How to win TikTok competitions
TikTok can feel like a wild and overwhelming place when you first download the app, that’s for sure! But it’s a popular platform for giveaways and as a comper, it’s definitely worth investigating. Most prizes are given away during brand live streams in 15-minute long prize draws, and although the prizes are small they will arrive within a few days, so they are quick wins to keep you motivated during a dry spell!
Retailers and promoters are encouraged by TikTok to run giveaways to keep people engaged on the app, which is why you’ll see brands like L’Oreal and Holland & Barrett offer lots of prizes during live streams. The great thing about these ‘pink bag’ giveaways is that the winners are chosen automatically at random by TikTok, so you can be assured these draws are run fairly!
I’ve shared my ten top tips for winning on TikTok below. I also have a 90 minute video demonstrating the tips and showing how to enter TikTok competitions, which is exclusively available to Lucky Legends members – you can find details on the member forum here.
1. Always open TikTok on mute
Have you been avoiding TikTok because it’s so loud? Well, the first thing you should do is set the app to open silently! Tap at the bottom of the screen to go to to your TikTok profile, tap the three lines at the top right then tap at the top right again to go to settings. Scroll down to Playback, and toggle on Open TikTok on mute. This puts you in control of the sound, and you can just tap to unmute once you’re in the app.
2. Train the TikTok algorithm to show you comps
To teach the For You page algorithm to show you more giveaways, you need to interact with them. Make sure you watch competition videos all the way through, then like them (double tap) and save them (tap the bookmark). From the search screen, look for hashtags like #ukgiveaway and add to favourites. And follow lots of compers as they will be sharing and reposting giveaways that you can enter and save – why not find some on our Compers Connect database?
3. Add content to your TikTok profile
Although only 50% of TikTok users actually post their own content, if you’re entering giveaways on the app then there’s a good chance the promoters and brands may check out your profile before choosing you as a winner (the same is true of other social media). They want to know you are a genuine person, and a suitable advocate for their brand – so you need to have a profile photo, bio and ideally at least six posts on your profile to make your account appear active. These don’t have to be videos of yourself – you can simply create a carousel of photos with background music or post simple clips of meal prep, gardening or a walk.
4. Enter lots of ‘pink bag’ live giveaways
If you spot a little pink bag at the top left of the screen during a TikTok live stream, tap it to see what you can win. If you fancy the prize, tap to see the requirements – sometimes it’s to leave a comment, and TikTok will leave a pre-written comment for you during the stream to confirm your entry. Sometimes you may need to make a purchase. Most of these quick-fire prize draws last 15 minutes and you find out if you’ve won when the timer hits zero. It’s important to remember that you must be watching the live stream when the countdown ends! For most giveaways, you can enter and then watch something else until the final few seconds – but some brands will set a minimum amount of time that you need to watch before your entry is counted. If you’ve got time, make a note of the ending time of the giveaways you’ve entered – you can then take part in several simultaneously and swipe back to be watching the relevant live stream when each countdown ends! Start by following brands like The Body Shop, L’Oreal, Holland & Barrett, TRIP, COSRX, Free Soul and The Finest Fudge Company as they do live streams most days. We also have a huge list of brands that run giveaways on the Lucky Legends member forum here.
5. Filter your searches for recent giveaways
Use the TikTok search for terms like UK competition and UK giveaway. When you get results, tap the three dots at the top right to apply filters. Tap Latest or Past 24 hours to see the most recent content. Try searching on a desktop or laptop as this will give you more results than searching on the app – unfortunately, you can’t use the filters to view by date on the TikTok website. If you’re looking for specific prizes use keywords too – beauty, makeup, and skincare are all popular!
6. Use Picture-in-Picture mode
To win a Live giveaway, you must be online and watching at the exact moment of the prize draw. To make this easier, ensure Picture-in-picture is configured in your phone settings. This is crucial because it allows you to continue watching a live video in a small window while using other apps.
On an iPhone, go to System Settings > General > Picture in Picture and ensure Start PiP Automatically is toggled ON.
On an Android, go to Settings > Apps (or Apps & Notifications) and tap Special app access (usually under “Advanced” or the three-dot menu) then Picture-in-picture and toggle TikTok to ON.
