Both can be an effective way to promote your business (or a customer`s business) as long as you avoid lotteries. A lottery is about paying for a chance to win. If you charge a fee for people to participate in your promotion, your “gift” has just turned into an illegal lottery. What many people struggle to understand is to understand that paying for a chance to win doesn`t necessarily mean dollars and cents from a legal standpoint. This can mean how long it takes you to comment on a blog post, fill out a questionnaire, or like a person`s Facebook page. Basically, anything beyond filling out a very simple survey that indicates where the participant can be contacted if they win could be considered “pay to play” in some states, and therefore your gift would be illegal. Select an image related to the campaign theme/content. In the legend of your participation in the contest, add the above terms and conditions and the legal notice. That`s it, some information to help you define the rules of your next Instagram contest. I want to emphasize that this is not legal advice – be sure to inquire about competition law in your area before conducting a competition. Are gifts legal on Instagram? The short answer is yes.

The long answer is, if you follow the following guidelines, use common sense for anyone who runs an online business and is fair and clear to all your followers, your Instagram contest will be completely legal! Some people are convinced that given the thousands of illegal gifts that take place, they will never be singled out by the FTC. There`s some truth to this: you might be “hiding in the crowd” for a while, but eventually someone will have problems with you for some reason — whether or not that reason is legitimately based on concerns about the legality of your contests — and they could simply file a complaint with the FTC asking them to investigate you. Keeping your Instagram contest rules simple will reduce barriers to entry. If you need a huge wall of text rules – for legal or other reasons – place it in a subfolder of your website and link it in your bio. Leave a CTA in the caption of your contest that says something like “For full contest rules, check out the link in our bio.” Instead of focusing on what “everyone” is getting away with, focus your attention on innovations in the social media space. Create merit-based contests that are fun, engaging, and legal. Create lasting relationships with your audience by inviting them to participate in a meaningful way (rather than just “liking” your Facebook page or Instagram post). It`s pretty easy to launch your Instagram contest without getting into trouble with the law.

You just need to be aware of the different types of “contests” you can and can`t do. Remember that Sotrender is not a law firm! We can only offer a brief summary. Be sure to get proper legal advice and advice from a qualified person if you are unsure of the law in your country. Stay determined, even in the face of everyone who is doing things wrong. When the law arrives in town, your nose will be clean and you will have built trust with your audience in the meantime. As a bonus, you`ll also save money on legal fees because you won`t have to defend against an FTC enforcement action. As a lawyer who has become an educator, I often talk to groups about the legal aspects of social media and marketing. One topic that always raises questions is that of competitions. The sea of rules and regulations that marketers, brands, and bloggers have to go through is largely unexplored and sometimes frightening. The different types of promotions on social networks.

Sweepstakes and contests (legal in the U.S.) are both popular options, while lotteries (banned in the U.S. unless introduced at the state level) and sweepstakes (a type of lottery for nonprofits) have restricted use on social media. Currently, raffles are legal in 47 of the 50 states with various restrictions. The states that completely ban raffles are Alabama, Hawaii and Utah. To find out what you need to do to hold a legal sweepstakes, you need to check your state`s sweepstakes laws. 4. Instagram`s affiliation – or lack thereof – is clearly stated that Instagram`s lack of approval must be reported for legal reasons. Instagram usually has NO connection to contests hosted on the platform, and this must be done in writing, somewhere within your contest`s rules. Instagram requires you to conduct your contest legally to ensure that you are not violating any federal, state, or other laws that apply to your area. In addition, Instagram requires you to include the official contest rules and terms and conditions.

My answer is always the same: just because Blogger X does not make it legal. In fact, even if all bloggers except you made gifts this way, all those gifts would still be against the law. With that in mind, there are three types of sweepstakes/contests in the US and UK. Two of them are legal, and one of them is illegal. Sweepstakes: Sweepstakes are gifts where participants can purchase tickets to participate. However, if you`re a for-profit business, raffles are strictly taboo. They are only legal if non-profit organizations use them as a means of raising funds. A lottery is the last type of competition. Unlike sweepstakes, lotteries require consideration of the participant, chance and a prize.

However, if you`re running an Instagram contest, don`t run a lottery! Private lotteries are illegal in many places – it`s not worth taking the risk of running them on your Instagram account. 6. Correct marking and mention of sponsors or partner brands In order for the contest to remain legal and fair and also benefit both parties, the correct mention of sponsors or partners must be listed somewhere. Sweepstakes are the most common type of contest in which participants win a prize based solely on chance. No purchase or payment (known in law as consideration) may be required for participation. This is very important – consideration can involve a lot of time or effort spent by participants on a task that benefits the promoter. In some states, even contact information can be considered to be used for marketing purposes – so read your state`s laws to make sure what you`re doing is legal! Let`s take a look at the 7 rules you need to follow to ensure the legality of your own competition. Instagram advises all users to run contests or giveaways legally, so be sure to inquire about your state or its laws that might apply to your area. In addition, if you have a gift or contest, you must officially indicate the rules and eligibility requirements. 7.

The rules of participation are clearly stated and followedYou must clearly indicate all the above rules in an easily accessible place on your contest page. Failure to clearly define the terms and conditions or competition rules is both unfair and – in some situations – may be illegal. It`s pretty easy when it comes to legal language, but let`s go over some of the most important points here so they`re clear. A gift is technically not a legal term at all, but it can be used interchangeably with the term raffle in blog posts or conversations. However, if you use legal terms (for example, in your rules and regulations), you must use a contest or sweepstakes. 2. Use “Invalid where prohibited” and “No purchase required”. “Invalid where it`s forbidden” means that wherever your promotion would be illegal, people are not eligible to win. “No purchase needed” is a way to avoid turning your gift into an illegal lottery by allowing people who haven`t bought anything, filled out your survey, liked your Facebook page, etc. Instagram gifts are perfectly legal if you adhere to Instagram`s advertising policies.

First, although people often refer to their gift as a “contest” or “sweepstakes,” each word means something different from a legal standpoint.