Facebook Contest Rules Relaxed

Photo courtesy of Facebook

Facebook has rolled out some new rules for Facebook contests. For years Facebook has required the use of an Application to administer a contest on Facebook. But that all changed with the recent Promotional Terms update.

You can now run a contest on your Facebook Page without using an App. You can tell people to Like or Comment on your Post for a chance to win something!

Per Facebook’s post:

“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

As before, however, businesses cannot administer promotions on personal Timelines.”

But what does that mean for marketers? Should we abandon Apps entirely and run Facebook Contests right on our Timeline? Absolutely not for a few critical reasons:

Using a Facebook App to run a contest will allow you to collect e-mail addresses which is one of the main benefits of running a contest.
Administering the contest by telling people to Like or Comment takes more time when it comes time to pick a winner. And it can be more challenging to notify a winner if they miss the update.
If someone is sharing your post, they may comment or Like that shared post rather than the “true” post for entering the contest.
Facebook Apps have easy metrics and some have bonuses for sharing that are easily tracked.

I think there is a time and place for this new type of Facebook Contest entry form – like when you need some added engagement and you don’t want to go to a lot of trouble to set up the contest. But I still think most contests should be run through a third party App.

Make sure you read all of Facebook’s guidelines and sort through their FAQs to find out how to run a contest the right way. As always you can bookmark the official Facebook Page Terms so that you can refer to them for all your questions about how to run your business marketing on Facebook.

But I did have to try things out for myself. Grandma is running a “new-style” Facebook contest on her Page right now. I’ll keep you posted on the results but feel free to go over there and give it a Like to enter 🙂

12 Comments

Zsuzsa Szabo on August 28, 2013 at 7:03 am

I am curious how all these new posts will work! (and I will click a like to your image, as I really want to win the consulting.) We already talked to customers here at Antavo and they told that they will keep using our contest builder as gathering email addresses are important to them.

Mike Gingerich on August 28, 2013 at 7:34 am

Good summary Andrea of pro’s, con’s, and considerations regarding this quick, basic option and the deeper value that tab apps offer.

Doug Perry on August 28, 2013 at 8:54 am

I was a rule-breaker recently on this (actually it was in ignorance – didn’t know about the rule) but I was asking people on group pages and my own to either “like” my page or share the post for a chance to win. I’m still not 100% on this can I continue doing that?

Andrea Vahl on August 28, 2013 at 9:20 am

A lot of people didn’t know about the rule so you weren’t alone.

You can ask for a Like or a Comment (and asking for a comment is actually the best way to go) but the way the rules are stated, they say you cannot run the contest on Personal Timelines which means you cannot require a share. You can ask people to share but it can’t be a requirement for entry. Hope that helps! And glad that you will now be “in compliance” 🙂

Andrea Vahl on August 28, 2013 at 9:21 am

I definitely think apps are still the way to go. It will be interesting to see how this all gets handled – I wonder if we’ll see a ton of Like and Comment contests now!

Andrea Vahl on August 28, 2013 at 9:22 am

I think gathering the e-mail addresses is the best perk of the contest. Plus with so many affordable Apps out there to run contests (like yours!) it’s worth the small expense to grow your e-mail list and get the benefits!

Doug on August 28, 2013 at 11:03 am

Thanks! Me too! So one more quick question I’ve been wondering about for a week now, and that I think you answered: What’s better for a FB manager to get once someone joins your page: (1) A Like on a post; (2) A comment on a post; or (3) share on a post – or are all three equal?

Andrea Vahl on August 29, 2013 at 9:51 pm

Shares and Comments are the best for visibility. Likes are still good though.

Cathy on August 30, 2013 at 1:07 pm

I thought it was required that you include detailed, legaleeze type rules for your contests. How do you that on the type of Facebook page contest you’re referring to?

Andrew Sato on August 30, 2013 at 2:31 pm

Great stuff and good to know! I agree, Andrea, that businesses should still stick to a 3rd party app for the reasons that you mentioned above. And it looks much cleaner. At the same time, you just never know with Facebook and their constantly changing policies.

Christian Karasiewicz on August 30, 2013 at 5:13 pm

@b53604ea8caf4b5d2ef7ff54e534bff7:disqus, while likes and comments are valuable, shares are the most important. The more shares, the more opportunities you have for someone outside of your network to see your content.

