How To Execute Promotions in Top Social Media Platforms

In today’s world, every brand wants to engage their brand advocates in social media. And there are a number of great ways to do just that, including promotions!

A word of caution though if you are planning to run a promotion within the social space: there are a number of rules, both from the FTC and the Social Platforms themselves, which must be kept in mind. 

Facebook

Facebook proves to be one of the most difficult platforms for running promotions. Facebook’s terms of use prevent brands from incentivizing anything that posts to a user’s wall. This means that promotions on Facebook must be contained to the brand’s Facebook page where commenting on or liking a promotional post could be required.

Even with these entry mechanisms, the winner outreach portion can prove difficult with a Facebook promotion. And because requiring page Likes/Follows is not allowed, that process becomes even more manual or time consuming. You should factor in time and effort when deciding which platforms to use. 

Twitter

Twitter can be leveraged for promotions in a variety of ways. Brands can incentivize shares on Twitter direct from a webpage, encourage hashtag usage, or request retweets/comments to brand content for entries. Twitter’s only request is that you not promote spammy behavior. You must require each entry posted to Twitter be unique - no copies or duplicates!

Instagram

Instagram is much like Twitter with the exception of the ability to share to Instagram direct from a webpage - you can only post via the app.

One thing to note is that Instagram has made it increasingly difficult to aggregate content via their API. We wouldn’t be surprised to see future changes that affect promotions in the near future.

Pinterest

Pinterest allows for shares direct from a webpage, but hashtag usage cannot be tracked on Pinterest. Also like most social platforms Pinterest discourages spammy behavior. As a result entries are limited to one per person. If executing a pin to win, a variety of images must be offered for users to pin (not just one) in an effort to be more authentic. 

After you have selected your platforms, don’t forget to reference the FTC requirements for advertising within social media - it still applies to sweepstakes! If you require users to post for entry, that post must include a designation which makes clear the post is for a sweepstakes/contest/promotion (i.e. includes #sweepstakes, #contest or #promotion). It is up to the brand to be clear in directing users to include such a designation. 

If you need help navigating social promotions, reach out to us! Brandmovers has a wealth of experience executing these promotions for some of the world’s largest brands. We are always happy to lend a hand!

Written By Kara Short