facebook rules: blocking spam & shutting down pages
karen gunton
yesterday on the build a little biz facebook page we had a lot of discussion about facebook pages getting shut down or blocked from posting... i thought i would compile everything we have figured out so far in one handy spot. i will update this post as i know and learn more!
silent tagging & marching:
i can confirm 100% that facebook is blocking pages from doing silent tagging/silent marching.
to find out more about what silent tagging and marching is, please read this post from support a whap. basically these are tagging games where you like all of the pages that have tagged themselves in the comments, which you can quickly do by hovering over their name and clicking like.
when you get blocked by facebook you get a pop up that tells you you are being spammy, forces you to check a box agreeing that you understand facebook terms & conditions and then blocks you for 15 days from posting on pages. it blocks you from posting as your personal profile as well as your biz profile (but you can still post on your own pages) so it makes interacting on facebook difficult!
it seems to boil down to the amount, repetition & timing of your posts - this post explains why facebook decides you are being spammy.
so liking a heap of pages in a row (as you do with silent tagging) is a flag to facebook.
getting blocked for other reasons:
i discovered the hard way that posting a similar comment on a number of pages repeatedly will also get you blocked. i was letting biz pages know they had been featured in the recent build a little biz post on newsletters and posted to 6 pages in a row a genuine thank you comment before i got blocked for being spammy.
i have also heard of other situations where people have been blocked for tagging multiple pages in short succession, for embedding images repeatedly in a single comment thread and for doing a similar comment on a number or posts on their page wall. i cannot find any specific information from facebook about what will get you blocked but it seems to boil down to this:
if you are tagging/commenting/posting/sharing/embedding in quick succession, or in a repetitive fashion, then facebook might decide you are spammy. remember: this is an algorithm that determines spammy posting. facebook has an idea of what 'normal behaviour by real people' is, and anything outside of that gets flagged as spam.
of course posting, tagging etc. is completely acceptable on facebook. just be slow and steady and 'real' about it - spreading out your tags/posts, writing original comments (not cut & paste) and not being repetitive.
one more note about spam/tagging:
facebook statement of rights & responsibilities include these statements:
- You will not send or otherwise post unauthorized commercial communications (such as spam) on Facebook.
this is pretty vague, but it is what you are agreeing to. if facebook is determining spam by repetition, timing, quantity, etc. than that is what we need to consider when taking action on facebook!
- You will not tag users or send email invitations to non-users without their consent.
so here is an idea - ask yourself if the person you are tagging would want you to tag them. if the answer is no, or if you would be too uncomfortable asking, then that might be an indication that tagging them is spam-ish.
promotions: contests, competitions & giveaways
facebook also appears to be cracking down on people who are running promos that are against the rules, which is not that surprising as we have known about these rules for a while now.
a promo involves a PRIZE of monetary value and a WINNER by chance or skill.
if you hold a promo on facebook you must use a 3rd party app. you can hold a promo off of facebook (on your blog, or email or whatever) and communicate about it on fb but be absolutely sure that whatever promo you hold does not require anybody to take any action on faceook. no tagging, liking, commenting, sharing, posting, messaging etc. as a way of being involved in the promo. it is not allowed, and will get your page shut down.
here is my post explaining facebook rules (it is well worth a read) and in it you will find links to all of facebooks rules and guidelines - i would advise reading through them yourself so you are aware of what they say.
auctions:
i have not been able to confirm nor find any concrete information about facebook shutting down or blocking pages due to auctions. facebook does not have guidelines for people SELLING GOODS on facebook. you are allowed to sell stuff on your page. (you should be aware of the guidelines that are there just to be sure, for example if you are advertising a sale.)
as far as i can tell a true auction which results in the highest bidder making a purchase should be allowed. (if an auction is for charity be sure you follow the rules of your state/country as facebook will not be happy if you break legal, local rules.)
having said that, i have seen many pages run auctions that are really just giveaways in disguise - where the item is purchased for a stupidly small amount of money or bought using some sort of play money like 'gift bucks' of the like that the person has won/earned. i would not be surprised if facebook shut pages down for these types of 'auctions' - they are in my mind still a promotion (with a winner & prize).
