Wednesday, 15 May 2013

Facebook Jail: Can You Get Out?

By Ken Acree


There is a great deal of controversy these days about the idea of Facebook Jail. Some people claim that it does not exist. The truth is that it most certainly does exist, even if Facebook does not technically call it jail. By whatever name you want to call it, the story is always the same. You need to STAY OUT!

Why should it matter to you? If you are only a casual user of the service, then it may not matter much. It could be seen as a minor annoyance, but not much else. However, if you are a marketer, then being put into Facebook Jail could be viewed as a death blow for your business. Because Facebook is one of the two leading highest traffic sites online, it is critical to the success of your business that you have a presence with the social network.

Occasionally I will hear an argument that Facebook is acting in an unfair manner by putting users in jail. This is a silly position, in my opinion. No one is required to use the service and they are allowed to have rules. It makes much more sense to learn to follow their guidelines than to sit on the sidelines and whine.

So what can you do to avoid landing in this form of online purgatory? We will discuss three tips that will help to keep you in the clear. These are to act naturally, never spam, and learn to engage your audience.

Acting naturally should not be all that difficult, should it? So many marketers get into way too big a hurry to cram their offers down peoples throats. Develop real friendships and relationships and you will be rewarded.

Don't send spam! Do you like spam? I'm guessing that the answer is, "No." If you don't like it, why would anybody else? Sending spam is a sign of desperation. You won't get sales, but you will get kicked out of Facebook.

Be engaging. Encourage audience participation at all times. Ask questions. When you do this you bank a lot of goodwill with the social sites. When you engage others you will develop a following. You will be viewed as a marketing leader rather than a spam artist.

Bottom Line: You can stay out of Facebook Jail if you use the platform the way it was intended. Us it as a platform to get social and connect with others, not primarily as a soap box for you to stand on and pitch product to anyone within earshot.




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