As long as the guidelines set by Facebook are followed, running a contest or a sweepstakes is a great tool for marketers. This is in addition to following lawful promotion practices that are set and regulated at a State and Federal level.
If marketers are unaware of or misinterpret these Facebook guidelines, they risk consequences as severe as having your promotion or Facebook page shut down.
Below are some of the key points from the Facebook Guidelines, (as of May 14, 2013), but be sure to check out the full list here.
General/Official Rules:
- In addition to the Facebook Guidelines, marketers must also abide by their Data Use Policy, Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, and their Community Standards. Make sure someone on your team has reviewed these policies and does so frequently to check for any changes or updates.
- Facebook requires that specific releases and acknowledgements be included within the Official Rules that govern the promotion, which appear below. If you were thinking of running your promotion without a set of full, legally compliant Official Rules… think again.
- A complete release of Facebook by each entrant or participant.
- Acknowledgment that the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.
- Disclosure that the participant is providing information to you or your Administrator and not to Facebook.
Platform Mechanics:
- Promotions on Facebook must run within a separate App – NOT on the actual Facebook page. This can be done through Apps on Facebook.com or a custom page application solution. For example, you cannot have a Sweepstakes where the first person to comment on your timeline post wins a prize.
- Contest or Sweepstakes registration and public voting cannot be granted by having the user simply “like” a page, or “like,” share, or comment on a wall post. Entries and voting must be done by connecting to your designated third-party application.
- Any notification of winners may not be done through Facebook (i.e. private messages, wall posts, or timeline posts). You may announce your winners on your page but the communication between the Sponsor (the client sponsoring the promotion) or Administrator (an agency hired to run the promotion on the Sponsor’s behalf) and the entrant must happen off Facebook. Usually this is done via email or telephone.
Remember, Facebook has the right to place a stop order or take down your promotion or page if they feel you violated any of their terms. Best to make yourself familiar with these guidelines during the planning stage of your promotion so you do not run into trouble when it is too late. You can also reach out to a Facebook project manager if you have any concerns on how you plan to run your promotion.
