MSLGROUP: Brand Do's and Dont's: Contests on Facebook - Romain Vezirian

Newsflash for you Facebook is changing All the time And we are not talking about your friends39 updates here we39re talking new functionalities new layout for your brand39s page and even new rules This last point may be the most important to keep in mind even though it is also the issue that one no one talks about Facebook39s official quotTerms of Usequot can change anytimeFacebook and Your Brand Separation of Church and State It is important to recall that Facebook does not want to be seen as endorsing any brand or commercial activity other than its own The company will not assume liability should anything go wrong with a brand39s contestamp8212your activities are distinct in the strictest sense of the wordA Company Banned on FacebookIn the past couple of months a French brand39s Facebook page got cut off with no warning because the company failed to comply with Facebook39s new Terms of Use The page had 130000 fans a number significant enough to show that Facebook does not discriminate if you do not respect the rules you will log in one day to find your page is missing even if your fan base is in the 6 digitsSo here39s a quick recap of what you can and cannot do on your Facebook page when you want to run a contest for your fansThe Dont39samp8226 This is the most complicated point but also the most important one You cannot use any Facebook functionalities for your brand39s contest In short quotlikesquot quotcommentsquot and quottagging in a picturequot should not enable one of your fans to win anything If you see a brand asking its fans to quotchange their profile picturequot to enter a contest know that this company could be cut off any minute by almighty Facebookamp8226 It is forbidden to organize a contest on your Facebook wall see below for what you can doamp8226 You always have to specify that your brand is the contest organizer and Facebook is notamp8226 It is always advisable to include a link to your brand39s usage guidelines for Facebook fans these are the guidelines typically including language prohibiting personal attacks and inflammatory language on the brand39s pageThe Do39samp8226 You can organize a contest on your Facebook page but it has to be contained within a dedicated tabamp8226 Let us give you a little trick here You can limit a contest to your fans but use the right words to do so For instance you cannot say quotClick on Like to enter our contestquot This would mean you are using one of Facebook39s native functionalitiesamp8226 Instead you could write quotJoin our communityquot or quotClick like to see more info on our contestquot Recall that once someone likes you your page opens up and the person can see all your tabs We know this is subtle but this kind of knowledge can make the difference between a successful Facebook page and a banned oneThe sad part is This article could soon become dated because Facebook39s Terms of Use continually change Make sure your agency and your community manager monitor this issue closelyRomain Vezirian has held a variety of newmedia roles within the worldwide team of Parisbased Publicis Consultants part of MSLGROUP since joining in 2007 He can be reached at romainvezirianconsultantspublicisfrRead all Romain39s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Critical ConversationsCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerMediaBizBloggers is an openthought leadership blog platform for media marketing and advertising professionals companies and organizations To contribute contact Jackmediadvisorygroupcom The opinions expressed in MediaBizBloggerscom are not those of Media Advisory Group its employees or other MediaBizBloggerscom contributors Media Advisory Group accepts no responsibility for the views of MediaBizBloggers authors

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MSLGROUP: Brand Do's and Dont's: Contests on Facebook - Romain Vezirian

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