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| @savingaccountAU |
A lot can be said in 140 characters – you can find out the stats of a friend’s new baby, the details of a celebrity wedding but probably one of the most valuable things you can find out is where you can pick up a
discounted dinner, especially considering all of the hours you’ve invested. So yes – Twitter can help you save money if you know where to look, and you know how to look effectively.
Businesses across all industries and of all sizes will tweet daily specials for their followers, where many of the specials aren’t available through any other medium. For example, Dell Computers have tweeted about a
15% discount off of computers, and Jet Blue regularly sends out Monday morning specials for last minute flights with up to 50 flights for as little as $9 each. You will also find car dealerships tweeting about their
latest rebates and current finances interest rates or the American Express Daily Wish Twitter account which shows you how to save thousands of dollars on brand new cars.
So how can you get in on the deals which are out there just waiting to be had? Use the following Twitter tools and tips to help you save money with your social media account – anywhere, any time.
Twitter Tools to Help You Save Money
As you’ve probably already realised, there are mountains of offers, discounts and special deals available on Twitter – the trick is finding them, and finding them at the right time. Some deals will be valid for
just a day or even a few hours, so how do you make sure you’re always kept informed of the deals on the products and brands you love?
You need tools which can help you sort and manage your tweets, and sort through the overload of information to find the best deals. One tool you can use for this is Tweet Deck http://www.tweetdeck.com/ which is a browser that lets you organise your tweets into groups, in this way you can scour all the specials at once, in one place. Tweet Deck also helps you manage and easily track conversations as well as avoid spam on Twitter which just slows you down.
Tracking Twitter http://trackingtwitter.com/ brands gives you a real time listing of the feeds from leading consumer products. The feed covers a range of industries and companies so that you can directly tap into
current specials.
Plus, Twitter has a powerful search function where you can search the term ‘discounts’ or ‘sales’ and see what is happening, and even add in your area for local deals. You can also search your favourite brands if you
don’t want to follow a myriad of businesses and be bombarded with updates, and instead just find deals when you need them. Or you can search for ‘ASOS code’ for example, and you will see hundreds of tweets about
discounts other Twitter users are sharing.
How to Use Twitter to Save Money
Just as you can be stumped if you sit yourself down in front of Google with no apparent need or question, opening up the world of Twitter specials can be equally as daunting. Therefore, here are a few places you
may want to start when looking for savings on Twitter: Be inspired. Saving money on Twitter isn’t just about scoring bargains, it can also be about savings plans, budgets and investment options.
Therefore, following tweeters who have the same goals as you do can be a source of encouragement to keep you on track. Plus following personal finance bloggers such as @ConsumerQueen or @FreeFromBroke can offer you insightful snippets of advice to help you on your savings journey. Web services. While you can search Twitter for the best bargains, there are already a number of free web services which are doing it for you. All you have to do is follow people like @FatWallet, @SlickDeals, @CheapTweet or @CouponTweet and you can save hundreds of dollars on everything from telescopes to TVs. Use your network. You probably signed up to Twitter in the first place to connect with family, friends and colleagues, so don’t forget about them now that you’re on a mission to save money. Instead, tweet them and ask them to share deals they find, and make sure you return the favour when you come across specials they may be interested in.
What Can You Save on with Twitter?
It is hard to believe that there is so much on offer on Twitter, until you start looking. If you want to use your Twitter account to save, you can be benefiting from: Local deals. By following your local restaurants, bars and hairdressers for example, you can be notified if a restaurant has a free table and wants to fill it by offering one of their Twitter followers a special meal price. Similarly your hairdresser may offer you a discount if you’re able to fill a cancelled appointment spot at the last minute, because you heard about it on Twitter.
Holidays. If you are planning a holiday, start following businesses and services in the area you are travelling to. You will then be tuned into any bargains which are up for grabs when you travel, as well as being notified of great free events and attractions in the area.
Fuel. @FuelFrog is a Twitter application which allows you to log your mileage between trips to the service station, as well as enter how much you paid for your fuel and how much you put in the tank. Fuel Frog then creates a log of your fuel consumption including graphs and your average miles per gallon. You can then adjust your driving habits accordingly to save money, and also be notified when you need to service your car or check you tire pressure.
Budgeting. By using the page @twys you can record everything you buy. Tweet What You Spend allows you to record a direct message (so the world doesn’t see your spending) each time you make a purchase, including entering the name and price of each item, and categorising the items. TWYS keeps a running tab of your spending and breaks down your spending into categories, an average spend per day and per week. You will then be able to see exactly where all of your money is going, and find ways – and categories – in which you can save.
Alban has been helping people save money online for the last 3 years. When he is not contributing to blogs, Alban writes articles at Savings Account Finder.
