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August 28th, 2013
Facebook Changes its Promotions Guidelines
Facebook introduced significant changes to its terms of service yesterday in an effort to make it easier for businesses to administer sweepstakes, contests and other promotions on its site.
A summary of the changes are as follows:
Facebook removed a long-standing requirement that businesses must use a Facebook app to administer promotions. Promotions can now be administered either through an app or directly on a brand''s page timeline. Facebook reiterated that promotions cannot however be administered on a personal timeline (e.g., asking users to post to their own, personal timelines in exchange for a chance to win a prize).
- Brands can now collect entries simply by having users post on their Facebook brand page or by having users comment or like a brand page post. Previously, Facebook strictly prohibited the use of Facebook features or functionality as method of entry.
- Facebook removed its prohibition on notifying winners through Facebook messages, chat or ports on timelines or brand pages. Facebook also removed its prohibition on using the Like button, and other Facebook features or functionality, as a voting mechanism.
- Accurate tagging is now required when running a promotion. Brands cannot tag or encourage people to tag themselves in content in which they are not actually depicted. For example, businesses should not require users to tag themselves in a photo of a new product in exchange for a chance to win a prize.
In addition to revising its promotions terms, the social media site also issued downloadable Promotions Guidelines with answers to frequently asked questions and some best practices for running promotions on the site.
While these changes provide brands with a faster and perhaps simpler mechanism for engaging users and collecting entries, there are some practical considerations brands should keep in mind in light of the new terms. For instance, brands may still want to consider whether using an app - which provides more flexibility for content than page posts alone - makes more sense in light of its branding strategy. Facebook apps also allow brands to collect data in a secure way and to obtain grants of rights from entrants for use of the entries outside the promotion. Additionally, brands should consider whether collecting entries via user posts on its page timeline provides enough structure to verify actual promotion entries versus unintended, or rogue, entries.
For more information about this update or other sweepstakes or contest issues, please contact Terri Seligman at 212.826.5580 or tseligman@fkks.com, Claudine Wilson at 212.705.4842 or cwilson@fkks.com, or any other member of the Frankfurt Kurnit Advertising Group.
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