Tip: Facebook Business Contests

Clearly, Facebook has taken over the way companies and individuals manage their social media strategies. In fact, one of the most basic ways a company will get involved with social media is by creating and maintaining a company Facebook page. Although the process itself is simple enough, many intrepid business owners do not realize that there are very different rules that govern Facebook use for businesses.

Your Company Page is Not a Personal Page

Most of the rules surrounding business Facebook pages can be explained by the idea that business pages are not personal pages, and they cannot be used as such. Most of the Facebook guidelines have been put forth so that no business page is able to “spam” personal pages on the network.

Here are a few quick guidelines to remember when you are using your business’s Facebook page:

• Regarding contests and giveaways: You may not use your business Facebook page to run giveaways. However, you may use the page to announce a giveaway being run by your company on another website or application

• Also regarding contests: You may not require the sharing of any aspect of your business page on personal timelines as part of entry to a contest.

• For posts that you would like to “boost” (using Facebook to provide additional sharing to increase your traffic): pictures may not be more than 20% text. Again, this is to prevent a business Facebook page from misusing the site for spam and promotions.

The Takeaway

All of Facebook’s rules for business Facebook pages can be found within the Terms of Service. However, a great rule of thumb for budding Facebook Masters is that you cannot, at any time, use your business Facebook page as a spam device. You also must not attempt to use your followers’ personal timelines as a part of your business’s social media strategy.

As should be the rule with all your content marketing and social media efforts, producing high quality content that your users will be interested in, and perhaps want to share with others, is always the best practice. Many of these Facebook rules deal with shortcuts that businesses use for a boost, but it’s a boost you can achieve with great, consistent content – without any tricks.