Facebook eases up on promotions and contest restrictions. Good news for marketers.

For those of us who build brands and communities on Facebook, the ability to run promotions was always a hurdle. Excessive rules and the ultimate penalty of (Page) death for violations has sent many a marketer scurrying.

Fear not! Facebook has updated its terms to make it easier for businesses to create and administer promotions.

For one, they removed app-only requirement. This means many brands won’t be required to fork over hundreds or even thousands of dollars to a third party to run a contest. Companies can also now collect contest entries via post on the Page or post comment/like, or via messages to the Page. They can also use Likes to vote. Woohoo!

With a relaxing of process and rules, you will definitely see more promotions and contests on Facebook. Now it’s time to work on some really compelling contests and content!

See the Facebook help site for more information.