it is also possible that a page would be be shut down if an auction involves requiring people to like/tag/post etc. as that looks a bit like a promo which is against the rules. and if people are suddenly tagging/liking/commenting etc in that repeated unusual pattern that i mentioned above then it would possibly get you blocked for spamming/
so bottom line about auctions is that i am hoping that facebook is not shutting pages down for holding them, as they have not made it clear that is is an unacceptable practice. if i hear or find anything concrete about auctions i will update this post and share any information i find.
in the mean time - if you are having an auction (or any kind of sale for that matter) make sure you are truly selling your goods, don't use words like winner and prize, and don't ask people to do things like tag/like/comment that could be construed as spammy or in violoation of promotion rules.
last note:
this is a very good reminder of a few things:
you have no ownership of your little piece of facebook real estate - you are merely a squatter at the mercy of facebook's ever changing rules, lack of transparency and general glitchiness. use facebook to genuinely interact with people, set up your own site to run your business.
- we should focus on gaining 100 true fans rather than 1000 random likers
all of this tagging business actually is kind of spam-ish. and gaining likers that way isn't really going to help your business. focus on your true fans people, and genuinely interacting with them.
- we should be aware of how our actions as page owners are percieved.
try not to be spam-ish when selling your thing
5 ways to not be spam-ish on your facebook page
5 ways to not be spam-ish on other facebook pages
i hope this info helps everyone with a biz page on facebook. be sure to sign up for the toolbox newsletter as i share posts about facebook there all the time - that way you won't miss anything important if it doesn't show up in your facebook newsfeed. =)
Reader Comments (19)
Wonderful and very helpful advice Karen as always.
Keep up the great work
Fantastic information all compiled in an easy to read post! Thanks Karen
Thanks again for a great post. I am not surprised FB has taken such actions - I am over seeing a stream of spam every day as I watch pages/businesses I genuinely like tag dozens of pages a day and clutter my feed. It may be boosting their overall numbers, but I can tell you all it does is make me want to unlike their page. Why pursue endless likers rather than focus on the genuine likers you have? I am a very new blog and business and have faith I will get there in the end. In the meantime I would rather have 5 people actively engaged with my blog and FB page, than 1500 people just passing through.
Perfectly put - we ARE merely squatters at the mercy of facebook's ever changing rules!!
hi not to contradict anyone but its marching that ppl are beingbanned for not silent tagging. ppl who have been banned have confirmed this as its classed as spamming. also silent tagging isnt a game its about increasing likes and by doing this more ppl can see your page. if ppl dont know your page is there how can they like it? only way is have other business' have your name on. my own friends have bought off other pages due to seeing them in my like list!!
I can confirm 100% that I know of a page that have been closed for running an auction. The page owners did not take part in tagging events, no raffles, no comps, the only thing they was doing was an auction
@tracy - people have been blocked for silent tagging too. i know of someone who was blocked for saying thank you repeatedly for birthday messages on her page wall. it is not the action (you are allowed to like pages and comment on posts etc., that is the point of facebook!) it is the speed, repetition and frequency of the action. so liking a whole bunch of pages in a row as done with silent tagging triggers facebook to think you are a spammer. liking pages slowly over time looks more normal to them. it is just an algorithim that gets flagged, fb has no idea of the intent behind your actions.)
@ dave - i would love to hear more about that auction. was it for charity or as a method of selling their own products? were people purchasing the item for a 'normal amount' of money (there was intent of profit?). if it was a charity was it legal? i have tried so hard to find out info about auctions on facebook - it irritates me that fb is not being more transparent about this particular issue.
Hi Karen, Thanks so much for this post ... I was starting to think I was the only one questioning the marching and tagging ... a couple of months ago, I questioned on my blog what the point was, as people tend to like your page then unlike it almost immediately! I agree that the point of liking a page is that it would be a product or service that you need or may use, it's not a competition to see which page can accumulate the most followers!!
May I link to this post when I next post in my own blog?
Excellent post. I personally found participating in a march help me increase my likers by a couple of hundred in a short space of time which dramatically improved my page impressions and views on youtube videos etc, however I also agree with the quantity vs. quality argument, so don't sob or cry when I lose a liker or two. Marching helped increase my FB reach and in the long term brought me more *genuine* likers and business links. What I've found more useful however is joining local parents groups (I'm a photographer) and interacting with the members in a genuine way, not just advertising.
Thanks for taking the time to write this. It helps a great deal!
