How many times do you get Facebook Fan Page requests from people you know?
I get them every single day.
So the other day I was talking about the best practices for using social media with a friend when he totally flipped. “Dammit, I got ANOTHER one!,” my buddy told me (name withheld to protect the innocent).
He went on to say that a particular local business keeps sending him requests to join their fan page — like every three days. This strikes me as ridiculous.
You Hate Spam as Much as Your Friends Do, Right?
Why do people spam their friends and acquaintances using Facebook? The knee-jerk reaction is to say it’s about ego. We’re all our own favorite topic, so if we run a business or a blog then it makes sense we have a huge interest in seeing our fan page succeed.
Here’s the problem: Your fan count doesn’t necessarily indicate success.
Does your business sell more product when you gain ten fans?
How are you encouraging people to ‘opt-in’ to your page by selecting the ‘Become a Fan’ option without email prodding (I’m thinking in terms of fan boxes prominently displayed on your blog)?
The truth is there’s nothing wrong with asking friends to become fans of the business, blog, or cause that’s important to you. Just use common sense, like keeping a record of people you’ve asked to become fans in the past and refraining from sending another request for at least one month, then perhaps ninety days and then never (until you figure out a better value prop!).
I’ve asked friends to join my Social Media Commando Facebook Fan Page. However at this point I gain most of my followers simply by displaying a fan widget in the sidebar of each page on my site.
Don’t stop there though! You can create contests that require people to follow your page as a step in registering, among other link bait strategies.
By the way, you know the friend of mine who gets so pissed off about the business that keeps sending him fan page requests? This person told me the only reason he uses Facebook is to — and I swear this is true — “Look at pictures of hot girls [he] went to high school with.”
Maybe he’s not worth spamming in the first place, eh?
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any tips for , un spamming , spammed friends …