I have had a Twitter account for a little over two years now. I am not particularly crazy about the platform. I think it can be a fun way to connect with new people and brands, but I don’t do a lot with it, honestly, as I only have so much time to focus on my various social media accounts. However, if I wasn’t a blogger there would be one very smart reason for me to have a Twitter account, even though almost none of my friends are tweeters: to participate in a Twitter Party.
If you are at all interested in winning free stuff, then you need to get on Twitter and participate in Twitter parties. I have participated in several Twitter parties over the last two years and have won some great free stuff! One party even awarded me a brand new convertible car seat! Most parties award several gift cards in increments of $25 or $50 or even $100, and some offer door or early bird prizes, as well grand prizes!
What is a Twitter Party?
A Twitter party is an event run on Twitter by a company or organization interested in spreading awareness about themselves. They often do this in order to receive feedback from customers firsthand, show customer appreciation, and to drive awareness of their current campaign. The company will usually hire someone to host the event on their behalf.
A Twitter party has a set date and time and usually lasts an hour, though same may be shorter or longer. Each party has its own unique hashtag. The hashtag allows you to find the party and follow along, and for the party sponsors and hosts to see your participation in the event, as hashtags are searchable on Twitter. Whenever you answer a question asked by the host or comment on something during the party, and include the party hashtag, you receive an entry into the sweepstakes drawings!
The great thing about these giveaway/sweepstakes prizes during a twitter party is that your odds of winning are very high! While some Twitter parties attract 100’s of participants, especially if the hashtag starts trending and other twitter users start participating, some only have 20 or less eligible participants! The more parties you participate in, the more chances you have of winning, especially if you hit up these lower attended parties. Because the winnings could be $25 or more, it could easily be worth an hour or so of your time here and there to participate in them.
Because I like you, I’m going to share where you can find twitter parties, and the best way to participate in them, so that you can start winning free stuff!
Where do you find Twitter Parties?
There are many different companies that regularly host Twitter parties for brands they work with. As a blogger, I often hear about these parties, because I work with many of these blogging networks who work closely with brands. The following host Twitter parties, some more regularly than others (the more regular ones are listed first). Click over to their site to see what parties they are hosting next. Some even have sign ups so that you can receive emails about upcoming parties (so you won’t have to bookmark these pages). Others it may be beneficial to follow on Twitter.
- Influence Central (Join their newsletter to get notified of new parties)
- SoFabChats
- The SITS Girls
- SheSpeaks (Twitter Parties and Giveaways)
- MomSelect (I won an awesome car seat from one!)
- CleverGirls Collective
- One2One Network
- Mom It Forward (#gno Twitter Parties Tuesday nights 9-10pm EST)
- IZEA
- CrowdTap
- Influenster
- The Niche Parent
- Pollinate Media Group
- Sverve
- VoiceBoks
- BloggyMoms
- 5 Minutes for Mom
You can also check out Kathy’s Calm to Chaos Life’s Twitter Party Calendar or Mommy Talk Show for more regularly scheduled Twitter parties. However, not all parties are the same, and some are actually Twitter Chats, which don’t often award prizes, but are solely for driving awareness or getting feedback on an issue.
How to Participate in a Twitter Party
First sign up for a Twitter account if you don’t have one already. It should only take a few minutes. Also, make sure you are 18+ years old. Mostparties require that you are at least 18 years old, and some require that you are 21+ years old (like gambling/alcohol companies or products).
Next, find a Twitter party using the list above that has sweet prizes you want and fits your schedule. Then be sure to RSVP to it! Not all parties require this, but it seems like most do anymore. The plus side is that some will award door prizes or early bird prizes to the people who RSVP’ed. The point of the RSVP though is to help them contact you with reminders about the party, as well as have your contact information should you win one of the prizes.
Make sure to follow the Twitter accounts of the people or companies who are running the Twitter Party. It will make it easier to find them once the party starts, plus some have that as a requirement in order to win prizes.
Now set a Google Calendar reminder, write it in your planner, or put it on your calendar. Do whatever it is you do to remember events you wish to attend.
Then when the party starts, log into your Twitter account. If you don’t follow a lot of people, it should be pretty easy to follow the party simply by following the Twitter account of the host. You can go to their account and refresh the page, and reply to tweets for the party from their account. However, if you follow several people, and/or just really want to engage in the party, I suggest using TweetDeck.
How to use TweetDeck for a Twitter Party
The best way, in my opinion, to participate in a Twitter party is by using Tweetdeck.
Login to Tweetdeck.Twitter.com using your Twitter account information. You can do this on both your phone and your desktop, though I prefer desktop.
You will click the “+” icon on the left to add another column. You will want to add a column to your tweetdeck for the party host(s). This will make it easy to find and answer the questions during the Twitter party, as well as who won prizes, etc. So, click the “User” box and enter the name of the Twitter name of the host, then click “Add Column.”
Now open up another column, this time for a “Search.” You can either do this with the same “+” icon, or simply click the magnifying glass icon on the left side of the tweetdeck. Search for the Twitter Party hashtag, including the # in the search box. Now “Add Column” to your tweetdeck. Doing this will let you see all of the tweets from everybody who is participating in the Twitter Party along with you.
In this hashtag/search column you will see what other people are tweeting as answers, and otherwise engaging with each other. Since some parties give you entries into the sweepstakes for every eligible tweet you make during the party, engaging with others in the party can pay off! So, tweet to them, retweet their tweets, or favorite the tweets, and so on. This is what makes a Twitter party fun!
When you want to “talk” to someone on Twitter, simply use “@{OtherPerson’sTwitterHandle}” followed by your message.
Your main column on TweetDeck is by default your “Home” column, so you’ll be able to see if anyone has mentioned you (aka used @{yourTwitterHandle} in a tweet), but you can also create a column just for your notifications as well.
Answering the Party Questions
During the Twitter party the sponsor and/or host of the party will ask questions (usually between 5-8 questions) over the course of the hour party time frame. These questions start with a capital letter Q followed by a number, so Q1, Q2, and on.
To answer these questions, your tweet should look something like this “A1: {then your answer to Question 1} #{party hashtag}”. The “A1:” means “Answer to Question 1.” Some parties may also require that you include #sweeps, ad, or sponsored in your tweets as well.
For every question you answer, your name will be put into a drawing for one of the prizes associated with that party.
Don’t forget to pre-register so you can win door prizes! Some parties require you to pre-register in order to win. Keep in mind that of those that register, not all will actually attend, so those there may be 200-300 RSVPs, most will not actually show up, so don’t be discouraged by your odds (and really, 1 in 300 is still decent when there are 6-10 prizes being given away!).
So, even if I wasnt’t a blogger, I would likely have a Twitter account so I could win free money by participating in Twitter parties. As a frugal person with a lower family income, easy ways to (legally) make money are always awesome in my book.
BONUS: Sometimes live events you attend will also award prizes for tweeting! It totally pays to be on Twitter.
Are you on Twitter? Are you going to try out a Twitter party now?
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