7. Enter purchase necessary promotions
Sometimes brands will have a special live stream where making a purchase from their TikTok shop during a certain timeframe will enter you into a prize draw to win a special prize. These are usually high value gadgets or vouchers, to encourage you to spend! Tap the % icon on screen if you see one as this will give you discount coupons to use on your purchase. Engage as much as you can by commenting during the live stream, as winners in this type of promotion may not be drawn at random. Ensure the brand knows you’re a big fan! Starting from April 2026, brands can now add a ‘Make a Purchase’ requirement to a pink bag giveaway, and buying anything while the pink bag is on screen will get you an entry.
8. Make sure you enter properly
Promoters usually have simple instructions for their giveaways, and most of the time it will just be to tag a friend or two in the comments. However, make sure you tag properly – your friend’s name should be BLUE. Use the @ symbol and type their name, then tap on the pop up to select your friend from the list to ensure the tag is activated and turns blue. Random giveaway picker tools like Comment Picker will not include your entry in the draw if the tag is not correct/blue. Re-read the instructions to ensure you’ve entered correctly! If you make a mistake in your comment, tap and hold on it, delete and try again.
9. Set notifications for favourite brands & creators
Tap the bell icon on the profiles of your favourite brands to get in-app or push notifications of new posts, stories and lives. On their profile you can find details of their next live broadcast and register for it – and some brands also have a ‘bulletin board’ you can join. Bulletin boards are the Tik Tok equivalent of an Instagram broadcast channel, and you get the latest updates from your favourite brands, including news of their lives and comps.
10. Use a second handset to stream Live broadcasts constantly
Do you have an old mobile you can set as your dedicated TikTok Live phone? You don’t need a SIM in it – just connect to wi-fi, have it on the TikTok LIVE feed and swipe through the streams. Leave the phone on while you use your main phone or computer for other tasks and keep glancing to see if there’s a pink bag to tap!
After winning a prize…
If you win a TikTok Live giveaway, an automated pop-up notification will appear on your screen asking for your postal address. You will also receive a message in your inbox (so don’t worry if you missed the pop-up!). Retailers must send the items tracked within 48 hours so you can expect your prize quickly!
Once your prize arrives, go to TikTok shop and leave a review – this is good comping karma, and will encourage the brand to run more giveaways. You could even share a thankyou photo or video on your grid or story!
Watch the Lucky Legends Live Stream
If you’d like to find out more about TikTok and see some of these tips in action, you might want to watch my exclusive members’ live stream which was broadcast on Tuesday 17 March 2026. Along with Rachel (TikTok shop owner) we looked at examples of giveaways and shared lots of TikTok insights and tips. Plus – I showed behind the scenes of choosing a random winner for my own TikTok prize draw!
Click here to join Lucky Legends if you’d like to watch the full broadcast, as well as all my other previous live streams covering Instagram, T&Cs, Radio competitions, Photo competitions and so much more! Current members can see ALL Legends live broadcasts at www.superlucky.me/legends-live.
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Have you won a TikTok competition? Do you have any tips?
Hi Di..
I have just started to use Tip Ten – on my old mobile phone … focusing on the Live stream “Pink Bag” giveaways.
If I take part in several pink bags simultaneously , can i just check if I’ve won in my inbox messages later on, or do i need to go back to watch the last few seconds of each one?
Thanks George
You must be watching the pink bag draw when it ends George, so you need to make a note of the times and be sure to swipe back to the correct stream just before it runs out!
Thanks Di
Hi Di, just curious, where did you get the information that you have to be watching the LIVE at the exact moment the pink bag giveaway ends? Is this confirmed somewhere by TikTok, or is it something you’ve tested yourself? I’ve seen conflicting information and would love to know for sure. Thanks!
It’s referred to on most TikTok global sites. The automatic tool chooses a winner from viewers at the time of the draw (it wouldn’t really be worthwhile for the host to run giveaways if it included everyone who had commented during the 15 minutes, even if they only watched for 5 seconds – the point of a pink bag giveaway is to keep viewers on the stream)
sometimes it also goes by how many likes and shares you do as well as comments, Ive noticed that a lot, thats why they say double tap because they want their page to shown and the more likes they get it will go to the top.
Lovely jubly Di!