Everything (Else) You Need to Know about Facebook's Like-Gate Ban

It's been a few months since Facebook's ban on Like-Gating went into effect. But as a customer agent here at ShortStack, I continue to get many questions about the ban and what it means for marketers. We've covered some of the most commonly asked questions in past posts, including:

• Facebook Bans Like-Gating: Here's What Marketers Can Do
• 10 Things to Know About Facebook's Like-Gate Ban

And here's Facebook's official policy change, published last August.But, just to clear the air, I thought I'd address some Frequently Asked Questions we've recently received about this. Here goes:

Q: What is the Like-Gate ban?

A: Facebook announced in August 2014 that Like-Gating, also known as Fan-Gating, would be disabled in November 2014. They made this change to dissuade Pages from focusing so much on Likes. We've said before that we think this is a good thing.To clarify, Like/Fan-gating is when you require a user to Like your Page to enter a contest. For example, this would be hiding a form from people who aren't Fans of the Page, or using Liking as a way to enter a promotion. Facebook now requires that all Campaign/promotion content be visible to all users, regardless of if they have Liked your Page or not.While this might seem frustrating to marketers who want to gather more Likes on their Pages, keep in mind that Likes don't necessarily equate to engagement. The best engagement comes from great content, not number of followers.

Q: OK, but... I am still using Like-Gating on my Campaign and it doesn't work anymore!

A: We updated our platform to comply with Facebook's policy change last autumn. If you have a Campaign that once used Fan/Like-Gating, it will no longer work. To make sure your Campaign will function smoothly, please remove any remaining Like-Gating options.There aren't any workarounds for this, either. We don't suggest trying to get around this, anyway, as Facebook will disable your app if they think it's not complying with their rules. I don't say this to scare you; we just want your Campaigns to be as successful as possible!

Q: Wait, what the heck? So, what can I do instead?

A: A lot, actually!Action-GateIncrease engagement with your Page and your Campaign by using Action-Gating. For instance, have a user submit their email address before they can vote in a photo contest. Or prompt a user to share the Campaign after entering your promotion. Using Action-Gating keeps users interacting with your Campaign and allows you to receive more valuable data from them.

‍Publish to the web

‍When you create a ShortStack Campaign--or any type of promotion--making it available beyond your Facebook Page gives you a much larger reach. You can also share your Campaign to other networks beyond just Facebook, or you can do this in conjunction with publishing to your Facebook Page.

‍Run an awesome promotion, and use the Like Widget

‍If you've created a stellar Campaign for your target audience, the Likes will come organically, and you won't have to worry about them unliking your Page after the promotion is over. You can also add our Like Widget to encourage participants to Like your Page; this complies with Facebook's policy because it's voluntary and doesn't impact a user's status in a contest.If you still have questions about this, feel free to contact us at theteam@shortstacklab.com!