Have you seen competitions on Facebook which get you to “Like this Post and Share it with Your Friends?”…A really simple way to get your promotional message out, right?
Wrong. This is against Facebook rules.
Any business that is running this type of “promotion” is running the risk of their page being shut down. Are the random likes/shares and comments, worth the risk of losing contact with the people already liked your page and who are actually interested in your brand?
Here is the list of Facebook Page Guidelines:http://www.facebook.com/page_guidelines.php
In particular this type of promotion/competition of breaks this rule:
“You must not condition registration or entry upon the user taking any action using any Facebook features or functionality other than liking a Page, checking in to a Place, or connecting to your app. For example, you must not condition registration or entry upon the user liking a Wall post, or commenting or uploading a photo on a Wall.”
It is also against Facebook rules to “notify winners through Facebook, such as through Facebook messages, chat, or posts on profiles (timelines) or Pages”.
If you feel a competition is the best for your business right now, why not run it off your website? This allows you to run a promotion without breaking Facebook rules as well as increasing traffic to your website!
Aoife Rigney - Digital Marketing & Social Media 