Facebook Jail: How To Stay 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!

But do you actually care? Maybe not. You may go through the rest of your life never giving a second thought to the matter. However, if you are one of the over 1 billion people on planet earth who enjoy the service, it would be a bummer to get dumped by the site. Even worse, if you are someone who markets a product online, Facebook may actually be critical to the success of your business.

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 give into the urge to send spam links. Nobody wants to read them. You will turn off the very people that you were trying to attract into the business and will be reported as a spammer.

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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