How to Run a Facebook or TikTok Giveaway
Facebook and TikTok both allow giveaways, but they fail in different ways. On Facebook the usual mistake is an entry rule that Meta does not allow. On TikTok it is a giveaway that looks like a scam to viewers and to the platform. This guide covers both, then the part they share: turning a comment section into a clean list and picking a winner people believe.
For the general process on any platform, including a rules template, see how to run a fair giveaway. Running the same giveaway on Instagram or YouTube? There are separate guides for Instagram, YouTube and Twitch.
Facebook: what Meta actually requires
Meta's rules for promotions on Pages, Groups and Events are short. As the organizer you must:
- Give participants the official rules and the terms for claiming the prize.
- Get a release of Meta from each participant, and state clearly that the promotion is not sponsored, endorsed, conducted or associated with Meta.
- Follow the law where you run the giveaway, including any registration your country requires. Meta does not help you run it.
The rule most giveaways break: a Facebook promotion must not require or encourage people to share, reshare, tag other users or publicize it in any other way. "Share this post and tag three friends to enter" is exactly what the rules exclude.
Entry methods that work on Facebook
| Entry method | Allowed? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Comment on the Page post | Yes | The easiest to check. Ask a question so comments are real answers. |
| React or like the post | Yes | Allowed, but a list of reactions is hard to copy and check. Comments are easier. |
| Message the Page | Yes | Private, so harder to show the draw was fair |
| Share the post | No | Not allowed as a requirement or a bonus entry |
| Tag friends | No | Not allowed as a requirement |
Run the giveaway from your Page, not a personal profile. Page posts are public and easy to point people back to after the draw.
TikTok: stay clear of looking like a scam
TikTok does not publish a single giveaway rulebook for ordinary accounts the way Meta does. What applies is its Community Guidelines, and those are strict about anything misleading. In practice that means:
- Say the terms on the video itself. The prize, who can enter, how to enter, the end date and how the winner is picked. Many people never open the caption.
- Keep entry free. Never ask for payment, a deposit or a "shipping fee".
- Turn on the content disclosure setting if the giveaway promotes a brand or a product, including your own. Undisclosed commercial content can lose its reach.
- Add the platform statement in the caption: the giveaway is not sponsored, endorsed or administered by TikTok.
- No fake urgency or promises. "Everyone who comments wins" or "only 10 minutes left" when it is not true is the kind of tactic TikTok treats as misleading.
If you sell through TikTok Shop, check the separate Shop giveaway policy for your country. In the United States, for example, it bans cash and gift cards as prizes and caps prize value.
TikTok LIVE giveaways
A live draw builds a lot of trust, because viewers watch it happen. Put the terms on screen as text for the whole stream, collect entries from the comments during a stated window, then close entries out loud before you draw. Comments posted after that moment do not count, and saying so on camera prevents arguments later.
Turning comments into a clean list
Neither Facebook nor TikTok gives free tools a public way to read the comments of a post. So no random picker can honestly connect to your post and fetch them. You collect the list yourself, which also means you can check it.
From TikTok
Copy the comments so each line starts with the username, like @maria.p can't wait!. In Instant Draw open Import → Paste comments, choose TikTok, and paste. The tool keeps the username at the start of each line, drops the comment text, and with Unique names only counts each person once. The preview shows the count before anything is added.
From Facebook
Facebook shows the person's full name on one line and their comment on the next, so a straight copy mixes names and comments. Clean it first:
- Paste the copied comments into a text editor.
- Keep only the names, one per line. Delete comment text, "Reply", timestamps and your own Page's replies.
- In Instant Draw choose Import → Paste comments with Plain List, or paste directly into the Spin Wheel.
For big giveaways with hundreds of comments, use a comment export tool that you sign in to with your own Page account, save the result as a CSV file, and load it with Import → TXT/CSV. The first column is used as the name.
Before you draw
- Check filtered comments. Both platforms can hide comments as spam. Look through them so real entries are not lost.
- Apply only your written rules. Remove duplicates if the rules say one entry per person, and remove your own team.
- Count the entries and say the number before the draw.
Picking the winner
- Start a screen recording, or go live.
- Show the list and the total.
- Use the Spin Wheel for one winner and a real moment on camera. With prizes in the inner ring, one spin shows the winner and the prize. For many winners, Instant Draw picks them in one click.
- Draw one or two backup winners in the same session, in order, in case the winner never replies.
- Post the recording or a short clip. On TikTok, the draw itself makes a good follow-up video.
Every result on GoPickaro is generated in your browser with cryptographically secure randomness, and the list is not uploaded to our servers. The fairness page explains how.
Contacting the winner safely
Warning: on both platforms, fake accounts copy the organizer's name and photo, then message entrants that they won and must pay a fee or open a link. Say in the caption that you will never ask for money, card details or login codes.
- Announce the winner publicly first: a reply to the winning comment and a new post or video.
- Contact them only from your official Page or account.
- Ask them to reply from the same account that entered.
- If there is no reply within the deadline in your rules, go to the first backup and announce it.
Quick checklist
- Rules written, with dates, time zone, eligibility and the platform statement
- Facebook: no share or tag requirement, run from a Page
- TikTok: terms on the video, disclosure setting on if it promotes a brand
- Plan for collecting and cleaning the comment list
- Backups and a reply deadline decided
- Scam warning in the caption
- Recording or live stream ready for the draw
Frequently asked questions
Can I ask people to share or tag friends on Facebook?
No. Meta's promotion rules do not allow requiring or encouraging shares or tags. Ask for a comment instead.
Does TikTok allow giveaways?
Yes, as long as the giveaway is not misleading and follows the Community Guidelines. Use the disclosure setting if it promotes a brand, and follow the Shop policy if you sell on TikTok Shop.
Can GoPickaro fetch Facebook or TikTok comments?
No. Paste a cleaned list or load a CSV. Automatic import is available for YouTube, with the YouTube comment picker.
Can I run one giveaway across Facebook, TikTok and Instagram?
Yes. Collect each list separately, then use Append to existing in the Paste comments window of Instant Draw. Say in the rules whether someone who enters on two platforms gets one entry or two.
Related guides
- How to run a fair giveaway: rules, entries you can check and a public draw, on any platform.
- How to use a giveaway wheel with prizes: prize quantities, odds and running the double wheel live.
- How to run a fair Instagram giveaway: what Instagram requires and how to collect entries.