce store and explore your offerings, thereby increasing the likelihood of purchases.

Here are some ideas for an event giveaway:

Offer exclusive discount codes to participants of your event.
Create special product bundles related to the event theme. For example, give these bundles away to a select number of participants through a contest or random draw.
Introduce limited edition items specifically for the event giveaway. These exclusive items can create a sense of urgency and FOMO (fear of missing out) among attendees.

Complete a survey giveaway

Surveys provide valuable insights into customer preferences, satisfaction levels, and areas for improvement. By offering a giveaway as an incentive, you increase survey participation and gather more meaningful data.

Offer gift cards, free samples of new or upcoming products,… as giveaway prizes to participants who complete a survey.

Holiday-themed giveaway

Holidays often bring increased consumer spending and heightened interest in gift-giving. Many holiday promotion ideas for small businesses can help you attract more customers and increase sales during these peak periods.

Learn More: Creating a Captivating Christmas Landing Page for eCommerce Stores

Order giveaway

Offering a special prize to the customer who places the (n)th order on your Shopify store can be a great way to create excitement, encourage purchases, and increase sales.

For example, you could choose the 100th order, 500th order, or any other milestone that suits your business.

Or else, you can select a random order from a specific time period and surprise the customer with a free gift or discount on their next purchase. This rewards customer loyalty and encourages repeat business.

Livestream giveaway

Host a live-stream event on Instagram or Facebook, where you can engage with your audience in real time. During the live stream, choose random participants to receive giveaways, such as exclusive discounts or free products. This boosts engagement, creates a personal connection with your audience, and generates buzz around your brand.

Anniversary or milestone giveaway

By hosting giveaways on significant dates or milestones, you show appreciation for your customers’ support and celebrate your business’s growth and success.

Flourist celebrates their 4-year anniversary by kick starting a giveaway, a great way to engage with customers and show appreciation for their customers’ support.

To enter the giveaway, participants are encouraged to like the anniversary giveaway post, follow the Flourist fanpage, and tag a friend in the comments, which helps spread the word and introduce new potential customers to the brand.

Product customization giveaway

Customization adds an extra layer of engagement as participants have the opportunity to create something unique to their preferences.

What’s more? Giveaways are highly shareable! Winners are likely to share their customized prizes on social media, generating buzz and spreading awareness about your brand and products.

For instance, Purecycles enables their customers to create their dream bikes by hosting a product customization giveaway, offering a custom bike and bag as the prize.

Charity communication giveaway

Engaging in charitable giving and promoting the giveaway demonstrates your commitment to social responsibility, which can enhance the brand’s reputation and attract socially conscious customers.

You can announce a donation of a certain percentage of sales to a chosen charity for every purchase made during a specific period.

Fan appreciation giveaway

Fan appreciation giveaways can help amplify your brand’s reach and attract new customers through the power of advocacy. When fans feel appreciated, they are more likely to share positive experiences on social media, leave reviews, and recommend your products to their friends and family.

Curate an exclusive product as a giveaway prize tailored to your fans’ preferences. This will make your fans feel appreciated for their support, foster customer loyalty, and encourage repeat purchases.

Affiliate partnership

Joining forces with like-minded businesses leverages their audience and expertise to amplify your reach. It’s a win-win situation where everyone benefits.

Learn More: Becoming a GemPages Affiliate

The Gentlemanwake channel has announced a collaboration with Art of Play through a dedicated video. In the video, they explain how viewers can purchase Art of Play products at discounted prices through their affiliate link.

Influencer shoutout giveaway

Influencers have dedicated followers who trust their recommendations. Through shoutout giveaways, you can tap into their audience and gain exposure to potential customers who may not have been aware of your brand before.

Provide influencers with exclusive discount codes to share with their audience. This not only incentivizes their followers to participate in the giveaway but also drives traffic and sales to your Shopify store.

Encourage influencers to create content featuring your products or brand as part of the giveaway. This can include photos, videos, reviews, or tutorials.

Post-giveaway activities

After hosting a giveaway, you can leverage the momentum and engagement generated by the promotion through various post-giveaway activities.

Here are some ideas to consider:

Thank participants: Publicly thank the participants for taking part in the giveaway. This can be done through a social media post, email newsletter, or blog post.
Winner stories: Congratulate the winners and consider sharing their stories or experiences to further engage with your audience.
Follow-up offers: Provide exclusive discounts, special offers, or personalized recommendations to participants who did not win the giveaway.
Data analysis: Analyze the data collected during the giveaway, such as email addresses, social media engagement, or website traffic to gain valuable insights for future marketing strategies.

Giveaway to get more!

Hosting giveaways is an incredible strategy for small businesses on Shopify to enhance brand visibility, engage customers, and drive sales, all while staying within a budget.

With these 20 low-cost marketing ideas for small businesses, we hope you have a wealth of options to explore and find the perfect fit for your business and target audience. By dedicating a little time, effort, and perhaps a modest budget, you can generate buzz, nurture customer loyalty, and propel your small business to new heights.

Remember, the secret to a successful giveaway lies in aligning it with your brand, customizing it to match your customers’ preferences, and offering an experience that excites and adds value.

Now it’s time to put these sales ideas for small business into action. Best of luck, and may your giveaways bring you remarkable success!

About GemPages Academy

GemPages Academy is a knowledge hub for storefront optimization and achieving overall eCommerce success. In collaboration with industry experts and leveraging cutting-edge Shopify applications, GemPages Academy offers a diverse array of content in various formats, including insightful blogs, intuitive tutorials, comprehensive webinars, and educational courses.