There’s been a lot of hype lately regarding the constant changes to Facebook fan pages.  One of the most upsetting changes for marketers was the newly added restrictions regarding contests held on Facebook..  As marketers, what we loved about Facebook contests were that it leveled the playing field for companies and brands of all sizes.  Brand recognition and money had nothing to do with whether or not you became visible on Facebook. But sometimes good things must come to an end…or in our case, come to a crossroad, where we’re forced to be more creative with our outreach.

While Facebook hasn’t entirely banned all contests, here are the most important new guidelines to keep in mind:

• You need written approval from Facebook before beginning a contest.  Sounds easy enough, right?  Not so much!  Facebook has companies “fill out” a contact form and in that form, they ask what your ad budget is.  From our own findings, we discovered that this form is somewhat useless if you don’t plan to spend at least $25,000 in advertising, as we were directed away from the contact form when not entering a high enough dollar amount.   Out of curiosity, we entered the $25,000 amount and sure enough, the contact form continues with its questionnaire.  Hey, I guess we finally know how Facebook makes their money.

• You’re limited in how you publicize your contest. If you’re lucky enough to gain permission to run a contest from  Facebook, this means you probably have a larger budget for ad spending than most and also that you need to be aware that you’re still limited with how you promote your contest.

1. You can only run contests on third party applications and may only share info regarding said contest on the canvas page of an application or an application box in a tab on your fan page.
2. You cannot condition that participants take any action on Facebook – that includes uploading photos or videos, updating status, or updating a profile or page.
3. You cannot notify winners of contests through Facebook – that includes private message, IM, status update, or wall post.

Whether or not Facebook took the wind out of your sails, we’d recommend that you re-think running a contest on the platform. Even if you think Facebook wouldn’t notice a tiny Mom & Pop Shop running a contest, iyou are risking having your page shut down and losing your already-established fan base.  Facebook is still a behemoth platform where the demographic is constantly changing and the public is more than eager to interact.  If your brand doesn’t qualify for running a contest, you may just have to find a new/creative way to market you Facebook Fan page.