Thinking of running a Pinterest contest? The rules just got a little more stringent.
In a post on the company blog
, Kevin Knight writes that Pinterest will no longer allow contests that:
• Suggest that Pinterest sponsors or endorses them or the promotion
• Require people to pin from a selection (like a website or list of pins)
• Make people pin the contest rules
• Run a sweepstakes where each pin, board, “like” or follow represents an entry
• Encourage spammy behavior, such as asking participants to comment
• Ask to vote with pins, boards or likes
• Require a minimum number of pins
For a while, Pinterest was the wild west of social media contests, while Facebook made it as prohibitive as possible. In late August, Facebook eased up a bit, no longer requiring third-party apps to create a promotion
[RELATED: Learn why you need a content marketing plan at our December content marketing boot camp.]
Knight smartly reminds marketers, “contests are just a tactic and shouldn’t replace a long-term Pinterest strategy.”
Maybe this is tough love.