Facebook Page Rules and Facebook promotional guidelines for Pages

There are a lot of rules to think about when trying to make business work for you on Facebook. Sometimes it is difficult to understand all how the different documents correlate with each other and if you can do this or that. I have previously written a post about what you must know about the Facebook guidelines. This post takes aim at talking more specifically about what you can and cannot do with a Facebook page.

Where can I find all the rules that govern Facebook Pages?

There are a series of rules you have to consider:

• Facebook Promotions Guidelines
• Facebook statement of rights and responsibilities
• Facebook Advertising Guidelines
• Facebook Pages Terms
• Facebook Platform Policies

1. Rules about creating and managing a Facebook Page

a. Who is allowed to create a Facebook page?

It is stated in the Facebook Pages Terms that “you may only administer a Facebook Page if you are an authorized representative of the subject of the Page“. Further Facebook says that Pages “may only be used to promote a business or other commercial, political, or charitable organization or endeavor (including non-profit organizations, political campaigns, bands, and celebrities)“.

b. Can I create a fake Facebook account to create my page?

The direct and most simple answer to this question is NO. This is stated in Facebook advertising guidelines 1 a) and in Facebook statement of rights and responsibilities 4.1 You are not allowed to create fake accounts on Facebook. The thing is that Facebook wants all accounts to be “real” in the sense that they carry the same name and interests and connections that you do in real life.

For Pages, in contrast with groups or applications, your personal identity is never revealed to the fan of the page. There is neither something called “creator” which can never be removed, and thus anyone at your company can go ahead and create the page. They can then add other administrators. If they decide to leave your company you can simply remove their administrative rights although they are the ones who created the Facebook Page.

c. Can I change the name or the URL of my Facebook page?

Yes,  you can change the name and the URL of your Facebook page if you have enough money to bribe Facebook. This is a fact although they tend to say no to normal users. For bigger brands this is an option and you are always able to contact your local Facebook sales representative and get this done for you if you have a large enough media spend on the platform.

For us normal and deadly users, the answer is sadly no as we do not have the resources to change page names.

d. Can I get my brand name if someone else is using it on a Facebook Page?

Yes. You do this by setting up your own page and then contacting Facebook either through the “Report/Abuse” functionality or contact your local representative. It is not allowed to operate a Facebook page to which you do not have the rights. You may not use brands, that includes Facebook in your Facebook Page name.

e. Can I create my own set of rules for the users of my Facebook Page?

No, you cannot set any other rules for your page else than the rules provided by Facebook. There is one exception and that is the rule for deleting comments on your wall. This is stated in the Facebook Pages terms.

2. Rules about promoting a Facebook page

a. How can I promote my Facebook page?

You can promote your Facebook page in a variety of ways. Facebook finally gave into pressure by removing their rule against running promotions without their prior consent and media purchases. When boiled down, you can run promotions in three different ways though.

• Paying for advertising
• Building an application
• Engaging in viral dialog with your fans

Within these categories there are sub tactics such as promote a post, social ads vs. normal ads, post to wall application features etc. You should have a deeper look into your media plan and select the kind of promotion you think will suit you the best, but that is not for this tutorial to sort out.

b. Will I get banned if I buy fans to my Facebook page?

No, there are no rules as to whether or not you can “buy fans” to your Facebook page. The only problem is that these fans are virtually useless and the cost for buying fans is virtually the same as for running a good advertising campaign on Facebook. I would recommend you put up a narrow advertising campaign with a CPC budget attached to it so that you can control your costs/fan easily. This will lead to more engaged and active fans than if you buy advertising in external newsletters/seeding programs.

c. How can I promote offers and run promotions on my Facebook page wall?

According to the new guidelines you can. The only restriction you have is set forth by point 8 in Facebook Pages Terms. “If you display any content on your Page that is an ad or could be construed as an ad, that content must comply with the ad requirements of the Advertising Guidelines“.

I strongly advise you to read these guidelines through. I mean REALLY read them through. Especially from point 15 and onwards. It really helps your creative mind with some barriers to land within.

3. Rules about Facebook Pages and Applications

a. Where can I promote my application on the Facebook Page?

You may promote your application on a Facebook tab, through a Facebook ad or by posting the link to the application on your wall.

b. Can I store and use the user data I obtain from my Facebook Application?

Yes and no. The exact rules for this are stated in the II point of the Facebook development policy page. Some of the more important facts are:

• You will only request the data you need to operate your application.
• Improve user experience and you should try to keep the data up to date.
• You will have a privacy policy that tells users what user data you are going to use
• For all other data obtained through use of the Facebook API, you must obtain explicit consent from the user who provided the data to us before using it for any purpose other than displaying it back to the user on your application.
• You may not directly or indirectly transfer any data you receive from Facebook to any thrid party Ad network, regardless if you have the users consent to do so
• You have to delete all data you receive from Facebook concerning a user if the user asks you to do so. You have to make this easy for the user to do.
• You may not not include data you receive from us concerning a user in any advertising creative, even if a user consents to such use. (This includes images, text, or other such information or materials.)

If you have any other questions I will find the answer and add to this tutorial. Please ask in the comments.

Possibly related posts:

• Related posts on Facebook Pages
• Facebook Marketing – Creating Attractive Fan Pages | Chris Swyer
• Get More From Your Facebook Fan Page with Simple SEO Methods …

• Related posts on Facebook Rules
• Rules Haven't Silenced All Advisors « AdvisorTweets™ Blog
• How long does it take Facebook to delete a reported group?