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Facebook recently updated their Pages Terms and is now making it easier for page administrators to hold contests and promotions directly on the timeline of their Facebook page.

Through the change of Facebook’s Page Terms, page administrators may now run promotions right on their page timelines as well as in apps on Facebook. However, running promotions on personal timelines is still prohibited.

Things that page administrators can now do include:

Collect entries by having users post on the page or comment/like a page post
Collect entries by having users message the page
Utilize likes as a voting mechanism

Changes to photo tagging

The changes to the Pages Terms also prohibit page administrators from tagging or encouraging people to tag themselves in content that they are not actually depicted in. For example:

It’s OK to ask people to submit names of a new product in exchange for a chance to win a prize
It’s not OK to ask people tag themselves in pictures of a new product in exchange for a chance to win a prize

These updates to Facebook’s terms should make it more convenient for University units to run contests and promotions on their Facebook pages without the need for paying for a third-party app to run the promotion.

Facebook has developed an official Promotions Guidlines document that all users, developers and advertisers must agree to. These guidelines govern the publicizing and administering of any sweepstakes, contest, competition or other promotion on Facebook and may change at any time without notification.

Facebook also makes clear that it can disable the Page and/or account of anyone who violates its terms of service and guidelines.

It is strongly encouraged that all users read Facebook’s official Promotions Guidlines before running any kind of promotion or contest on your Page. Below are some key takeaways from the guidelines:

You must not use Facebook features or functionality as a promotion’s registration or entry mechanism. For example, the act of liking a Page or checking in to a Place cannot automatically register or enter a promotion participant.
You must not use Facebook features or functionality, such as the Like button, as a voting mechanism for a promotion.
Promotions on Facebook must be administered within Apps on Facebook.com, either on a Canvas Page or an app on a Page Tab.
Promotions must acknowledge that the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.

Promotion apps

Since users cannot utilize any Facebook functionalities as part of a promotion, it is required for users to use a third-party promotion app within Facebook to run their contests or promotions. Below is a list of possible promotion apps you can use on your Facebook Page: