Running the promotional gauntlet on Facebook can be a dangerous business. If you do things wrong, transgress on any of the social network’s vast and byzantine rules, you risk having your Facebook page shut down completely. Ouch.
We uncovered an informative article entitled “Facebook Promotions: What You Need To Know” by Mari Smith from SocialMediaExaminer.com. It exposes the not-so-simple rules of how to run a promotion on Facebook while safely navigating through and abiding by their guidelines.
It seems that not only are Facebook’s Promotion rules stringent, they’re also a moving target. From the kinds of promotions you can run, to whether or not fan contact is allowed, to announcing winners legally, things change rapidly.
Smith also covers the idea of using alternatives to a DIY approach. For instance, if you don’t want to create a promotion of your own, there is a list of third-party services that already meet Facebook’s standards. But Smith warns, “The risks are far too great” and if the third party violates the rules, it’s you who pays the price as the Facebook Police will take action and shut your page down.
All in all, the article is an in-depth look and it sheds light on how to run a promotion correctly on the social network. But in our opinion, it still tends to gets complicated and confusing. It’s a great first toe-dip in the water but, for a more serious look, it helps to know that we’ve run the Facebook Promotion gauntlet – and lived to tell about it.
