Facebook Jail: Is It Real?

By Ken Acree


What do you know about Facebook Jail? Have you ever had the cuffs slapped on you? Are you there right now? Some people will argue that there is no such place, but anyone who is more than a casual user of the service knows better. If you have not personally fallen victim, then you certainly have friends and family who have been "locked up."

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.

There are several way that you can keep from being penalized, but we will narrow it down to three for this brief article. You need to be yourself in all of your interactions, never send spam to anyone, and practice the art of engagement.

There are way to many marketers attempting to find a short cut to success. One attempt they make is to jump on Facebook and try to friend everybody under the sun overnight. This is a big no-no and will bring out the ban hammer quickly. Be yourself. Friend your actual friends. Make friends with new people the old fashioned way...by interaction.

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.

Engage others. Ask people questions. Find out what they want to know and help them find solutions. No one gets slapped by Facebook for being extremely popular and helpful.

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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