Seriously there is no hiding from spam! It doesn't matter what social media platform you're on or which email service you use. There is just no getting away from it. Now we're getting spammed via Facebook direct messages for pages we need a strategy to deal with it. Here's what you need to do.
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image credit: mcfcrandall[/caption]
Has Your Brand Been Spammed With Direct Messages On Facebook?
So, you're a Facebook Page owner, and you're getting used to this new Timeline - Even starting to like it. You are becoming familiar with the functions, finding the ways you like to navigate, and even having fun interacting with your fans. You like your fans!
Then...
From out of no where...
Comes THE PRIVATE MESSAGE.
You've Got Mail
You knew the box was there.
You knew this was possible.
In fact, as a Facebook Page owner, you have been hoping that you would receive business inquiries, and questions enabling you to offer your expertise.
But what you receive reads something like this:
"GREETINGS from Dreamy Travel Location and from www.facebook.com/clandestinelovelyfantasyvacationlodgingpage. Very pleased to discover your great page and like it. Best wishes for huge success. Please feel free to visit Lovely Fantasy Vacation Lodging Page, you will enjoy it and your like will be most welcome! Thank you."
Not the message you were hoping for, was it? In fact, you feel a little bit........... SPAMMED!
Pushing Personal
And rightfully so.
That's not why the new Message feature was created.
It was created to give fans and customers a path to more personalized experiences interacting with brands on Facebook. It was meant for:
- Questions and answers about products.
- Sharing details relative to the brand.
- Thank yous.
- Collaborating with other brand leaders.
The Message button was not meant for "knock-knock split"-type like-my-page requests.
Personal Preference
As a Page Owner or Facebook Page admin, you have some choices:
- Ignore those message.
- Delete the message.
- Report the message.
- Warn all of your friends of the spammy offender.
- Respond with objective words encouraging the author to refrain from future like updates, but invite truly engaging interactions.
It's your choice, depending on the type of result you prefer.
One note: Facebook is often not so responsive to reports, but has been known to revoke Facebook access to those with frequent reports. Objectively, it's a roulette-wheel outcome.
Messages - To Enable Or Not To Enable
The entire purpose of utilizing a social network like Facebook is to keep your brand top of mind and create a community for people that like your brand. Also, to build that fan base, and nurture future customer relationships.
If that is your interest, then it is probably a good idea to enable the direct message function.
Your Facebook strategy may not have included accepting direct messages from Facebook fans, as this is a new feature released with the Timeline for brand pages. You can consider disabling the direct message function if:
- You are in the process of setting up the page.
- Your strategy is not yet defined.
- You do not plan to monitor the page regularly.
Optimally, you are open to contact with your fans.
Here is a visual of where to find the option to engage or disable the direct message function:
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The "Manage Permissions" screen under "Edit Page"[/caption]
Changing the social landscape on your page is as easy as a mouse click. You just need to decide how open your brand will be! :)
But most importantly, Facebook Page Admins and owners should be aware of the true intention with the direct message channel of communication, and refrain from spammy page promotion messages.
Have you gotten Facebook direct messages similar to the one above?
What did you do about it?
Tell me your thoughts about direct messages for brand pages on Facebook below...
35 Replies
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wow thanks for this post. social media are really becoming something else these days, and its good to know it in case you will need it in the future. thanks again for sharing this.
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Jade, Social media evolves every day, and with that comes new ways to scam and spam. As long as we keep learning and pay attention, we can avoid the negative effects. 🙂 Thank you for sharing your thoughts, ~Keri
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This happened to me today. Well, it’s happened many times before but I usually just delete them. I run a page that is specifically about Adobe Lightroom/Photoshop presets and actions. I got a sales pitch by private message about candles. This time I politely asked her to please stop spamming me. She was absolutely stunned that I would even consider it spamming. I replied back that it was the same thing as sending unwanted email, so it was therefore spamming. She then told me all about how much I had annoyed her and “please stop messaging me” after my two replies! As if I was harassing her or something. I thing I will just start reporting and blocking rather than get into snits with people over it again.
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Rachael, It’s amazing, isn’t it? What is one person’s treasure is another person’s trash… It takes all kinds… Etc. That’s about all you can do is report and block. Our time is worth something – And to waste it debating with someone that won’t listen takes away from you again. Sounds like you have a plan. Keep me posted! Thanks for sharing your experience with me, ~Keri
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Pingback: Top 10 Social Media Etiquette Errors - Modern Sales and Marketing - Modern Sales and Marketing
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Wow, even spammers have reached facebook already? Thanks for sharing how to off the messaging function, been looking for that for ages already
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Grace, I must tell you, your comment is ironic. WordPress filed you in the Spam Folder – yikes! While I think that some may choose wisely to turn the message function off on their page, I really do think it is great if a business can create and maintain an open channel of communication with fans and potential customers. Please keep me posted on how things are going on your page! Thanks for your comment, ~Keri
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Thank you for the article. No one likes to be spammed on any channel so I would agree, the new mail feature for Facebook is no different. I have received them as well. Thank you for taking the time to show us how to deal with such a nuisance. Great Job.
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Dawn, You point something out – Everyone has probably received spammy messages, or at least they will at some point. We just need to keep responding in a re-directing way, and know when to fold ’em. Thanks for stopping by, and for sharing your thoughts, ~Keri
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Hello, thanks for taking the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and love learning more on this topic.. Glad I found this tips that you shared and it is extremely helpful for me.
