Dress it up any way you want, Spam Musubi is still SPAM
You’re looking for a way to spread the word about a fundraiser and think to yourself, “Hey, I’ll make an Event on my Facebook Profile and all my Friends will see it – I’ll hit 327 pairs of eyeballs in seconds, and their Friends will see it and their Friends, etc.!” Excellent work, Facebooker – that’s a great use of your Profile. Then you think to yourself, “Hey, I’m a Fan of SOUPER SALAD and they have tons of Fans, I can post my information to their Page and reach their people, too.” Hold on there, Facebooker – just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
Posting to a Page is just like hanging a poster in a business. You wouldn’t just walk in and slap up a flyer without asking, would you? You wouldn’t drop your business cards off on the sales counter of your competitor, would you? You wouldn’t try to sell your pipe tobacco to people at a homemade lollipop store, would you? No, you wouldn’t, because that would be rude. Storefront or Page, the same rules apply – both are professional spaces.
Before posting your information to someone else’s Page, take a moment to consider the audience of the Page you’re posting on – does your information benefit that audience? If not, then the information most likely doesn’t belong there.
- If you are a Fan of a gourmet cheese store, sharing about an independent cheese tasting event is appropriate, sharing information about your daughter’s Girl Scout cookie sale is not.
- If you are a Fan of a local restaurant, commenting that you enjoy an item the Page’s owner has on it’s menu is appropriate, posting an invitation for their Fans to visit your ice cream shop is not.
- If you are a Fan of a tourism site, posting about the tee time you just scored at a beautiful course in the area is appropriate, posting about your fundraiser car wash at a grocery store in the area is not.
- If you are a Fan of a membership based business organization, posting about a new blog that has great articles on how to help businesses grow is appropriate, posting about the painting services you offer is not.
It’s not about your business, cause or event being important – they are. It’s about using someone else’s space to promote your own agenda. It’s about being polite. I suggest you introduce yourself to the Page’s owner - offline if at all possible or by email, form a relationship . . . . then ASK if you can share your information, you never know, they may just offer to share it for you!
These tips are only the beginning, what advice can you offer to help others from becoming unintentional Facebook Spammers?
Gone in 30 Days
Why are there 2 ways for you to “Like” LisaDJenkins.com in the right-hand columns of my page?
Let me be clear: THIS IS NOT AN ATTEMPT TO GAIN EYEBALLS FOR MY BLOG. As noted in my tagline, I publish posts erratically. I’m not a committed blogger and don’t pretend to be one. I do speak my mind from time to time. I’m not about gaining a huge following of readers here – I’m about sharing what I believe are helpful pieces of information and my opinions for people who find them useful. It’s okay if you don’t find them useful, and it’s okay if you never come back here. We can still be friends. So that’s out of the way, then? Excellent. Let’s move on . . .
I want to know, by a show of “hands”, which personal data sharing options you are most comfortable with, based solely on the information you already have. My aim here is not to educate you or to sway you – that’s why there are no links to descriptions of either option. You have 30 days in which to decide to enter your opinion by clicking either the Facebook LIKE or the OPENLIKE option. At the end of 30 days, I’ll be deleting these widgets and any information that may come my way through their use. If I wanted to stalk you, I’d already know where you buy your coffee and whether or not you like onion in your Tuna Salad 
If you choose to trust my word and participate, I thank you and will honor that trust. If you decide that trusting my word is a bit risky, I understand completely and thank you for taking the time to think about it.
Any questions? Comments? Tuna Salad recipes you’d care to offer?
