So, without getting into a lot of mumble jumble, and knowing there's big Facebook changes coming soon, I set out to educate myself on blog giveaways....and here's the two pesos version...
A mandatory blog entry can be either a "just click", a "enter your email & acknowledge the terms/rules", or a very generic blog comment. It has to be basically a "freebie"......(and every giveaway has to have a 'freebie')
It cannot be a mandatory like on a social media account, a sign up for a newsletter, or a visit to a third-party site with a comment on a product left on a blog.
Now these can be 'optional' entries (for now***)....but mandatory is a no-no.
Why? Because even though there is no 'purchase' per se.....by doing those things, an entrant is doing something that is of a benefit to the blogger or brand/company.....an additional follower, another person on the newsletter list, or increased traffic to a website is a form of compensation....it does have value....
....and this makes a "no purchase necessary" giveaway............turn into an illegal lottery. Which has a whole host of other legalities, that I don't think bloggers dealing in $20+ items want to deal with!
NOW....having said that...these things are perfectly okay as optional entries....AS LONG AS...the optional entries aren't valued at more than the freebie mandatory. Example...you can't have a 'just click to enter' valued at 1 entry...but the 'like me on Instagram' be valued at 5. Everyone has to have the same initial shot....if people want to increase odds by fulfilling the other optional entries - or come back every day for the other freebie entries....that's fine.
This is why you've seen that I've changed the value of everything to 5 entry points.
Re: "for now*** ON NOVEMBER 5, Facebook is disallowing ANY type of Facebook like on a giveaway.....whether it is mandatory OR optional......"Like Gating" across the board will be against their TOS. They want to see only 'organic' likes...meaning "I like your page because I like you" (not because you're giving me something in return for it). I personally feel they are doing this more for $....as in they will find a way to charge people to have people like their pages (just like you can pay them to advertise your page or pay them to 'boost' your post for more people to see)....
Rafflecopter will be doing away with the option to do anything FB related some time in October.
Now, does this mean you can't like someone's page on Facebook? Of course not...it just can't be connected to gaining an entry somehow. Can a blogger write "If you've enjoyed this post and would like to be kept up to date on more like it, you can follow me on FB"....Yes....as long as it's not connected to a 'you give me this, you get that' type of scenario (a like/an entry)
It's still not allowed to ask for a Google+ follow or have an entry for a re-pin on Pinterest
There are a lot of tweaks coming (or should be) from bloggers who run giveaways - and it seems the rules always get changed/updated......so if you enter giveaways, just bear with us as we get used to how things need to be done.
If you'd like to read more about specific rules concerning Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, and more - Attorney Sara Hawkins has a wonderful series of articles on her website that are very helpful.
Bloggers, you can also find some really helpful guidance at Pink Heels Pink Truck - where she really breaks things down in a much easier to understand way than I probably just did!
It's all confusing and no doubt some people will continue to either run contests with 'like this', 'follow on G+', and 'pin this' options, or interpret the rules another way than I do. There are many schools of thought on this, and many cases of 'well I didn't know' (I mean, I didn't know up until recently).....but whether you have 10 followers or 10,000, we all have to follow the rules and it's our responsibility to keep up with all the changes - and there are many that happen constantly. There have also been bloggers who have had their blog shut down or their Facebook closed....and that's just a lot of hard work down the drain.
SO....there's a little explanation as to why you'll be seeing some changes coming to this blog, and others, in the near future! Any of the links above are great resources that cover the topics very well.
If you really like someone's blog, I would urge you to take a minute to follow them on their social media sites - even if it's not for an entry. More followers will benefit you as a reader or as a sweeper because companies do look at numbers of followers when they're looking for blogs to work with.....so by supporting blogs you like, you're also helping them be seen by brands who can then bring you nicer products for giveaways & reviews! It's a win-win-win situation!
Thank you to GiGi Parker for which I wouldn't have known I have been doing it wrong. BUMMER!
1 comment:
I always knew that Facebook would ask for something new as in regards to keeping us from getting more likes. Now if you want more likes they have to be 'organic'?? What a funny way of putting "If you want more likes, give us the money to boost your page!"
What about asking for entries for follow on Networked Blogs? That goes right into someone's Facebook feed doesn't it?
Post a Comment