Facebook New Competition Rules
January 14, 2010 at 4:28 pm
I meant to post on this a little while ago, but got side-tracked. Facebook changed their terms & conditions relating to how we run competitions effective immediately. Anyone wanting to run a competition, contest, or sweepstakes in which entry is based on becoming a fan, posting a message, updating status or making a comment must have prior written approval of Facebook. To get that approval, you need an account manager. You don’t get an account manager assigned to you unless you’re spending upwards of $10,000. If you do get that approval, you must run your contest through a third party app.
It’s not good news for the little guys like Simple Assembly Me Hole. And it doesn’t bode well for charities either.
In general, the word from the US is that this needed to happen. Without it, Facebook was wide open to being in breach of the US lottery law.
It’s also being seen as a way to tidy up people’s news streams.
But it’s not all bad. Here’s what you can do:
What You Can Do
Publicising vs. Administering
The big distinction that Facebook makes is between ‘publicising’ and ‘administering’ a promotion on Facebook.
- ‘Publicising’ a promotion means that you promote, advertise or reference a promotion in Facebook, but you do not collect entries or draw or notify winners in Facebook.
- ‘Administering‘ a promotion means you both publicise it, collect entries and draw/notify winners in Facebook.
Publicising a Promo DOES NOT REQUIRE Facebook Approval
All companies can ‘publicise’ promotions in Facebook without needing any special permission.
Administering a Promo REQUIRES Facebook Approval
If you wish to ‘publicise’ AND ‘adminster’ a promotion in Facebook, it is now necessary to get a Facebook sales rep and seek approval.
This is good news for app developers who will be kept even busier now. View list of Irish Facebook developers.
This is probably also good news for Ireland Inc. My guess is that many of the Facebook European Headquarters jobs might be account managers?
