Social Media Giveaway Guidelines

Have you ever scrolled through Facebook or Instagram and came upon an exciting giveaway for your favorite bath bomb or that set of pens that fits just perfectly on your desk? Giveaways are such a great opportunity to engage new clients and continue your relationship with existing clients! In order to create a successful giveaway for your biz, it’s important that you know the guidelines to follow for it to be something that excites your clients but ALSO is legit!

Here are the steps I suggest you take to make your giveaways legal:

1. Be as clear as possible

It’s important to provide your followers with all the information possible. We like to follow the simple guide of Who, What, When, and How?

• Who is eligible to win?
• What exactly is the giveaway for?
• When is the deadline to apply?
• How do you win?

2. Pick your product wisely

Make sure that your followers know that you are providing the product you are using. Let them know that you are not providing this product with a sponsorship from that company. This product can be something as big as a car (see next point for this one) and something as small as our favorite relaxer, a bath bomb. You don’t need to break the bank to show people that you care about their excitement in your company.

3. Check your state laws before you post!

Some States such as New York, Florida and Rhode Island have laws where you can’t giveaway products past a certain value. Make sure that you are abiding by the laws and that you register your giveaway if it is past the limit.

4. Follow the guidelines of the social media platform that you are using

Instagram and Facebook layout requirements for a businesses when facilitating a giveaway that can include anything from making sure the promo is on a business page instead of a private page, to making sure your audience knows that Instagram is not involved in the giveaway of the product. For Instagram, make sure you follow these three steps:

• Step 1: Make sure you write up the giveaway's official rules on your website and share that in the link in your bio. Include in this your giveaway's offer terms and eligibility requirements. Put in your giveaway post that people can see the official rules in your link in bio!
• Step 2: Do not inaccurately tag people in your post. So, first be SURE you are tagging all the vendors correctly. Then, if you ask your followers to tag someone in the comments, I always suggest limiting the number of people to 1-3 people so the tagging doesn't get out of control and you don't get in trouble with Insta.
• Step 3: Make sure you indicate in your post that Instagram is not affiliated with your giveaway. You can say something like: "This giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Instagram. By entering, entrant confirms they are age 18 or older, or has parental permission, releases Instagram and all brands of responsibility, and agrees to Instagrams terms of use." You can also tack this sentence on to capture some states that do not allow giveaways on social media or want you to explain that no purchase is necessary: "Void where prohibited by law and no purchase necessary."

Make sure to check out the promotional guidelines on Instagram and Facebook before you post your giveaway! In sum, remember to make your giveaways something that excites your followers and makes them want to engage with you, but ALSO complies with your platform. After all, who doesn’t like a fun freebie?!?!

 

Learn about disclosures for social media HERE.