So You Want to Have a Facebook Contest?

Facebook contests… they seem great don’t they? All you have to do is get people to follow you, upload a photo or post on your Fan Page and you’re set. You have a host of  new followers with little to no work.

First off there are two problems with this picture. As we always preach say over here at mRELEVANCE, it’s quality over quantity. You want people who will engage in your conversation, not a mass of people who just want to win a new iPod.

But marketing lesson aside, there is a more important reason why you need to pause and reevaluate before launching your newest and greatest Facebook contest:  The Facebook Promotion Guidelines. Revised and launched on November 4, 2009, these new guidelines have changed quite a bit about the way businesses can run a Facebook promotion via a Fan Page.

We’ve got the highlights for you here, with a link to the full legal statement, so before you decide to launch a Facebook contest for your company, make sure you’ve followed the new rules.

1. You must receive written consent from Facebook at least 7 days before the start of your promotion.
2. You must  submit promotional materials to your assigned Facebook representative at least 7 days prior to the beginning of your promotion.
3. Users can only enter the promotion via a canvas Page of an application on the Facebook platform or via an application box in a tab on a Facebook Page. This means that users can no longer upload a photo, write a wall post, or change their Facebook status to enter the contest. You now need to create your own application and launch the contest from there.
4. In addition, you must be able to provide Facebook with a complete release from every participant in the contest.
5. Lastly, the rules of your contest must be written so that Facebook is not endorsing, promoting, or advertising the product or your company.

As the five rules above only mark the beginning for the Promotion Guidelines, make sure you visit the Facebook Promotion Guidelines page for the complete rules and regulations involved with running a Facebook campaign.

As always, if you have any questions at all about Facebook or any other social media platform, don’t hesitate to contact a mRELEVANCE staff member, we’d be more than happy to assist you with all your social media and Internet marketing needs. If you like our content, please tweet it, subscribe, bookmark it or link to us!

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