$100 GIVEAWAY - September 2022

$100 GIVEAWAY - September 2022

Enter to win a $100 Visa gift card!

To enter:

  1. Sign up for a free account at http://piclinq.com
  2. Add a piclinq (ONLINE QR Code) to at least one Instagram Post or Reel and tag @piclinq.
  3. Have people scan your piclinq (ONLINE QR Code). Each unique visits will count as one entry in the giveaway (maximum 20 entries).

GOOD LUCK!!!

ENTER NOW

P.S. This giveaway is open to US residents only. This contest ends 11:59 PM EDT on October 3, 2022. We will announce the winner on an Instagram post and contact via email within 48 hours. For official rules, visit our blog.

This giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Instagram or Facebook. Reminder: we will never ask you to enter a credit card number to claim a prize.


Official Rules:

NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE DOES NOT INCREASE THE CHANCES OF WINNING.

  1. Sponsor: The Sponsor of Basic Instagram Contest is Piclinq
  2. Eligibility: Basic Instagram Contest (the “Sweepstakes”) is only open to those who sign up at https://piclinq.com. The Sweepstakes is open only to residents of the 50 United States of America or the District of Columbia, and is void where prohibited by law. Employees, independent contractors, interns, officers, directors, and agents of Piclinq (the “Sponsor”) their respective affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising and promotion agencies, suppliers and their immediate family members and/or those living in the same household of each are not eligible to participate in the Sweepstakes. The Sweepstakes is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations. Void where prohibited.
  3. Agreement to Rules: By entering the Sweepstakes, the contestant (“You”) agree to comply with and abide by these Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor, and you represent and warrant that you meet the eligibility requirements. In addition, you agree to accept the Sponsor’s decisions as final and binding as it relates to the content of this campaign. Entrants should look solely to the Sponsor with any questions, comments or issues related to the Sweepstakes.
  4. Entry Period: The Sweepstakes begins at on September 22, 2022 at 6:00PM EDT and ends at on October 3, 2022 at 11:59PM EDT (the “Entry Period”). Entries submitted before or after the Entry Period will not be eligible.
  5. How to Enter: The Sweepstakes must be entered by signing up for a free account at piclinq.com. The entry must fulfil all requirements of the Sweepstakes, as specified, to be eligible to win a prize. Entries that are incomplete or do not adhere to the rules or specifications of the Sweepstakes may be disqualified at the sole discretion of the Sponsor. You must provide the information requested. You may not enter more times than indicated by using multiple email addresses, identities, or devices in an attempt to circumvent the rules. If you use fraudulent methods or otherwise attempt to circumvent the rules of the Sweepstakes, your submission may be disqualified at the sole discretion of the Sponsor.
  6. Prizes: The winner(s) of the Sweepstakes (the “Winner”) will receive the following prizes:
    • 1 winner(s) will receive $100 Visa Digital Gift Card
  7. Actual/appraised value of prizes may differ at time of prize award. The specifics of the prize shall be solely determined by the Sponsor. No cash or other prize substitution shall be permitted except for at the Sponsor’s discretion. The prize is non transferable. Substitution of the prize or transfer/assignment of the prize to others or request for the cash equivalent of the prize by the Winner is not permitted. Any and all prize related expenses, including without limitation any and all federal, state, and/or local taxes shall be the sole responsibility of the Winner. Acceptance of the prize constitutes permission for the Sponsor to use the Winner’s name, likeness, and entry for purposes of advertising and trade without further compensation, unless prohibited by law.
  8. Odds of Winning: The odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received.
  9. Winner Selection and Notification: The Winner will be selected by Random Draw under the supervision of the Sponsor. The Winner will be notified within 48 hours of the winner selection. The Sponsor shall have no liability for a Winner’s failure to receive notices due to spam, junk e-mail or other security settings or for a Winner’s provision of incorrect or otherwise non-functioning contact information. If the Winner cannot be contacted, is ineligible, fails to claim the prize within 7 days from the time award notification was sent, or fails to timely return a completed and executed declaration and release as required, the prize may be forfeited and an alternate Winner selected. Receipt of the prize offered in this Campaign by the Winner is conditioned upon compliance with any and all federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Any violation of these official rules by the Winner at the Sponsor’s sole discretion will result in the Winner’s disqualification as winner, and all privileges as winner will be immediately terminated.
