Is Your Credit Union Playing by the Facebook Rules?

By Jonathan Fuhrman
Katharine Hepburn once said, “If you play by the rules, you miss all the fun.” On the other hand Einstein was quoted as saying, “You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.” So who was right – the beauty or the brains? 

Though breaking the rules a bit does sound fun and exciting, we all know this action usually has consequences associated with it. As marketers we have the responsibility to follow the rules, while still finding ways that make us stand out from everyone else. In this argument, Einstein beats out the Woman of the Year.

Are You a Rule-breaker?  

I’ve recently noticed an increasing number of credit unions running contests and other promotions on Facebook. This is great! The problem is many are breaking the rules in doing so. Most are unaware of the laws of the land when it comes to Facebook, but as we know ignorance of the law is no excuse for breaking it. That is why I recommend everyone review Facebook’s complete listof guidelines here. This governs everything from what can and cannot be included in your timeline image to running contests.

The three most common rules I see broken when running contests and sweepstakes are:

1. You must not condition registration or entry upon the user taking any action using Facebook features or functionality other than liking a page, checking in, or connecting to your app. Asking users to take other actions like sharing or liking your post as a means of entry are not allowed.
2. You must not use Facebook features or functionality as a voting mechanism for a promotion. Asking people to use the Facebook “like” button then awarding a prize to the item with the most likes is against the policy. However, you can get around this by using a third party application to host the contest and using that app’s voting features.
3. You must not notify winners through Facebook. This means you cannot post on your wall who the winner is and tell them to contact you, send them a direct message on Facebook, or post to their wall. You therefore must collect contact information as part of the registration process. 

The Consequences

What happens if you break the rules? We see them broken on a daily basis not only by credit unions, but every other industry out there. Historically, Facebook seems to let most of these offenses slide. If they were to do something, the first step is generally a warning notification requesting you edit the means of entry or take down the contest. But Facebook does reserve the right to completely remove a profile, and I’ve actually known it to happen to someone whose contest required entrants to paste a message on the walls of their friends.

Think of all you have invested in your social media. It certainly isn’t worth the risk of Facebook removing your profile over an improperly run contest. Not only should you follow these requirements, you must check them each time you launch a new contest as the “terms are subject to change at any time.” And they do!  Last year, Facebook was a little less strict – allowing commenting or liking as long as it wasn’t the sole means of entry.

If you are looking to break the rules a bit – talk loudly at the library, take more than one sample, and eat dessert before dinner. But don’t break the rules when it comes to Facebook or other social media marketing.
 

Discover what CU Solutions Group can do to help your credit union with its social media efforts here.