280 characters: what it means for compers
This week Twitter has rewarded us with a whopping 280 characters per tweet, doubling the 140 characters we’re used to. But what does this big change mean for compers? Here are my thoughts…
More CAP compliant competitions
How often do you see a comp on Twitter with no closing date, prize details or exact entry details? Pretty regularly, I’ll bet! But the CAP Code states that in the UK, all prize promotions should state significant Terms & Conditions, even when it’s a single tweet. Those significant conditions include the closing date, how to enter and any restrictions on entry. Let’s hope those extra 140 characters are used wisely by promoters, especially ‘Follow & RT’ giveaways that rarely state a closing date!
Here’s a great example from @AMundaneSarah – all required information in the tweet, a link to T&Cs and informative photos.
Celebrate my husband’s 30th with Hofmeister Beer… #WIN some authentic Bavarian Helles lager and some cool merch! Simply follow @aMundaneSarah and @hofmeister_beer, RT and reply with #FollowTheBear to enter.
Ends 5PM GMT 19/11/17 T&C: https://t.co/6DrBRN6Umn pic.twitter.com/oDPbYsbh8w
— Sarah Hughes (@aMundaneSarah) November 8, 2017
More creative challenges
With more characters to use, brands can ask for more from entrants – both in their competition briefs, and the responses. I would expect to see more slogan/tiebreaker type competitions, or even poetry and short story competitions.
Less RT & Follow, more replies
It’s hard to squeeze everything into 140 characters – ‘WIN’, the prize, the closing date, the hashtag, etc. So there’s no wonder most promoters just ask us to ‘RT & Follow’ rather than asking a competition question. With 140 more characters, brands can ask us questions to respond to – which also makes for a fairer prize draw, with automated ‘bot’ accounts unable to take part (see my post on Running a Twitter giveaway).
Clever visual tweets
There are many ways to creatively use 280 characters if you have the time, by creating a striking design – look at this clever tweet from NASA (best viewed in night mode!) Why not create a bespoke graphical response you can use to draw attention to your competition entries – a Twitter ‘signature’ perhaps?
. * .
*
* . ️ . ✨ *
. *
Thanks @Twitter, we can
always use more space
. . .
. * ** ☄️#280characters
— NASA Goddard (@NASAGoddard) November 8, 2017
More swiping, less comping
On the downside, scrolling though Twitter hunting for comps to enter will now take us much longer due to those enormous tweets – and when someone quotes one, that’s your whole iPhone screen taken up by a single tweet. It’ll also be trickier to spot competitions as quickly with more ‘filler’ text to scan. So if you’re a comper who loves to pop onto Twitter and rattle through hundred RT comps in 5 minutes, you’ll have to speed up that swiping!
How will Twitter’s new 280 character limit affect YOUR comping?
