Facebook Updates for Promotions
As of November 4, 2009 Facebook has revised their Promotions Guidelines. These new guidelines in no way bring an end to any company from using promotions like sweepstakes and contests. But they do place a few added restrictions for them.
Following is an excerpt from the Facebook Promotions Guidelines:
Section 1. General
1.1 Without limiting any provision set forth herein, you acknowledge and agree that you are responsible for ensuring that any promotion and the administration, advertising, publicizing and fulfillment of such promotion complies with all applicable federal, state, provincial and local laws and applicable regulatory and industry rules, regulations and guidelines.
1.2 You are fully and solely responsible and liable for your promotion, including, without limitation, every element of publicizing or administering a promotion on Facebook or using any part of the Facebook Platform, even if Facebook authorizes a promotion to be publicized or administered on Facebook or using any part of the Facebook Platform.
1.3 You will not in any way use our name, trademarks, trade names, copyrights, or any other of our intellectual property in the rules or any other materials relating to the promotion, without express written consent.
1.4 The promotion and any publicity associated with the promotion must be true and accurate, and cannot mislead, deceive or otherwise misrepresent the prize or any other aspect of the promotion.
Section 2. Prohibitions
You may not publicize or administer a promotion on Facebook if:
2.1 The promotion is open or marketed to individuals who are under the age of 18;
2.2 The promotion is open to individuals who reside in a country embargoed by the United States;
2.3 The promotion, if a sweepstakes, is open to individuals residing in Belgium, Norway, Sweden, or India;
2.4 The promotion’s objective is to promote any of the following product categories: gambling, tobacco, dairy, firearms, prescription drugs, or gasoline;
2.5 The prize or any part of the prize includes alcohol, tobacco, dairy, firearms, or prescription drugs; or
2.6 The promotion is a sweepstakes that conditions entry upon the purchase of a product, completion of a lengthy task, or other form of consideration.
Click here to read all of the Facebook Promotions Guidelines.
As usual when new or updated guidelines come out they may appear to be daunting. However, these guidelines will only help to make Facebook a more legitimate and secure site to visit and use. Your content based internet marketing campaign can benefit greatly from using Facebook. So read the promotions guidelines and continue on with your social media with confidence.
