Can I market my contest or promotion on Facebook without landing in Facebook jail?

Oh, the dreaded jail of social media.  Any individual or business who markets through these useful channels has heard the jail rumors: accounts blocked, violations reported, pages shut down.

Fear not, because the short answer is:

YES, you can promote a sweepstakes, contest or promotion on social media and remain in compliance.  In fact, these channels can be extremely useful to increase engagement for your business.

However, and that is a big HOWEVER- it is extremely important to comply with each platform’s terms and conditions when administering the promotion. Otherwise, off to jail you go.  In this segment, we will review the important terms for promoting on Facebook.  Other social media platforms will be addressed in future article updates.

If you want to remain jail free (and legally compliant) these are the big DOs and DON’Ts when administering a promotion:

• DON’T hold yourself or your page out as a brand representative (official page), if your page is simply a fan site or support page.

• DON’T improperly tag anyone in a photo that they are not actually in (such as encouraging individuals to tag themselves or others in your photo or cover image).

• DON’T use invalid or overly-broad page names or web addresses.

• DON’T use text or images that are misleading, deceptive or infringe on another’s copyright or trademark.

• DON’T utilize personal timelines when administering promotions (encouraging entrants to “share on your timeline” or “tag a friend” are explicitly forbidden in the Facebook Page Rules).

• DO ensure content and promotions comply with all regulations including privacy acts, COPPA, the FTC and all state and federal promotional requirements.

• DO have terms and conditions accessible to anyone who may request them.

• DO clearly state that you (and not Facebook) are collecting any data.

• DO limit the promotion in time and provide a complete Facebook release, indicating in the official rules that Facebook has not sponsored, endorsed, or in any way administered the promotion.

As stated above, marketing on social media can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be non-compliant.  If you would like assistance creating terms and conditions, or full official rules, please contact our office.

Keep a look out for our future blog segments related to marketing on social media platforms.

*Disclaimer: The author is licensed to practice in the state of Indiana. The information contained above is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter. Laws vary by state and region. Furthermore, the law is constantly changing. Thus, the information above may no longer be accurate at this time. No reader of this content, clients or otherwise, should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any content included herein without seeking the appropriate legal or other professional advice on the particular facts and circumstances at issue.

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