How Not to Get Duped by Facebook

This could quite possibly be my least favorite feature on Facebook.

The "suggested" ad prompts. It looks something like this:

If you have a business page or you're an admin on a business page you've seen this. It pops up in your personal newsfeed and can cause some confusion.

1. You feel like you should do something with it

Man, that "Promote Local Business" with the potential audience of 130,000 gets us EVERY TIME. In fact, I've had clients hit that button and pay for advertising before they really knew what they were doing. I know it felt like something that they were supposed to do, like the Facebook Gods were telling them that if they boosted that post, they would find instant success.

Don't. Push, The. Button.

If you're ready to boost a post, take a little time to do some research. This ad popping up in your newsfeed is annoying and, to me, feels a little dishonest. Yes, it's great to know that we can advertise our posts, but for people who aren't really familiar with how social media advertising works (which is most people), it's kind of playing on your ignorance.

My advice? Just keep scrolling unless you're going to invest in some meaningful advertising.

2. You feel like you're SATURATING people with content

I just talked to a client who said, "We really have to back down on social media posts. I'm worried that I'm annoying people."

"Are you seeing stuff popping up from your business page all the time in your personal newsfeed?" I asked.

"YES, and it's just too much," she said.

I agree. It would be too much. If people were actually seeing what she's seeing.

If you own a business page, almost every time you pull up your personal newsfeed (especially on a mobile device, I find), they're hitting you with this ad. So, to you, you feel like people are seeing something you've posted 20 times a day and YES that would be totally annoying.

However, no one else is seeing that but you (and any admins to your business page).

The truth is that no one is really seeing much from your business page unless you're advertising the post. So, as long as you haven't fallen for Problem #1 in this blog...chances are, not many people are seeing what you're seeing.

As always, if you have questions about your business page or how you can maximize your social media efforts, don't hesitate to contact catherine@socialseedmarketing.com!