Facebook Competitions and Promotions?  

What’s the latest news on the Facebook rules?

What do you need to do to ensure you comply with Facebook regulations.

What you can do with a Facebook Promotion and Sweepstake.

Promotions may be administered on Page Timelines and in apps on Facebook. For example, businesses can now:

  • Collect entries by having users post on the Page or comment/like a Page post.
  • Collect entries by having users message the Page.
  • Utilize likes as a voting mechanism.

What you MUST do with a Facebook Promotion or Sweepstake

Businesses cannot administer promotions on a personal Facebook timeline.
1. If you use Facebook to communicate or administer a promotion (example a contest or sweepstakes), you are responsible for the lawful operation of that promotion, including:

  • The official rules;
  • Offer terms and eligibility requirements (example – age and residency restrictions); and
  • Compliance with applicable rules and regulations governing the promotion and all prizes offered (example – registration and obtaining necessary regulatory approvals)

2. Business Competions and Promotions on Facebook must include the following:

  • A complete release of Facebook by each entrant or participant.
  • Acknowledgement that the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.

3. Promotions may be administered on Pages or within apps on Facebook. Personal Timelines must not be used to administer promotions (example “share on your Timeline to enter” or “share on your friend’s Timeline to get additional entries” is not permitted).
4. Facebook will not assist you in the administration of your promotion, and you agree that if you use  Facebook  service to administer your promotion, you do so at your own risk.

Please consider the requirements when it comes to the tagging within promotions

Accurate tagging is required in promotions

In order to maintain the accuracy of Page content, the Facebook Pages Terms now prohibit Pages from tagging or encouraging people to tag themselves in content that they are not actually depicted in. So, for instance:

  • It’s OK to ask people to submit names of a new product in exchange for a chance to win a prize
  • It’s not OK to ask people tag themselves in pictures of a new product in exchange for a chance to win a prize

 

The technical reason why only business pages or apps are used to run Facebook Competitions or Promotions

There are technical reasons for confining the administration of the promotion to either a Page or in an app. For example, because people can choose to limit the visibility of the content they put on Facebook to only themselves, friends, or to a custom group of people,  it follows that a Facebook Page won’t have the ability to access all of the entries that people post on their own Facebook timelines unless these entries are public.

Why does Net Branding still recommend using Facebook Apps when running Facebook Competition or Promotions

Creating a promotion with an app on Facebook allows a Page to create a more personalized experience, and an experience that aligns with your branding strategy. Facebook Competition Apps provide more space and flexibility for content than Facebook page posts alone. Promotions run through apps can collect data in a secure, structured way.  Remember that as with all Facebook posts, compelling text and visual images are still a key to your promotion or competition.