How to Run a Legal Contest on Facebook

Posted by Somedia on in Content & Growth

Prizes laid out on a table at a raffle prize draw
Prizes laid out on a table at a raffle prize draw. Photo: University of the Fraser Valley, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Contests and giveaways are a great way to grow your fan base. The secret is choosing a prize that is relevant to your business. If you are a local company, a pair of tickets to a local concert or a family day out attracts people who live near you and could become customers. A generic prize such as the latest phone attracts entrants from everywhere, most of whom will never buy from you. Think about the quality of fans, not the quantity.

Be ready for some people to unfollow once the contest is over. That is normal; a relevant prize keeps the loss small.

What Facebook's rules require

Facebook allows promotions on Pages, but the official rules include a few points that trip up many businesses:

  • You must run the promotion lawfully yourself, including official rules, eligibility and prize terms.
  • Each entrant must agree to release Facebook from liability, and you must say the promotion is not sponsored or run by Facebook.
  • You may not require people to share the post on their own timeline or tag friends on their timeline to enter.

Asking people to comment, react or message the Page to enter is allowed. Many brands use a simple form on their own website and use the Page post to point people to it.

Do not accidentally run a lottery

In many countries, including the United States, a promotion that combines a prize, chance and "consideration" (something of value people must give to enter, usually a purchase) is legally a lottery, and private lotteries are generally illegal. That is why so many promotions say "no purchase necessary" and offer a free way to enter. Remove any one of the three elements, usually consideration, and you have a legal sweepstakes. Skill-based contests, judged on merit, follow different rules again.

This line matters most for brands near the gaming world. A casino resort can give away a weekend stay through a free sweepstakes, but a promotion where people pay to enter for a chance at a prize needs proper legal advice before launch.

A simple contest plan

  1. Choose a prize your ideal customer would actually want.
  2. Write short official rules: dates, eligibility, how to enter, how the winner is chosen and notified.
  3. Decide the entry method (comment, form or photo submission) and check it against the platform's rules.
  4. Announce the winner publicly and thank everyone who took part.