The article discusses the recent marketing tactic, in which companies take advantage of the popularity and reach of Facebook to run various types of sweepstakes, contests, and other promotions on the Facebook Platform. In order to do so, companies must comply with the Facebook Promotions Guidelines, as well as all applicable laws.

The article outlines the important definitions associated with Facebook’s Promotions Guidelines, which apply to any “sweepstakes, contest, competition, or other similar offering.” The Guidelines draw an important distinction between “publicizing” and “administering” a promotion on Facebook. The article also defines the requirements for publicizing and administering a promotion on Facebook. Companies are prohibited from using the Facebook name, trademarks, trade names, copyrights, or any other Facebook intellectual property in the rules or any other materials relating to the promotion, without express written consent.

The article maintains that use of promotions on social networking sites like Facebook offers great opportunities for real-time interaction with users and creation of a message that can spread virally to millions of users. If companies want to take advantage of the popularity and reach of Facebook to publicize or administer a promotion, they need to make sure to comply with the Facebook Promotions Guidelines, as well as all applicable laws. The failure to do so can result in termination of your company’s rights on Facebook and bad publicity.