Social media is an invaluable tool for brands to expand their reach and boost sales. However, many businesses publish spammy content on social media sites like Facebook, without realizing it.
Spammy behavior is dangerous for social sellers. It can make your customers lose interest, drop your sales, the algorithm may even flag you as untrustworthy, and you might end up in Facebook Jail.
Spam isn’t just annoying to your customers, it goes against Facebook’s Community Standards and can get your account suspended. To avoid this, you’ll need to be mindful of what you post and what Facebook spam guidelines are. Below, we have listed ten things that you should avoid doing to make your Facebook live sales and static posts appear spammy, along with tips to make them convert more.
1. Posting Content Without Value
Remember, quality triumphs over quantity when it comes to content. Instead of bombarding your audience with self-promotion, focus on providing valuable and engaging content. Ask yourself two crucial questions when posting content on Facebook:
- Is this entertaining?
Entertaining content can be Internet challenges, showcasing behind-the-scenes videos, or even explaining some inner-workings of your business–like what techniques and tools you use to ensure the quality of items or timely fulfillment.
- Is this helpful?
Helpful content, such as fit videos or shop the look posts demonstrating the cut, length, fit, colour, and styles of products, provides valuable information to your customers. Giving pros (and cons) of your products is a great way to build transparency to ensure viewer loyalty and trust.
By hosting live sales, for example, you can demonstrate the features and benefits of your products while engaging with your audience one-on-one, directly avoiding spammy practices.
2. Posting Unoriginal Content
Avoid repetitive content by leveraging original and diverse materials. Using the same photos, videos, or messaging repeatedly can be perceived as spam by Facebook. Using shoppable videos is a great way to keep your audience engaged by injecting variety into your content strategy. This approach ensures a dynamic and captivating experience for your shoppers.
3. Back-to-Back Posting
Resist the temptation to post excessively within a short period. Back-to-back posting can overwhelm your audience and reduce engagement. Instead, space out your posts strategically using post scheduling to avoid being spammy, with little effort. Whether it’s a static Facebook post or a live sale reminder, space things out and change up the image and text between posts to keep things fresh. You can also amplify post engagement by posting exclusive deals and coupons.
4. Promoting on Other Groups or Pages Without Permission
Promoting or selling on other pages or groups without permission can have severe repercussions, including your business page being flagged as spam by Facebook. Creating or linking your Facebook Page and Group to post and promote your brand is a much better idea.
Always read the rules before promoting your business on others’ Pages and Groups, or obtain explicit consent to maintain a positive reputation and build meaningful collaborations.
5. Questionable Tagging
Exercise restraint when tagging people in your posts. Over-tagging can annoy individuals and lead to spam reports, which can also land you in Facebook Jail.
It’s a much better practice to entice customers and market yourself with great customer loyalty and referral programs. If you have to tag people, tag interested parties in the comments section. People are more receptive to comment tags than photo tags, often seeing the latter as a privacy violation.
6. Sending Out Too Many Friend Requests
Unsolicited messages from strangers are perceived negatively and may result in your business being reported as spam. Sending a flurry of friend requests to unknown individuals can trigger suspicion and raise red flags on Facebook.
Prioritize connecting with others via easy-to-use, established practices like Facebook live shopping to ensure a more organic and meaningful network.
7. Linking In Posts
Facebook may treat links in posts as suspicious. Place your links within the comment section to avoid this. This helps you avoid spamming too many links within a post and encourages purchase-related discussions among shoppers.
Those just hopping on your Facebook live sale or post are more likely to spark conversations about how to purchase with you. You’d be surprised how quickly other shoppers are willing to help. These discussions will boost your engagement.
8. Using Dollar Signs or Decimals in Posts
Avoid using decimal points or dollar signs in your posts. Facebook may consider these symbols as spam indicators. Substitute the dollar sign with a dollar sign emoji for clarity if necessary. Besides, using emojis on your Facebook posts can increase sharing by up to 33% while making them look more fun and colorful.
9. Leaving Facebook’s Sales Format on Posts
Marketplace posts can inadvertently appear spammy to Facebook. To prevent your account from being flagged, disable the marketplace format whenever possible. Excessive usage of this format may trigger restrictions on your account.
10. Spamming with Facebook Messenger
Using Facebook Messenger for marketing is great, but avoiding spamming practices is crucial.
Familiarize yourself with the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing (CAN-SPAM/SPAM) rules, which protect recipients from unsolicited commercial messages. Respect your audience’s preferences and provide relevant and timely messaging while offering a straightforward opt-out option.
You can create meaningful connections by engaging with your audience—at reasonable intervals—with automated emails and SMS too.
Unleash the Power of Social Selling
Successful social selling relies on building trust and fostering genuine connections using the same principles that drive in-person sales.
People buy from those they know, like, and trust over those that give frequent, unsolicited sales pitches. By making your social media efforts about valuable, entertaining, gamified, or personalized content, you have more ways to build familiarity and engage shoppers. And adhering to Facebook’s terms and conditions ensures a more rewarding selling experience, increasing sales and minimizing the risk of winding up in Facebook Jail. Embrace these strategies, and unlock the true potential of social selling with CommentSold.
Remember, it’s not just about selling—it’s about selling smarter.