For example, if your friend shares one of your posts, it puts your content in their news feed and their network of friends then has the opportunity to see it.

Also, Facebook gives shares a heavier ranking than comments and likes (in that order).

Christian Karasiewicz on August 30, 2013 at 5:19 pm

@disqus_ciZjlGkKmE:disqus, that’s a requirement for contests on websites – disclosure to readers about the contest, the prize, etc. As for Facebook, if you were running a Facebook landing page app, you could link to this information when you were installing the app within Facebook’s app installation pages.

With the relaxed contest rules, if you’re running an app using a third-party tool, you would still need to include that. If you’re running a relaxed contest, you could always create a page on your website and in your new contest, include that link in the update.

Zsuzsa Szabo on August 28, 2013 at 7:03 am

I am curious how all these new posts will work! (and I will click a like to your image, as I really want to win the consulting.) We already talked to customers here at Antavo and they told that they will keep using our contest builder as gathering email addresses are important to them.
Mike Gingerich on August 28, 2013 at 7:34 am

Good summary Andrea of pro’s, con’s, and considerations regarding this quick, basic option and the deeper value that tab apps offer.
Doug Perry on August 28, 2013 at 8:54 am

I was a rule-breaker recently on this (actually it was in ignorance – didn’t know about the rule) but I was asking people on group pages and my own to either “like” my page or share the post for a chance to win. I’m still not 100% on this can I continue doing that?
Andrea Vahl on August 28, 2013 at 9:20 am

A lot of people didn’t know about the rule so you weren’t alone.

You can ask for a Like or a Comment (and asking for a comment is actually the best way to go) but the way the rules are stated, they say you cannot run the contest on Personal Timelines which means you cannot require a share. You can ask people to share but it can’t be a requirement for entry. Hope that helps! And glad that you will now be “in compliance” 🙂
Andrea Vahl on August 28, 2013 at 9:21 am

I definitely think apps are still the way to go. It will be interesting to see how this all gets handled – I wonder if we’ll see a ton of Like and Comment contests now!
Andrea Vahl on August 28, 2013 at 9:22 am

I think gathering the e-mail addresses is the best perk of the contest. Plus with so many affordable Apps out there to run contests (like yours!) it’s worth the small expense to grow your e-mail list and get the benefits!
Doug on August 28, 2013 at 11:03 am

Thanks! Me too! So one more quick question I’ve been wondering about for a week now, and that I think you answered: What’s better for a FB manager to get once someone joins your page: (1) A Like on a post; (2) A comment on a post; or (3) share on a post – or are all three equal?
Andrea Vahl on August 29, 2013 at 9:51 pm

Shares and Comments are the best for visibility. Likes are still good though.
Cathy on August 30, 2013 at 1:07 pm

I thought it was required that you include detailed, legaleeze type rules for your contests. How do you that on the type of Facebook page contest you’re referring to?
Andrew Sato on August 30, 2013 at 2:31 pm

Great stuff and good to know! I agree, Andrea, that businesses should still stick to a 3rd party app for the reasons that you mentioned above. And it looks much cleaner. At the same time, you just never know with Facebook and their constantly changing policies.
Christian Karasiewicz on August 30, 2013 at 5:13 pm

@b53604ea8caf4b5d2ef7ff54e534bff7:disqus, while likes and comments are valuable, shares are the most important. The more shares, the more opportunities you have for someone outside of your network to see your content.

For example, if your friend shares one of your posts, it puts your content in their news feed and their network of friends then has the opportunity to see it.

Also, Facebook gives shares a heavier ranking than comments and likes (in that order).
Christian Karasiewicz on August 30, 2013 at 5:19 pm

@disqus_ciZjlGkKmE:disqus, that’s a requirement for contests on websites – disclosure to readers about the contest, the prize, etc. As for Facebook, if you were running a Facebook landing page app, you could link to this information when you were installing the app within Facebook’s app installation pages.

With the relaxed contest rules, if you’re running an app using a third-party tool, you would still need to include that. If you’re running a relaxed contest, you could always create a page on your website and in your new contest, include that link in the update.