Facebook promotion is not a simple thing. Not reading the rules and knowing local laws can lead to a Facebook ban. In some cases, the marketer can be charged for running an unlawful promotion. The following tips will help you avoid common and costly mistakes.

1. “Like this page for a chance at a free vacation!” may be against the rules.

Facebook’s official rules say, “The act of liking a Page or checking in to a Place cannot automatically register or enter a promotion participant.” These promotions are popular, especially among big businesses. However, a company using this strategy to get likes or publicity runs the risk of getting banned from Facebook.

2. Sweden’s laws are greater than Facebook.

People in Sweden, India, Belgium, Norway, and a few other countries cannot participate in sweepstakes. If your business lets residents from such countries enter a promotional giveaway on Facebook, it is breaking a law. No one wants to anger a rich foreign country. For simplicity’s sake, only allow residents of your own country to enter and win a prize.

3. Notify the winner by telephone or email.

If you have to contact a winner, do it by telephone or email. It is against the website’s rules to post on the winner’s wall or send them a Facebook message.

4. Talk with Facebook before starting a promotion campaign.

Facebook likes to clear each promotion before it starts. This can require spending a certain amount of money on Facebook advertising to reach a Facebook rep. Small businesses sometimes cannot spend $10,000 on social networking ads. Because of this, Sara Inés Calderón of Inside Facebook says that Facebook promotions are not for every small business.

5. Never say you have partnered with Facebook.

A lot of companies refuse to affiliate themselves with other businesses when it comes to ads. Facebook is one such company. Their guidelines say that you should not call them a partner. For example, saying “We have partnered with Facebook to bring you this app!” is against their rules.

6. Keep your fans up-to-date.

The Social Maximizer, a professional bookmarking service, advises small businesses to keep updating their pages. Stale fan pages are boring and do not encourage visitors to come back.

7. Lastly, remember that your Facebook audience is of all ages.

It is a common misconception that only young people use Facebook. Statistics show that over 60% of Facebook is at least 35 years old. A good Facebook promotion campaign is written with this in mind.

Like all marketing tools, promoting on Facebook takes time. Do not get discouraged when sales remain the same for the first months. In addition, do not tempt fate and Facebook’s staff by breaking their rules, even if you see other companies doing it. Play by the rules to get the most out of your time and money.

About: Daniela Baker is a social media advocate at the credit card comparison website, CreditDonkey. She helps entrepreneurs find low interest business credit cards with rewards they’ll actually use.