Facebook has yet again updated its terms and conditions, and they have been actively cracking down on page violations. They have also been catching and penalizing fake likes on Facebook pages. Is your business Facebook page ready for Facebook’s new page terms and conditions? In this article I’ll explain how to make sure your page won’t get its content removed or worse, be suspended.
Facebook updates its terms and conditions quite frequently, so make sure to check the latest page guidelines here.
Cover Photos
Facebook has been cracking down on cover photos in violation of their terms. Cover photos are required to have no more that 20% words, and they they must not contain copyrighted material that you do not have the rights to use. Cover photos, it seems, are meant to be a purely decorative element of your page.
You can’t use your cover photo to list any promotion or sales info. With its prime real estate on a Facebook page, many companies have used cover photos to display promotions, but this could now result in removal of your cover photo.
Facebook no longer allows you to place any call-to-action in your cover photo, such as asking users to ‘like’ or ‘share’ your page. You also cannot put your business contact details on your cover photo.
This limits your capabilities with your cover photo quite a bit – you can still share this content on your page information and through posts, but it is frustrating to lose such prime page space for sharing information and promoting your company.
Updated Privacy Controls
Facebook has again updated its user privacy controls, now requiring that all users be searchable on the search page. While this has caused some outcry on the user end, this change is actually great for brands and businesses.
This means greater access to Facebook’s user base for better targeted advertising and social media marketing. More users that are searchable means more data to collect. This can help deliver more relevant information to a better-targetted audience.
Promotion Rules
Facebook has updated its rules for promotions on the site, and now restricts you from running any promotion that makes use of most of Facebook’s social features. For example, you can no longer promote by asking users to ‘share’ or ‘like’ a page or a post, or offer incentives for using these features. You also can’t use the ‘like’ button as a way of voting for contests or promotions.
This eliminates a very commonly used tactic for wall promotions and contests. There are many ways you could design contests and promotions using Facebook’s various API features, but this is a much more involved process.
Page Name and Properties
Facebook is also cracking down on page properties and company information. A Facebook page for a business must be a properly configured “page” page – it cannot be a profile or user page. This is rough for companies that have had their company profiles since before Facebook’s pages were introduced.
Your page must also be accurately named – using the actual name of your business without additional keywords or phrases. It must also include accurate information about your business.
Facebook Ads
Terms and Conditions for Facebook ads are updated quite frequently, so make sure to check the latest ad guidelines. Similar to page promotion and contest guidelines, you cannot create advertisements that create a call-to-action using facebook’s features like ‘share’ or ‘like’.
Facebook Updates Terms Frequently
Remember that Facebook updates its rules frequently, so make sure to read up on the latest guidelines to keep your page in line with the current requirements. If your page does not comply with Facebook’s terms or conditions, you could risk removal of your property or worse – possible suspension of your page.
What do you need to do to make sure you comply with Facebook’s T&C’s? Have you had any issues with Facebook removing your content?
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