Incentivize Share: Dos & Don'ts
Facebook’s platform policy prohibits rewarding customers for sharing your content, liking your Page, or tagging friends. This article explains what is and is not allowed.
You must not incentivize people to use social plugins or to like a Page. This includes offering rewards, or gating apps or app content based on whether or not a person has liked a Page. It remains acceptable to incentivize people to login to your app, checkin at a place or enter a promotion on your app’s Page. To ensure quality connections and help businesses reach the people who matter to them, we want people to like Pages because they want to connect and hear from the business, not because of artificial incentives. We believe this update will benefit people and advertisers alike.
Facebook platform’s policy
Facebook wants users to share and engage because they genuinely want to — not because they were offered a reward. Facebook’s Page Groups and Events Policies state under “Administration of a Promotion”:
Personal Timelines and friend connections must not be used to administer promotions (ex: “share on your Timeline to enter” or “share on your friend’s Timeline to get additional entries,” and “tag your friends in this post to enter” are not permitted).
Facebook prohibits rewarding people for sharing your contest or giveaway on their Timeline, on a friend’s Timeline, or by tagging someone.
DON’TS
Section titled “DON’TS”❌ Do not give anything in exchange for posting to Facebook — no vouchers, discounts, virtual goods, achievements, access to content, or extra contest entries.
❌ Do not reward people for liking your Page, or suggest that liking your Page will earn them a benefit.
DON’TS EXAMPLES
Section titled “DON’TS EXAMPLES”
❌ Example 1: This app violates policy by giving people a chance to win $50,000 if they post on Facebook.
❌ Example 2: This app violates policy by promising a gift of milk if people post on Facebook.
❌ Example 3: This game violates policy by offering 200,000 in-game coins in exchange for liking the game’s Page.
❌ Example 4: The left example violates policy because the app blocks video access unless users post a link on Facebook. The right example violates policy by giving points for every friend invited to the app.
✅ Reward people for logging in to your app using Facebook.
✅ Reward people for checking in at your location on Facebook.
✅ Use referral rewards to bring awareness to your app — for example, give free in-game items or discounts for every friend who installs your game through someone’s post.
DO’S EXAMPLES
Section titled “DO’S EXAMPLES”
✅ Example 1: This app does not violate policy by offering free Wi-Fi to people who log in with Facebook.
✅ Example 2: This business does not violate policy by giving popcorn to people who check in on Facebook.
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