Mark
http://www.markpaynephotography.co.uk
@cindy - i would be thrilled if you shared the link to this post. pop by the build a little biz fb page and share it so i can have a look =)
@mark - thanks for your comment. and i do agree that a boost in your numbers can help - only a small percentage of people tend to interact (answer questions, respond to comments etc.) so the more likes you have the more interaction you have the more interesting your page is the more people like - it is a spiral! when i finally had some jumps in numbers i noticed an overall increase in the quality of my page and in my fans. but i am still a firm believer in gaining fans because they love what you offer, and maybe this spam situation will help remind people to focus their effort on that. your solution to interact with your ideal clients directly by joining specific groups is a great one. (and since my little biz is photography i am off to check out your work!) =)
Thankyou for your help & info. from a temp. blocked spammer selling page!! Really dont understand why fb make the business pages that we can only 'Like' other business pages then block us for doing it too quickly, I must have spent days liking & cruising other business pages, when I could have been working & improving my own!! Then get blocked for the wasted time as a reward!! I do purchase stock from fb sellers, & being unable to comment means purchasing from them is a problem & affecting there business also in a small way, so this problem/rule has a knock on effect & isnt confined to just the 1 member/page blocked!! 15 days would like to know who came up with the timing as well? For 5-10 minutes of repeated liking pages = 15 days just a tad harsh in my humble opinion!! Thanx again will bare all you have said, in future as extremely riled by my blockage! :?
my dad was blocked for 48 hours for accepting too many friend requests. lol quite new to facebook so has alot adding him. bit of a joke really. understand the spamming but silly things like friend requests is a bit too far. especially with the whole game networking on FB
I have recently been blocked for 15 days (I'm half way thru I think).
Can anyone tell me .... how do you know that the block has been lifted ?? Do you get an email or something ?? It is very frustrating as all I was doing is advertising my car for sale on a few pages....whattha !!!
Can anyone help me ???
I am wondering why I can not tag, copy, and share? I can however like and comment on most items. It is frustrating when I see something and want to share it with others.
I did the ladder thing a few times, I am not a fan of it. You like a bunch o pages then have to keep up with or hide them. On the flip side ppl like your page, then unlike you just as fast..
I found it annoying LOL
I have a page for my business on Facebook (see link) where I sell my wares. People who "Like" the page are offered a 10% discount (a feature in the app I use to allow selling on the page). Is this not allowed?
thanks for your comments everyone!
i believe this is facebook being a bit glitchy (as often happens when they roll something out) and would bet this all settles down in a few days and we can go back to using facebook happily. some pages have dissappeared for a few days and then returned, and many people are having problems with tagging etc - the same things that always seem to happen periodically on fb. chin up and fingers crossed and i bet this all passes.
i don't know how you find out when the block is lifted, but i have heard that you can use this form
http://www.facebook.com/help/contact.php?show_form=ui_pages
to explain your situation of getting blocked for something minor. they say they cannot reply to everyone, but i know of people who have gotten and email saying they will lift the block.
good luck!
@tom - facebook doesn't have any guidelines about selling your thing, offering sales/discounts etc. so my belief is that it would be ok. i know of big businesses who offer facebook fans a freebie or whatever. i would maybe just be careful not to use the words winner, prize, or promotion - as those might get you flagged??? not sure, but something is getting holders of auctions flagged even though they are selling something, i just can't figure it out!!
I am so glad I ran across this post! A friend asked me to moderate a FB page for them to promote their book trilogy. So, I was added as a moderator so I could work on it through my own account. I got blocked for being spammy because I mentioned the book on a few book related pages on FB. I could not find on FB anywhere how long I would be blocked (the only info. I could find on their site was 'it varies') and it's been supremely frustrating because I'm involved with a lot of pages for work and for my own freelance stuff and I'm blocked from everything because I was listed as a moderator for that one site. I can't believe it's for 15 days! Maybe if you posted on 100 pages, but for 6? Sigh. I guess I learned my lesson the hard way. Don't try to sit down and get some promotion done for your business. I'm guessing it's also a tactic to keep you from circumventing the Facebook ads. I'm sure they don't want you spreading the word about your business or product if you aren't paying for it.
I found this post to be very insiteful. I just recently had a problem with Facebook and found this inlightening. I will be sharing this with my friends who are business owner, on facebook. Thank You Karen