New Facebook Contest Changes Save Time and Money
August 27, 2013 | By David A. George | 46 Comments">46 Comments
What happened?
Running a Facebook contest is as simple as asking for a Like, comment, or message in a status update. It is no longer required that contests be administered through third party apps.
What that means for you?
You can now run basic Facebook contests directly in the Timeline of your fan page. This will allow more businesses to participate in and benefit from running social contests.
Heyo is excited! The changes Facebook announced regarding their promotional guidelines, allowing fan page contests within the Timeline, align well with Heyo’s mission to make the lives of small and medium sized business owners easier.
On Tuesday, Facebook announced these updates to its contest guidelines via a blog post on their Facebook for Business page.
One of the most prominent things to note is the removal of requiring third party apps to run Facebook contests and promotions. According to Facebook:
“We’ve removed the requirement that promotions on Facebook only be administered through apps. Now, promotions may be administered on Page Timelines AND in apps on Facebook. For example, businesses can now:
- 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”
Say what?? You mean I can run contests straight from my Facebook page?
That’s right! The New Facebook contest changes open the door for your business to use Likes, comments, posts, and messages all as “legal” entries into Facebook Timeline contests.
As a business, you can now run basic contests as often as you see fit, and as simply as posting a status update. It’s quicker, cheaper, and lowers the barrier to entry for small businesses to participate in social marketing campaigns.
So, What Now?
To wrap it up…
Your barrier to entry is significantly lower since people can enter straight through their News Feed via your Facebook post. Most likely, this will result in more people engaging with your brand and entering your contests. Heyo encourages businesses to experiment with this new capability.
As you absorb and start brainstorming ideas for your business, just know that running these basic “Timeline Contests” directly in your status updates come with limitations. You no longer have the full 810px width of a Fan Page tab, control over contest design, the use of rich media, or the flexibility of coding to enhance the contest functionality.
Another biggie…no email captures. Hmmm – just know that Heyo’s mad scientists are in the lab 24/7 cooking up some sweetness you don’t want to miss.
Your Turn
Are these good changes? How are you going to switch up your current strategy? Share with us in the comments below!
Meet David A. George
David A. George I'm a UX + Growth Marketer passionate about people, music, intelligent UX, Android, and breathing underwater. I'd love to connect with you on LinkedIn, Twitter, and on my website.
