The Facebook Contest Promotion Policy Change:

Running a Facebook promotion giveaway can now be as simple as asking for a Like, comment, or message on post.

Here’s the key update from Facebook:

We’ve updated our Pages Terms in order to make it easier for businesses of all sizes to create and administer promotions on Facebook. Here’s what Page administrators need to know:

We’ve removed the requirement that promotions on Facebook only be administered through apps…

Now, promotions may be administered on Page Timelines and in apps on Facebook.

What this means for Page Admins Like You:

Quick and Basic promotions can be run.

If you want to go fast and go solo, you now can. For example, businesses can now:

You can quickly push out a simple promotion if you desire. Simply create a post requiring people to Like, Comment, or Message you for a chance to win. Then you will need to select a winner randomly from those who have completed the task and announce the winner. There is no tool to select the random winner or review the entries, simply the comments on your post.

Facebook’s only requirement is that you include in your post their terms outlined here:

1. If you use Facebook to communicate or administer a promotion (ex: a contest or sweepstakes), you are responsible for the lawful operation of that promotion, including:

a. The official rules;

b. Offer terms and eligibility requirements (ex: age and residency restrictions); and

c. Compliance with applicable rules and regulations governing the promotion and all prizes offered (ex: registration and obtaining necessary regulatory approvals)

2. Promotions on Facebook must include the following:

a. A complete release of Facebook by each entrant or participant.

b. Acknowledgement that the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.

So be sure to include this in your post/image.

Need more help in managing entries, picking winners, and deploying? TabSite can help!

Early Example

From Grandma Mary on Facebook…

Not sure she has the disclaimers outlined but we’ll give Grandma a break as she rolled this out quick!

Marketing Takeaways

1. Go Quick and Solo

If you want to quickly push out a basic promotion, simply create a post and push it out. This can be a way to boost engagement. This opportunity comes on the heels of Facebook outlining some new guidelines on posts being “quality” and not “spammy” so we’ll have to see how they enforce post types that ask for Likes.

2. Go Deeper and Together

If you want to harness the experience for the user deeper and richer, and gather more data such as email addresses for future email marketing, then a third party tab app like TabSite can offer you that value.

If you want complete tools provided such as initial terms offered, disclaimers provided, random winner selector tools included, and vote monitoring for fairness, then a app can provide the peace of mind and advanced tools at your fingertips.

As well, if you want to offer a cross platform contest to leverage communities on another social network, then Instagram Contests on Facebook or a Pinterest and Facebook Pin Deal can offer value and uniqueness to utilize a promotion that integrates two or more social networks. Additionally, further design control and options to brand and customize the experience further than a news feed post, offers companies a way to tailor the promotion inline with their larger marketing efforts.

3. Other Apps Add Value

Other apps are still necessary and helpful for creating Facebook page tabs that are not contest related. Examples would be landing tabs for ads, product features, ebook downloads for lead nurturing, newsletter signup for email lists, and e-commerce for simple on Facebook purchases.

4. Integrated Marketing Still Rules

Quick promos can be of value as a fast and easy way to create some buzz. A key, however, is avoiding RAMS (Random Acts of Marketing), and having a plan for how each piece of your marketing fits cohesively together to accomplish your objectives. A promotion is a single tool, it is not a marketing strategy.

That a quick overview of this new Facebook change.

We’ll post more as we see how Facebook handles types of posts and if their actions give any further clarity to what types of posts are considered quality promotions versus spammy, low-quality ones.

Timeline contests are very basic, and come with less features and safety mechanisms.  Spam, people editing comments,  lack of Admins being able to pre-approve of comments etc. can all be issues with the new, looser rules with Timeline contests.  Tab Contests continue to offer a more complete range of tools for businesses to brand contests and capture leads such as email addresseson tabs.  Each contest type can have its place, it all depends on needs, goals, and overall marketing strategy objectives.