Twitter competitions are getting even more and more popular, so we thought we’d update and remind you of some of our guides and blogs from last year. If you’re new to Twitter then the Getting Started with Twitter isn’t a bad place to start. It gives you a brief overview about the micro blogging site and how to follow @loquax. Loquax was the first competition site to publish a how to enter competition on twitter guide. It’s brief, as at the time there wasn’t much need for a comprehensive guide, but it should be fairly easy to understand. However we’d like to add a bit more information for twitter compers.
Useful Tools
Most people start out using Twitter via the well known website, but if you’re keen on comping then you might want to try an application such as Tweetdeck or Tweetie, which also has an excellent iPhone version so you can comp whilst on the move.
Watch For US Contests
Twitter has no boundaries and if you’re looking for prizes you might well stumble upon a contest from a non-UK site. You might be able to still enter, but be check any terms and conditions. You can check where a site is based by looking at their Twitter Page. For example @loquax will show you our website and location.
Check Closing Dates
One of the good thing about Twitter is you can follow other compers and spot competitions, but do be careful just retweeting what they post. Many Twitter comps have short closing dates so do check the promoters Twitter pages first to see if the competition is running before RTing! This is especially important if you’re entering outside usual office hours.
Watch The RT Button
On Twitter.com there’s a “Retweet” link. We’re not 100% certain, but have a gut feeling that some promoter’s don’t see the retweets from this. Our advice would be to copy/paste the tweet you’re being asked to RT into the “What’s Happening” box. Remember to put RT@ at the start too.
Finding Competitions
If you’re following Loquax or your comping friends then you’re probably seeing plenty of twitter competitions, but what if you want to search out some more? Try searching for terms such as “RT to win”, “retweet to win”, “sign up to win” and “follow to win” as well as the usual “prize draw” and competition type searches.
Big Brands
Keep an eye on the big brands too! They love to use Twitter and Facebook for competitions. Best Western recently ran a 24 hour competition whilst Body Shop, Walkers, Jordan Cereals and Fosters are also keen on giving stuff away.
Timing Is Important
As mentioned above many prize draws take place during office hours, so if you’re searching for extra comps out of hours you may find more US based promotions at the start of the search results. Just scroll on a bit!
Be Careful
Some people use Twitter to promote marketing type sign up competitions that many of you love to hate. Just be wary of that and remember the old adage if it’s too good to be true. Also some sites may want you to login via your Twitter account (e.g. wildfireapp). These are usually ok, but if you’re unsure ask someone via Twitter – the great thing is you’re quite likely to get an answer straight away.
Make Sure Promoter’s Play Fair!
As well as publishing a guide for compers we also were the first competition site to comment on issues relating to twitter competitions. We spotted that many twitter comps lacked structure and suggested that brands need to be better organised.
Those observations still apply and with more and more people comping via Twitter spam issues could arise if companies don’t manage their campaigns properly. The good news is that with more compers getting involved with “competwitions” it means the promoter’s are being kept on their toes. For more hints and tips about Twitter competitions head over to the Twitter & Facebook Competitions section or check out the Your experiences with Twitter?, which contains more useful advice from compers.