Facebook Promotions No Longer Need Explicit Approval From Facebook

This morning we were forwarded an email from a Facebook sales representative which suggested that new Facebook Promotions guidelines will soon be released. In contrast to before, where promotions would need to be explicitly approved, promotions will no longer need prior written approval from Facebook.

While the email claims that the promotions must still follow the company’s Promotions Guidelines (found here), the changes have not yet been reflected in those guidelines. We’ve reached out to Facebook for confirmation, however it would seem strange that this Facebook sales representative would misrepresent the new changes. Here’s is the complete email that was sent from a sales representative:

We have some exciting updates regarding the administration of Promotions, Sweepstakes and Contests on Facebook that will help to streamline the process and make your lives a bit easier:

1. We no longer require prior written Facebook approval to administer a promotion on Facebook.
2. We no longer require a minimum media spend investment to support the promotion.

This means that you are not required to have a media campaign on Facebook to run a promotion, nor do you need to ask for approval on the contest T&Cs from the Facebook team. Please note that all promotions are still subject to our Promotion Guidelines (http://www.facebook.com/promotions_guidelines.php) and Facebook Platform Policies (http://developers.facebook.com/policy/), and that brands are responsible for ensuring that all contests fall within those guidelines.

In November of 2009 Facebook first announced changes to the promotions guidelines, requiring any company to get explicit approval from Facebook first. This does not mean that promotions which were previously rejected can now operate. As such, the following types of promotions are still not allowed:

• Photo contests which require profile photo manipulation
• Status update contests which require posting status updates for entry
• Contest entries once a user has become a fan

While we have no idea when these changes will take place, we’re assuming it’s imminent since this email was sent out this morning. We’ll have further updates once we hear back from Facebook.