Five tips for being a little more effective and respectful on Facebook.
So it seems everyone is on Facebook now and most bands are making the move to using it as one of their priority networking sites. Myspace while still a strong site is taking a backseat to the Facebook revolution in the past year and some. Just as it is important to get the word out and do your marketing, promotion and advertising on Facebook, it is also important to be effective and respectful to get the kind of attention you want. Here are five quick tips to consider applying to your Facebook use in order to be as effective and respectful as possible.
1. If I don’t want to be your fan, stop asking!
It is fine to ask some one to join your fan page, but if they decide not to for whatever the reason, then leave them be. Maybe they prefer to be on your personal page, maybe they don’t sign up for fan pages, maybe they just aren’t a fan. Whatever the reason, the constant asking to be a fan has pissed many people off and will even get them to drop you as a friend or block you.
If they don’t want to be a fan, leave it be. Most musicians put a bulk of their updates on their personal pages as well. You can also easily add a link to your fan page so they can go there themselves if they want. Another tip is to leave the fan page public so people can check it out if they want with out joining. Don’t spam for fans.
2. If some one doesn’t add you as a friend, do not continue to try to get them to.
Not everyone is going to like you and even those that may like you, might not want to have you as a friend on their Facebook page for whatever reason. Again like above, don’t grill people to be your friend. It is annoying and if you are adding some one, drop a short note as to why you are adding them. Make it personal and draw people in, it will come off a lot less like you are mass adding or spamming. If some one chooses not to add you, let it be and don’t chase it. They may eventually turn around and add you at another point.
3. Don’t chase a dropped friend.
I have heard this from numerous people who have chosen to drop a friend off Facebook and then later get an email or even a call asking why.
Don’t do it! They have their reasons and the last thing they want is a call asking why. Maybe you spam too much, maybe you over post, over update, over whatever. Maybe they are trying to limit friends or keep information a little more personal. Who knows, but let it be. On the other hand if you feel some one is going to be to oversensitive and annoying and you want to drop them, then hide them so you don’t have to see their posts. Just don’t be that person to chase after someone who dropped you as a friend on Facebook, cause when you think about it, that is pretty damn sad.
4. Don’t send flowers, gifts, dogs, farm animals and all those other app crap items to people.
If you are trying to use Facebook to grab the attention of people or trying to connect with fans, new or old, use the information that is yours, the updates that are yours and don’t send gifts, animals, flowers and all that other crap. There are a great number of people that find it incredibly annoying and at the same time as your updates show you sending a flower or scoring on mafia wars or whatever, it really isn’t doing much for marketing your music or your shows. It also will make some people want to hide your updates and miss out on the real information and real updates you want them to have.
5. Stop with the boring updates and news that is pointless.
Still kind of tying in to the last one. Skip on the “I just ate a sandwich” or “jeeze, I wish I-90 wasn’t so backed up” or some quote that only you and a handful of people might get. This also includes not posting ten times a day. Be that person or that band that posts up stuff you want to read, watch, view or whatever. I am not saying don’t make it all business but limit yourself and you will have people that will be watching out for your posts instead of being tired and skipping over them or worse, hiding them.
Conclusion
In the end, some times it is better to have a few pages, one where it is just for you and your friends and one for the world you are trying to reach as a whole. I know a number of people that preface their personal pages with a statement that says “this is my personal page for friends and family, if you want more on my music or my band, join this page as a fan or add me on that page”. Make sure you are grabbing the attention of those that you want to get attention from. Social Networks have become a large part of reaching out to new fans and new people but it is crucial to make sure you are reaching out with the strongest voice possible. It is also important to make sure you message, your music, your marketing is not getting lost in the mix of silly applications, excessive postings and even being hidden or dropped as a friend.
Be interesting. Make sure your posts are something that will draw people in to your page and make them look around. Update photos and videos weekly. Make sure the information on shows are detailed with the who, what, why, when, where and how. Give them what they need!
Clean up your page often, so that when some one new comes to it, they can see all sorts of interesting things about you and your music. It can only take minutes a week to make the impact to gain new friends and new connections that will draw people to shows, buying merchandise and music as well as building a fan base that wants to stay connected.
© 2010 Loren Weisman
There's no reason you shouldn't have a profile or at least a page on Facebook!
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