Facebook is no longer a just a tool for connecting with your friends. Recently, many businesses have also added Facebook pages to help them find and relate to their customers. While this is beneficial for a variety of reasons it can also have a negative effect on the businesses which abuse their networking power.
Recently I “liked” a business on Facebook that I am interested in. I have bought their product before and thoroughly enjoyed it, but, because it is a specialty item that is somewhat difficult to find, have not purchased it again. I became a friend of the business on Facebook to show my support for them and to make finding the product easier (store locators, give-aways, free shipping, and other conveniences offered to “friends” of the business).
I have never regretted something so much.
This business was obnoxious. Every three hours, almost on the minute, they post a new status or video or link or something-else-I-don’t-really-care-about. Within a few days, there was so many of their posts in my news feed that I could not see anything else. Easy enough to fix, all I had to do was hide them from my news-feed….right? Wrong. Their next step was to start sending me messages in my inbox. Twice a day I received an inbox message.
And then it got worse.
I was on Facebook, minding my own business, when my chat popped up. They were trying to instant message me on Facebook. Now granted it was not an actual person trying to talk to me, just a link posted into a chat message, but it was enough to freak me out. I “un-friended” them almost immediately and will most likely not buy their product in the future.
So, my advice for your business’s Facebook page:
1. Do not be obnoxious, use overly-creative ways to reach your customers, or stalk you friends.
2. Post things when they need to be posted, not because you are meeting a deadline.
3. Be helpful, but not overbearing.
Most of all, use your better judgement; if it would annoy you, don’t do it.