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Vernon, Glad you found this post helpful – I hope to provide information that is relevant and useful. Thank you for visiting, reading, and sharing your thoughts. ~Keri
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Ughhh.. those annoying spams…
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Love, I agree! But great when we receive real messages. 🙂 Thanks for visiting, and for your comment, ~Keri
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This is a very important matter to us and I hope you can post more of this.. Thank you!
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Nica, Facebook is an important part of conversation in the social space, indeed! Many of my posts are geared toward Facebook Marketing and Facebook-related topics for that reason. Please check back, as I plan to provide insight on what people need to know. Thank you for reading, and for letting me know your thoughts. ~Keri
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Thanks Keri, you’re the first person I’ve seen talk about this. I do have messages turned on, and I think as a small online business owner I should. It’s good to be transparent and open, and messages foster both I think. I was thrilled to see that I finally got a message a few weeks back, only to find that it was from a women telling a story about needing money to get home to her country or some weird stuff like that. Super spam! Oh well, it hasn’t been a huge problem for me. My next message was from someone REAL!
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Jennifer, Wow – I am the first one to talk about this? Would have never thought. 🙂 I do encourage transparency, and really, I do recommend keeping the message feature on. While there is some spam that come in, the benefits far outweigh the negatives. It’s so very wonderful when we get that message from a real person, isn’t it? Great seeing your smile – Thanks for sharing your thoughts, ~Keri
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Hi, I am enjoying the brand page messaging. I may change my mind in the future and enable this feature. Thank you.
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Justin, I mainly like it too. However, it is essential that if we have insight to offer that we share. Spam is not always delicious. Thanks for your comment, ~Keri
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This is very interesting blog and for sure, we will be happy to read it. Thanks that you shared. I love this link up… Good thing you post such valuable information like this.So thanks!
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Miguel, Glad you found the details about the Facebook Timeline Direct Message feature for brand pages helpful. Thanks for your comment, ~Keri
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For every social media advancement that helps business owners reach their audience and connect more easily there are ways inscrutable spammers are lurking and waiting to pounce on. I think we just have to take the bad with the good. On another note I love your vCita widget and I’m off to go check it out. I’ve been looking for something like this. Thanks Keri!
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Denise, So nice to see your smile! You have stated this so well — With every cloud comes a silver lining, and vice versa. If we’re going to be on social media, we’ll see our share of spam. The vCita is a handy little tool! I found it through another friend you might even be aware of. Wibiya is so nice to make it available through their handy bar. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, ~Keri
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Hi Keri, Great post. People have been so bold, haven’t they? I had that one incident with not a PM but someone actually wrote on my wall, advertising their event and went so far as to “thanking me for sharing their ad with my friends”. WHAT?! Excuse me, but I didn’t. It amazes me how brands would take the risk and behave this way online….makes you wonder how they would treat you face-to-face. Thanks for sharing! Jocelyn
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Jocelyn, Interesting. It does relate that we are also spammed “on-page.” The presumptions of some people, you are correct! 🙂 We can only do our best to be good social citizens and continue to educate those we come into contact with. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, ~Keri
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Keri, Hello! I am enjoying the brand page messaging. I have been waiting for this for a while now. Since some of my posts on my one brand pages can lead to comments that many people would prefer private, this feature has been useful. There has already been some spam, but I usually ignore most messages. But, there were two spam messages that I continued the conversation because I found value in what they were offering. Great article! I know some that are very annoyed with spamming and will find this useful…so will pass it on. 🙂
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Joanne, Thank you for sharing your thoughts — And for passing the article on to your audience! 🙂 Very interesting to hear that you continued a spam into conversation. I would be very curious how it eventually evolved. As, I would be one to try it, and have even experienced some good things from such events over time. The brand messages are more good than spam, so I am happy that you pointed this out. Always great to see your smile! ~Keri
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Keri, This is one of those small details easily overlooked (I know I did!) when setting up the page – thanks for pointing it out, showing the steps to deal with it and the strategy behind the steps. The last thing we need in this world is more spam – I reached my lifetime dosage limit two years ago! Rich
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Rich, Thank you for sharing your thoughts. There are definitely messages I can do without that come through there. But there have also been some good ones that led to fruitful exchange. We should not forget those, just as much as we’d like to forget the other. 🙂 There’s a good idea – A spam dosage limit! We could feature the mercury barometer right on our cover images!! LOL ~Keri
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I didn’t know about this happening. Looks like one more place where we have to got to watch out for spammers.
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Chikara, While I think most have good intentions, and direct messages can lead to really great connections, we do need to be aware that spammers do spam. Mainly, though, I like the Direct Message feature. ~Keri
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Good instructions Keri, thanks for this.
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David, Thank you for your nice comment. I am glad you found my post helpful. ~Keri
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Hi Keri, I haven’t had this happen to me yet, but I haven’t enabled direct messages on my Facebook page. I have enough ways for people to reach out to me and I don’t want another source for spam. But I do appreciate your letting us know about this. I may change my mind in the future and enable this feature.
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Carolyn, Great to see your smile! While this post does warn of spam in the Facebook Page Inbox, I’ve actually gotten some very good and merited messages that led to fruitful interactions. So, while the possibility for spam is there, I would say it is less prevalent than maybe this post hints at. Let me know when you turn your message box on, I’d be curious about your experience. Thanks for your comment! ~Keri
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