The latest social networking craze is a brilliant way to win more prizes, and we've got a basic guide to help get you started
Twitter burst on to the scene in 2006 and has quickly become one of the world's biggest websites! Twitter boasts over 175 million registered users, and generates around 65 million messages, or "Tweets" every day.Â
In amongst this myriad of information, you'll find some amazing competitions that take no more than a click of a mouse to enter! Although entering Twitter competitions can be daunting at first, it is very easy to master and can offer you a whole new way of entering competitions.
Before you can begin entering competitions on Twitter, you'll need to set up your own account. Simply visit www.twitter.com and set up your account. All you'll need is an e-mail address and password - you can also add your mobile number, which will allow you to send messages from your mobile phone, but for the purpose of comping this isn't necessary.
Once you've set up your account and logged in, you're ready to go. You'll have your own page on Twitter at www.twitter.com/[yourusername]. Before you get started, check under the Settings tab that your Tweets are NOT protected. That way, your entries can be seen by promoters! In order to find competitions, you'll need to be 'following' other users who post competitions.
Looks like gobbledygook? That's OK, we'll explain it. This is a competition to win a TV and Blu Ray player, being run by a fictional company called A Great Competition. In order to enter, you need to be following @Agreatcompetition's Twitter account and retweet (or RT) this message.Â
Start by clicking on their username to go to their Twitter page, which should be www.twitter.com/Agreatcompetition, and click the Follow button. Below their name, you'll see a timeline of their recent Tweets. Simply find the one featuring the competition and click the "Retweet" button.
It will copy the entire message to your timeline.
That's all it takes - now you're entered!
If you are a winner of a Twitter competition, the promoters will announce it my sending a message @[yourusername]. These messages will appear in your timeline, but if you find yourself following a lot of people, they could get lost.
It's worth checking your messages when you're on the Twitter homepage - simply click on @[yourusername] on the right-hand side of the page. Promoters will usually ask you to email them, or send you a DM to let you know that you've won.
There are literally hundreds of competitions running on Twitter every day. The best way to get started is to get stuck in, but here's a few tips before you begin.
Tweet:Â A message sent on Twitter
Timeline:Â Your personal Twitter homepage, where all of
your messages are shown
Follow:Â The act of subscribing to another person's tweets
RT:Â Retweet, or resendsomeone else's message
DM:Â Direct message, a message sent privately to another Twitter user
Hashtag (#):Â A searchable term that allows users to find all tweets on a certain topic
If you don't have time to go searching Twitter for competitions, take a look at the Competition Club -Â updated every week with the best competitions from Twitter and Facebook