Blog Giveaway Entries : Facebook “Liking” is a No-No. [Important Info Regarding Facebook “Likes”!]

On occasion I have a minute or two to skim a few of my favorite blogs. I ran across an article on Leslie Loves Veggies that left me heavy hearted and confused.

After some digging, Leslie was able to connect with a Facebook employee regarding our eternal question… can we ask our readers to “like” a Facebook page as a bonus entry? We’ve all had our confirmation as far as mandatory entries after reading Facebook’s Promotions Guidelines, but the wording just hasn’t been clear on the bonus issue.

Leslie received confirmation that it is indeed against Facebook regulations to have your readers “like” any Facebook page for any type of entry… mandatory or bonus.

If you check out Leslie’s article you can see the correspondence between herself and the Facebook employee.

So, I am off to fix all of my giveaways. I do hope that you will continue to “like” OurKidsMom on Facebook. I love to connect with my readers on a daily basis and can be found “chatting” there often. It’s a great way to get a heads up on upcoming giveaways, ask questions and feel like part of my family (because you are!).

Comments

  1. Tiffany U says

    well thats going to stink for some blogs for sure but usually I only like things I actually like (hmmm does that make sense?) . Thankfully I actually like not just your blog but your facebook page as well! Thanks for the info 🙂

    • Tiffany says

      So after I wrote this I came across a giveaway that for the very first line of the Rafflecopter form it said “like” all 100 pages on facebook for 100 entries! ?!?! Sadly I think its because of giveaways like that that the rules changed. I hope you find another way to expand your facebook fan base because for all of the good blogs like yours who play by the rules there sre 50 more that skirt the rules with their penny sales and other things that dont make it on facebooks radar.

  2. Gina H. says

    Don’t worry, I’ll always “like” you! 🙂
    Like the previous poster I try to like only pages that I really do like. I skip contests that require to like 10-15 or more pages to enter (too much fb clutter). Other blogs should just mention “if you want to find more contests like this one be sure to like us on facebook”.

  3. Hmmm…I thought it was allowed to ‘like’ a page, but I know that it is not allowed to ask someone to post a comment on their wall for an entry. I always skip those ones when people ask to do them. But, that will put a damper on some of the larger contests that the whole means of entry is ‘liking’ 20 different FB pages.

    • Teri says

      I thought this was their policy to. Hum wonder if it has changed recently.

  4. Carrie Phelps says

    That’s too bad, it’s a great incentive in a giveaway for the Facebook page owner to have as many “likes” as possible. It’s great “word-of-mouth”. Perhaps if it’s listed as an option instead of a requirement?
    Carrie

  5. Thanks for sharing. It still seems in their wording in their guidlines though that liking a page is ok. I wish they would make that clear. Since it says anything other than liking a page, checking in or connecting to an app. This makes it very unclear. Thanks for sharing her conversation. Looks like we have a lot of changes to make.

  6. I am kind of surprised at the amount of posts I have seen regarding this subject. I do not believe that Facebook likes are a no-no in giveaways, and I feel like the conversation in the original post was misinterpreted. You even said that it left you confused.

    If you read the promotion guidelines that everyone is pointing out, it states “4.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.” That clearly says that liking is page IS allowed.

    I have a feeling that the Facebook account executive misinterpreted the question that was asked. The answer was that you cannot run a contest just by choosing someone that likes your page because you can’t get a list of everyone that likes. You can ask someone to like your page and then leave a comment or click the box on Rafflecopter saying they did so.

    Think about it…if Liking a Facebook page for an entry into a giveaway was really against the rules, don’t you think Facebook would have cracked down on all of the huge giveaways where the only entries are to Like certain pages? This has been going on for a while now, and I imagine that Facebook is well aware of it.

    • manda says

      Towards the bottom it has a lawyer discrediting all the information and even asking to speak to the Facebook employee.

      Perhaps it’d just be easier to ask a lawyer to read the fine print? Since sometimes customer service doesn’t actually know legalities? I think I”ll go ask one.

    • Hi LeeAnn,

      What has me confused is this one:
      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.

      That is right above the one you quoted, which would in fact null the other?

  7. brett says

    i’m not changing mine. i read it just as leeann did. :o) with the popularity of group giveaways right now, they’d have cracked down a long time ago on the facebook likes. i despise when i’m told that i have to leave a comment though. YUCK. i dont enter those.

  8. Lauren says

    That stinks.I like getting the extra entries,and I’m sure it helps with getting the word out about that person’s page!I know it has helped with mine,but I understand about not wanting to break the rules for sure!I will continue to like you on fb and continue to enter your giveaways!

  9. Julie Witt says

    I have to agree with the others. If I see a giveaway that wants me to “like” more than 4 or 5 FB pages, or “follow” more than 4 or 5 Twitter accounts, I will pass on it. For one thing, all those accounts totally bog down my ability to get the information I want from the blogs I liked because I wanted to. For another thing, Twitter puts a cap on how many accounts you can follow, so I’ll be damned if I’m going to use them up on people or businesses, etc., that I have no interest in, and then not be able to follow people I really want to! I hope this makes sense! I, for one, have been following you for a while, and I will continue to like you and follow you because I want to, not because I have to to get a contest entry 🙂

  10. Jayne says

    What is bugging me about this whole situation is the hostility between bloggers over whether or not “Liking” is an acceptable form of entry for a giveaway. It’s been insane. If a blogger perceives it one way and chooses to run their giveaways according to their perception, why does it seem to bug those who perceive it differently? Bloggers…do what you think is best for YOUR blog and don’t look to other blogs’ activities to validate your own.

  11. If this is in fact true.. I wonder how this will effect the sponsors who offer these giveaways for bloggers with purpose of increasing their facebook fan base. If this applies to our facebook blog pages, this will apply to sponsor facebook pages as well.

  12. If you read the actual rules, it clearly states, “4. You must not condition registration or entry upon the user taking any action using any Facebook features or functionality OTHER (emphasis mine) 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.”

    Meaning, you CAN ask someone to like your page, check into a place, or connect with your app. but that is all.

  13. I’d also have to respectfully disagree with Leslie’s interpretation of the guidelines. Even if she did get an email from an account rep at Facebook, that person may have misunderstood the question or was simply misinformed. I worked for a large national bank and had to deal w/customers who received inaccurate or blatantly wrong info from customer service reps all the time. I trust what Facebook has published in their rules over an alleged email.

    I also have personally received conflicting info from 2 different Facebook employees regarding an issue I had with my own page.

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