2018 Facebook Competition Rules

We see them every day on our news feeds, but how many of us are aware of the rules regarding Facebook competitions? From “Like and share” to “tag and comment”, this blog post offers everything you need to know in order to play by the Facebook competition rules yet get the best results with your giveaways!

Can my Facebook competition require people to share the post in order to enter?

In short, no. Facebook’s page terms specifically state: “Personal Timelines and friend connections must not be used to administer promotions”. A requirement to share a competition post isn’t very practical anyway. This is because a lot of users, particularly after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, have their profiles set to private, meaning you can’t track who actually shares your post. Remember, you can still prompt people to share your post, you just can’t use it as an entry requirement.

Are “tag your friend to enter” competitions allowed on Facebook?

Again, this falls under the rule: “friend connections must not be used to administer promotions”. The Facebook Page Guidelines actually use tagging as an example of what is not allowed: "tag your friends in this post to enter" are not permitted”. You are free to encourage people to tag their friends, but you cannot use it as a requirement of entry. For example, you can say: “Don’t forget to tag any friends and family members who would love to enter!” However, you cannot say “Tag your friend to be in with a chance of winning!”

Is it okay to ask people to like our page to enter our competition?

“You must not incentivize people to use social plugins or to like a Page.” This is straight from the Facebook Developer’s site, which goes on to say: “This includes offering rewards, or gating apps or app content based on whether or not a person has liked a Page.” Again, there is nothing stopping you from asking people to like your page, or even say that you will be picking a winner from one of your followers. We would recommend saying something like “Make sure you follow our page to ensure you don’t miss out on our winner announcement!”

What do the Facebook competition rules allow?

It’d be rude of us to leave you with strictly what you are not allowed to do when it comes to Facebook competitions. Therefore, we have provided a few ideas to help you get the ball rolling… Usually, the main goal of your Facebook competition will be engagement, which will hopefully result in an increase in brand awareness or leads. While you can’t require people to share your posts, you can encourage them to comment (without demanding them to tag someone). Here are some comment-based ideas that are in line with the Facebook competition rules:

Ask users a quiz question relating to your brand, product, service or industry. All of those who comment with the winning answer will be entered into a prize draw.
A competition that encourages users to name your new product or service.
A contest that requires people to caption a particular picture.
Encourage users to guess something relating to an image or video. For example, “guess how many tennis balls fit into this lorry”.

Facebook also offers you the opportunity to run offline competitions. For instance, you could drive people to trial a new product or subscribe to your mailing list by entering each person that does so in a prize draw. By only advertising this on Facebook, you give your followers a sense of loyalty and exclusivity.

Need help with your social media marketing?

For further tips, advice and guidance on social media marketing, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team today. We can help with everything from managing your campaigns to training your staff on the best social media practices! Oliver Wilkinson Content Marketing Executive Knapton Wright Ltd.

Av-It!

This could be you

Challenge Us!

We're Ready For It.

Our clients are open to change, and they embraced it. They challenged us and it paid off.

Now we want to help you.

We love working with brands who put the planet first. From renewables and agri-tech, to environmental and sustainability-focused businesses, get in touch to find out how we can help you.