Is Your Facebook Contest Legal? [Infographic]

Are you familiar with Facebook's promotion guidelines? They were last updated on March 30, 2017.While most things are fair game, some things you cannot do include like-gate your apps, tag people in a brand's image, or require your fans to share your Page on their Timeline in order to enter.Chances are you wear several hats and don't always have time to check in with the latest and greatest guidelines that Facebook has laid out for business's who want to run a promotion.The good news is, if you want to run a Facebook contest to connect with your fans, we've got you covered.We created the infographic below for one of our favorite sites Social Times/Adweek, but it's perfect for sharing on ShortStack, too. We also wrote a very detailed post with recommendations and a template for what to include in your own contest rules documentation.

• You can host promotions on a custom Facebook app
• You can host promotions on your Page's Timeline
• Yes, you can ask people to like a post to enter
• Yes, you can ask people to comment on a post to enter
• Yes, you can ask people to post on a page to enter
• Yes, you can ask people to message a page to enter
• Yes, you can ask people to like a page to get access to a contest entry form
• Yes, you can ask people to submit suggested names for a new product in exchange for a chance to win a prize
• Yes, you can ask people to Like as a voting mechanism
• No, you can't host promotions on a personal profile
• No, you can’t require people to share on their personal Timeline to enter
• No, you can’t require people to like a page to automatically enter
• No, you can’t require people to tag friends in a post to enter
• No, you can't ask people to share on their Timeline to enter
• No, you can't ask people to share on a friend's Timeline to get additional entries
• Facebook promotions must include your promotion’s official rules
• Facebook promotions must include terms and eligibility for your promotion
• Facebook promotions must include acknowledgement that the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or administered by or association with, Facebook
• Facebook promotions must include notification that Facebook can’t be held liable for anything related to your promotion
• You must also make sure your contest complies with laws in your region
• It is legal to contact your promotion’s winner by posting a status update
• It is legal to contact your promotion’s winner by making a comment in the comment stream on your page
• It is legal to contact your promotion’s winner by sending an email to the address the winner provided upon entry
• It is legal to contact your promotion’s winner via a tweet
• It is legal to contact your promotion’s winner by making an announcement on your blog or website