When creating a new campaign with PromoSimple you can now use automatic confirmation of Twitter activity, including Tweeting and Following accounts. This new feature uses a Twitter Application to verify that an entrant does ‘Follow’ any accounts within the giveaway or that Tweets have been posted before allocating an entry to the user. This also automates recording Twitter names and Tweet URLs within your campaign reports — making it easier for your visitors to enter your giveaway.

How the Twitter App works
When an entrant clicks on a Follow or Tweet button in a live entry form they will be asked to authorize the PromoSimple Twitter App. This will only need to be done once by entrants. This application is able to determine the the entrant’s username, which is used to confirm with Twitter that the entrant currently follows the Twitter account that you added as a Twitter Follow entry type. The entrant’s Twitter username is then recorded within your giveaway’s reports.

Twitter App permissions
Twitter Apps have three options for permission sets: Read-only, Read and Write, or Read, Write and Access Direct Messages. This App uses the Read and Write permission set. This is necessary so that the App can Read information (verify that a user is a Follower of an account) and Write data to Twitter (post a Tweet when the entrant clicks on ‘Tweet’ within an entry form). By default this permission set does give the App to additional information (such as the ability to update the user’s profile); these permissions are in no way used by the PromoSimple App but it’s not possible to ‘turn them off’.

Entrant data access and uses
Any data provided from your entrants (gathered via the Twitter App or entered by the user) is stored and accessible only in the campaign administrator’s account. This data is never used or shared by PromoSimple in any manner other than to provide reports to the campaign administrator about the promotion’s entrants.

Benefits of enabling Automatic Confirmation
There are benefits both to you as the campaign’s admin and to the entrants of the giveaway by setting up Follow and Tweet entries to use automatic confirmation.

  • You never need to manually go to Twitter to see if an entrant did in fact follow the Twitter account as required for receiving and entry to the giveaway
  • Misspellings and typos are not an issue for usernames or Tweet URLs because PromoSimple automatically receives this information from Twitter and adds it to your reports
  • Entrants do not need to manually type in their Twitter usernames or Tweet URLs (particularly useful for campaigns with multiple Twitter related entries)

Setting up Twitter Follow confirmation
When adding a new Twitter Follow entry to your giveaway, whether as a required entry or a bonus entry, there are two options. After entering the Twitter account that entrants are asked to Follow, keep the default selection below (Automatically confirm Twitter ‘Follow’ entries). Your entry form will then verify that entrants have completed the entry by confirming their information with Twitter. You still have the option of using the manual format whereby entrants are asked to type in their Twitter name and you are able to go to Twitter to determine whether the entrant follows your account.

Setting up Tweet confirmation
Adding validation to your entry form for a Tweet entry is very similar to the Follow setup noted above. Enter the text that your entrants will be asked to Tweet into the field. By keeping the default selection of ‘Automatically confirm Twitter ‘Tweet’ entries’ entrants that have not previously authorized the Twitter Application will be asked to do so when they click on a Tweet button within your entry form. After authorizing the App, the Tweet will be sent and the entrant’s username and a link to the Tweet will appear within your campaign report.