  10. Rights Granted by the Entrant: By entering this content (e.g., photo, video, text, etc.), You understand and agree that the Sponsor and anyone acting on behalf of the Sponsor or its respective licensees, successors, and assigns, shall have the right, where permitted by law, to print, publish, broadcast, distribute, and use in any media now known or hereafter developed, in perpetuity and throughout the World, without limitation, your entry, name, portrait, picture, voice, likeness, image, statements about the Campaign, and biographical information for news, publicity, information, trade, advertising, public relations, and promotional purposes without any further compensation, notice, review, or consent. By entering this content, you represent and warrant that your entry is an original work of authorship, and does not violate any third party’s proprietary or intellectual property rights. If your entry infringes upon the intellectual property right of another, you will be disqualified at the sole discretion of the Sponsor. If the content of your entry is claimed to constitute infringement of any proprietary or intellectual proprietary rights of any third party, you shall, at your sole expense, defend or settle against such claims. You shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Piclinq from and against any suit, proceeding, claims, liability, loss, damage, costs or expense, which Piclinq may incur, suffer, or be required to pay arising out of such infringement or suspected infringement of any third party’s right.
  11. Terms and Conditions: The Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Sweepstakes should virus, bug, non-authorised human intervention, fraud, or other cause beyond the Sponsor’s control corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, or proper conduct of the Sweepstakes. In such cases, the Sponsor may select a winner(s) from eligible entries received before and/or after the action taken by the Sponsor if appropriate. The Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to disqualify any individual who tampers or attempts to tamper with the entry process or the operation of the Sweepstakes or website or violates these Terms & Conditions. The Sponsor has the right, in its sole discretion, to maintain the integrity of the Sweepstakes, to void entries for any reason, including, but not limited to: multiple entries from the same user from different IP addresses; multiple entries from the same computer in excess of that allowed by Sweepstakes rules; or the use of bots, macros, scripts, or other technical means for entering. Any attempt by an entrant to deliberately damage any website or undermine the legitimate operation of the Sweepstakes may be a violation of criminal and civil laws. Should such an attempt be made, the Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages to the fullest extent permitted by law.
  12. Limitation of Liability: By entering the Sweepstakes you agree to release and hold harmless Piclinq and its subsidiaries, affiliates, advertising and promotion agencies, partners, representatives, agents, successors, assigns, employees, officers and directors from any liability, illness, injury, death, loss, litigation, claim or damage that may occur, directly or indirectly, whether caused by negligence or not, from (i) such entrant’s participation in the Sweepstakes and/or his/her acceptance, possession, use, or misuse of any prize or any portion thereof; (ii) unauthorised human intervention in any part of the Sweepstakes; (iii) electronic or human error in the administration of the Sweepstakes or the processing of entries; (iv) technical errors of any kind, including but not limited to the malfunction of any computer, cable, network, hardware, or software, or other mechanical equipment; (v) the unavailability or inaccessibility of any transmissions, telephone, or Internet service; (vi) printing errors; (vii) lost, late, postage due, misdirected, or undeliverable mail.
  13. Disputes: This Sweepstakes is governed by the laws of the USA, without respect to conflict of law doctrines. By participating in this Campaign, you agree that any and all disputes that cannot be resolved between the parties, and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Campaign, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, exclusively before a court located in the USA having jurisdiction. Further, in any such dispute, under no circumstances shall You be permitted to obtain awards for, and hereby waives all rights to, punitive, incidental, or consequential damages, including reasonable attorney’s fees, other than actual out-of-pocket expenses (i.e. costs associated with entering the Sweepstakes). You further waives all rights to have damages multiplied or increased.
  14. Winners List: To request a copy of the winners list please contact the Sponsor. Requests must be sent within four (4) weeks of the end of the Entry Period.
  15. The Sweepstakes is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, Reddit, Pinterest, LinkedIn or any other social networks that are used to share the Sweepstakes. You understand that you are providing your information to the owner of the Sweepstakes and not to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, Reddit, Pinterest, LinkedIn or any other social networks.
  16. Acceptance of Rules: By participating in the Sweepstakes, You have affirmatively reviewed, accepted, and agreed to all of the Official Rules, Terms and Conditions.

