Recently, Facebook made an API change to brand pages that prevents a new custom application (also called a custom tab) from being added to a brand page if that brand page has less than 2,000 followers. This means that if you are starting a new Facebook page for your brand or business, or if you a small brand, and you want to add a custom application (i.e. a sweepstakes form on your Facebook page), you won’t be able to do it until you get at least 2,000 followers. While this doesn’t hurt large, established brands, it does impact smaller brands and new brands that might have used a custom sweepstakes on Facebook to build up their follower base.

There are still ways you can run sweepstakes on your Facebook page, either with sweepstakes that ask for comments to a post, or posts onto your brand page. And you can always run a sweepstakes on a web form hosted outside of Facebook.

Since Facebook has a history of making changes without warning developers and brands, even big brands should think twice before building a campaign around a Facebook custom application if Facebook has already blocked smaller brands from doing it. You could develop something that is working one day; and not working the next.

More can be found in Facebook’s change information for developers.

And for help building a successful promotion on Facebook for you brand – small or large – contact us . We can help you build social engagement and generate sales leads with sweepstakes, contests and other promotions.

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