Many companies use giveaways as a way to market their products and services. But, “giveaways” aren’t actually a legal term. Instead, they are usually a contest or sweepstakes. And, there are a lot of laws that can impact your business if you host this type of promotion. 

In this episode, I discuss what a giveaway is and how to protect your business if you host one, including what you need to include in the official rules and regulations. I also talk about how to handle certain social media platforms when marketing your giveaway.

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In this episode:

[02:24] - “Giveaway” isn’t a legal term, so you have to determine exactly what you mean by it. Are you running a sweepstakes, contest, or lottery?

[04:06] - The laws that apply to giveaways can be complicated, and there’s no single federal law to cover them all. You also need to be aware of the FTC’s rules.

[05:19] - Danielle discusses the different laws that apply to contest and sweepstakes promotions.

[06:30] - Some states like Florida, New York, and Rhode Island have additional requirements.

[07:36] - Most states require that a business disclose the material terms of the promotion (a.k.a. the official rules and regulations). These also protect you from liability.

[08:33] - What should you include in the official rules of your giveaway? Danielle reveals what you need if you’re running a sweepstakes.

[10:21] - If you’re running a contest, your rules should have everything you’d include for a sweepstakes in addition to these couple of things.

[11:32] - Running a contest requires you to look at intellectual property in these two ways.

[12:54] - Danielle gets into some of the legal language clauses that come with running a giveaway.

[14:01] - How should you handle different social media platform requirements when hosting and promoting your giveaway?

[16:07] - Danielle recaps the steps you need to take to legally host a giveaway.

 

Links & Resources:

Episode 44: “FTC Disclosures”

Episode 45: “Using Testimonials”

Facebook Terms and Policies for promotions

Instagram Promotion Guidelines

Pinterest Guidelines for Community and Advertising

Guidelines for Promotion on Twitter

Snapchat Promotions Rules

Tiktok Terms of Service

Businessese

Liss Legal