So, you want to run a competition. That is great news! However, you need to make sure you are not breaking any rules.
We have put together this easy to follow guide to make sure you are doing the right thing.
RULE ONE: What is considered a promotion? And what is the difference?
Promotion is something that requires an ‘Entry’ or ‘Registration’, an ‘Element of Chance’ or considered a ‘Giveaway’ or ‘Prize’.
A Sweepstake/Giveaway is when a person can win a prize by chance.
A Contest is where participants have to work a little harder for it, an entry can be done by providing user-generated content for example and will be judged or drawn at random.
A lottery requires a purchase, (these are not allowed in the US) check with your states lottery commissions before running these in Australia. (See below for the links for your state)
RULE TWO: MAKE SURE IT IS CLEAR THAT IT IS NOT ENDORSED BY FACEBOOK
Have a disclaimer at the bottom of your post, so people know. It doesn’t have to be elaborate, keep it simple and concise. “This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by or associated with Facebook.”
RULE THREE:- MORE DETAILED T&C’s ON A SEPARATE LANDING PAGE
This is where you can really break down the rules of your competition. Things that you really should include are:
- Eligibility Requirements – This encompasses age requirements, location etc.
- Entry requirements.
- The date for when the competition will be drawn along with time (and which time zone)
- Do they need to make a purchase first? Then this falls under lottery; you will need to check the lottery commission for each state in Australia (we will pop these links below for you). However, you can also stipulate that a purchase isn’t necessary and does not enhance your chance of winning.
- A clear description of the prize and it’s a monetary value. Also, be sure to have the value correct as you don’t want to be sued for giving away a prize that is worth less than you said. (see 4WD Touring as a case study)
- Any judging criteria. Spell it out early so that there is no chance of it coming back and biting you in the proverbial.
- How you will select your winner.
- Permission from entrants, especially when it comes to user-generated (UGC). Will you be using it on social channels, marketing material or on your website? Spell it all out.
You can also add in your physical address, the odds of the chance of winning and any liability limitations.
RULE FOUR:- MAKE SURE YOU ARE ACROSS WHAT FACEBOOK SAYS IS A NO GO ZONE
You can now only suggest that people like your page or pages if you are holding a collaborative competition. To be honest, when it comes down to privacy settings, you might not be able to see if someone is following your page anyway. Also, from a marketing perspective, it’s not always just about numbers but the sentiment around your brand engagement. I.e. it’s better to have less but more engaged audiences. This is something we can talk about in another post.
Remaining unchanged is the “Share on your wall to win” This is a HUGE NO NO!!! People may choose to share your content; however, it cannot be a requirement for entry to a competition, EVER!
“Tag a friend” is also OUT, you will just need to create something engaging enough that people will want to tag their friends in it and not forced to.
Another option that will give you back some power and get your customers to go back to your website is to run it on your website! Then you can just promote it on Facebook.
On a final thought, outside of the T&C’s side of things, be sure to understand why you are running the promotion before you just simply jump to running a competition. Are you looking for:
- More Facebook page likes?
- Business brand recognition?
- Direct lead generation?
- Interest in a new product launch?
- Is it growing your mail list?
- More…
While a Facebook promotion seems easy and simple, there are significant pitfalls that will not result in your desired outcome. If you’re found to be out of line, Facebook reserve the right to temporarily or permanently to suspend or remove your page. And while there are plenty of comps not complying, you don’t want to be taking this risk. It only takes one person to report your competition for the wheels to go into motion. If you’re not sure, you should check out the full T&C’s from Facebook, or you can contact us to pull it all together for you.
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