A short break from my Twitter tips to share a rant about Facebook.
I have a lot of fun with Facebook. Never before have we been able to connect with such a variety of individuals at the same time, yet I feel that some are not partaking in it as intended by shamelessly promoting their companies. I would even go as far as calling a friend request from a business SPAM because it's an unsolicited electronic message. For people who want a business page, Facebook has a "fan" page option for people to invite their friends to become fans of their company. The process is simple. First establish who you are (make it personal - about YOU), then find your friends and make new ones. Once someone verifies your friendship & you have connected with each other, invite these friends to become fans of your business.
Some of us play by the rules by not only inviting friends to become fans, but actually paying for advertising on there. While I applaud the spirit of guerrilla marketing that these business owners use to buck the system & blindly invite people to "friend" their businesses profile, I'm disappointed that they're bending the rules at the expense of those of us who follow them. On your company's fan page, you're allowed to post anything you want about your business. It's the best way to let people know about your address, phone, website, hours & special promotions. By becoming fans of your company, your friends are letting you know they want to hear about these things.
I know times are tough, but abusing Facebook's friend system will cost you more people than it will gain. Keep that in mind with every message you post. Remember that Facebook has a "hide" feature that will shield ALL your posts from your friends. You may think because you see everything they post that the feeling is mutual, but they may have hidden you from view long ago for any reason. I used to accept anyone's friend request & immediately hide those who post too often about business (some about politics too, but that's for another entry). So think about all the quality messages I missed because someone thought they found the next best advertising tool since cable TV.
Get in touch with me or visit TheWebSystem.com if you want to learn more about using social media for your business. If administered correctly, you'll not only find true fiends, you'll find some of the most loyal customers anywhere.
Interesting read, and one I much agree with. I've not allowed Facebook in my life until just this past year and only due to the business need. I've called Facebook the social awkward site. One reason is because of all the people that have not been inside your social circle......and for good reason.....an X, someone you never liked, someone that never liked you and it showed, or finding out information you had not intended for someone else to find out.....and so much more.
ReplyDeleteBusiness on the scene now creates a whole new world to Facebook and your information. My business Facebook is set up as a "like" system, no friends. I think as a business it creates greater challenges and I could have a greater following if it were on the friend system. The rules have changed. Times are different and new rules need to be written. It makes it tough as things keep changing. It's much like the wild west out there these days. Sure there are specialist in social media you can hire, and get good advice, but things move just too fast in my opinion for anyone to really keep up on and know how society will respond. Good read and shameless self promotion is getting more shameless and ramped.
Thanks for the comment. Sorry I haven't been monitored this blog, so I missed it until now. I will gladly be friends with a person, but a "friend" request from a business is pretty much SPAM.
ReplyDelete