How to share a link on Instagram

The first thing you’ll notice when trying to share a link on Instagram is how it isn’t that straightforward. In this article, you’ll find all the ways to share a link on Instagram.

Here are the 7 ways to share links on Instagram:

  1. Link in your Instagram Post or Reel
  2. Link in the Bio
  3. Link from your Instagram Profile
  4. Link in an Instagram Story
  5. Link from Shoppable Instagram Posts
  6. Link from a Sponsored Instagram Post
  7. Links in Instagram Direct Messages

Conclusion


1. Link in your Instagram Post or Reel

There are two ways to add links to your Instagram posts:

Add a link in the Post Caption

You can add a link to the caption of an Instagram post but it will not be tappable. To make it easier for your followers to follow your link with tools like Bitly, which lets you shorten your links to a size people can memorize and type in their browser.

Picture of a link in the caption - text only

Add a QR code to a Photo or Video

Adding a QR code to your photo or video is the easiest way for followers to find your link. Make sure to use a service like Piclinq that ensures your QR code is the right size for your post and lets you track how many visitors have scanned it. It’s also straightforward for people to scan a QR code on any phone.

Example of QR code using piclinq.com


One of the few places Instagram lets you share a tappable link in your profile’s bio. You’ll often hear it mentioned in the post to check the “Link in bio” for a link to their site. Here are a couple of ways people use this space.

Some Instagramers place a direct link to their website or blog. It will either be on their home page or a dedicated page where they can share links to things people have seen on their feed.

Example of a link in the bio using piclinq.com

Others use services link Linktree to create a landing page of links. It’s a personalized page with links and thumbnails that help people find the links to your posts.

Example of Linktree as a link in the bioExample of Linktree's site


Another way to share links is using the Instagram Actions Buttons in your profile. This is available to all business accounts and lets you share a link to your Instagram Shop, Email, and Messages.

Example of Instagram Actions Buttons


4. Link in an Instagram Story

There are two ways you can share links from an Instagram Story:

Add a link Sticker to your Story

Here’s how to add a sticker to your Story:

  1. Create an Instagram Story.
  2. Tap on the sticker icon at the top.
  3. Select the Link sticker.
  4. Type the URL of your link.
  5. Tap Done.
  6. Move the sticker on your Instagram Story. Bonus: Tap it to change the design.
Here's where the Instagram stickers are
Where to find a link sticker in Instagram
Add your URL and tap done
Where to tap on a link sticker in Instagram

It’s important to note that Instagram Stories are only available for 24 hours!

Keep a Story with links in the Highlights section

Highlights are stories you can pin to your profile for people to find. Some people use these stories to display a collection of interesting links. These stories don’t expire in 24 hours and have the same characteristics as a regular story. You can follow the same steps as before to create the Story and link. Just tap on the create button ( + ), and you can select to create a highlight from there. Then you can either add it to the highlights at the end of making the Story or choose to add it before it expires.

Tap this menu item to add as highlight at the end of creating a story
Tap the create button to add a highlight after a story is created
Pinned stories in your profile

Shoppable posts are another example of where you can share links. Each shopping tag links to one product only (and it must be a physical product sold in a select group of countries).

To start, create a product catalog on Facebook. Once you’ve completed your catalog, you can begin adding shopping tags to your Instagram posts.

You can access the shop from the profile
You can shop the photo or visit the shop
Instagram users can tag a photo and link it to a product in the shop
A link to your shop
Shops take you to the website

6. Link from a Sponsored Instagram Post

You can pay to promote posts and stories if you have a business profile. When you pay for the promotion, you can also add a tappable link to the captions of promoted posts.

Instagram sponsored post


You can also send people a Direct Message (DM) with a link.

Instagram sponsored post


Conclusion

Even though Instagram doesn’t make it very straightforward how to share a link, there are many different strategies people use to surface their links. At piclinq we prefer the most direct approach to maximize the number of people that will follow your link. Choose the method that works best for you, or mix them up.