As a Facebook Power User, as a social media manager, we might tell our clients:
- “We have to really engage on Facebook to get organic reach and traction”
- “We need to reply to every comment made on your Facebook business page”
- “Let us create a Facebook Group, and we can start by inviting your friends”
- “Here are some new people we think you need to connect with”
Do all of these things as recommended by Facebook and get…put into Facebook Jail! ?
This article spells out the best Facebook practices for 2020, and how to stay out of Facebook Jail!
Unspoken Facebook Rules
While Facebook algorithms count on you to engage i.e like, comment, share to work – if you do too much liking, commenting and sharing in a short period of time, you will be flagged for spamming.
To play nice on Facebook, to stay out of Facebook Jail, you need to know the Facebook rules of engagement.
Here are some ‘unspoken’ Facebook rules::
- Be kind
- Be courteous
- No name-calling
- Don’t attack people
- Leave genuine comments
- Lift people up vs. taking them down
- Tag friends only in pictures they appear in
- Fact-check your sources before you share anything
- Sharing is free; help your fellow business owners out by supporting them
Seems solid right?
Why then, are so many ‘innocent’ people sent to Facebook Jail. Notice ‘innocent’ is in parentheses.
While these unspoken Facebook rules make sense to many users, some people seem to think these rules are great but… just don’t apply to them.
Spammy Behavior To Avoid on Facebook
So what is considered spammy behavior on Facebook?
Here are some things NOT to do on Facebook:
- Create multiple personal Facebook accounts
- Post to groups you don’t own in a rapid fashion (copy ‘n paste the same posts)
- Post spammy, self-promotional posts to groups
- Use personal profiles to conduct business
- Send out too many friend requests to people in rapid fashion
- Comment the same (copied ‘n pasted) comment on multiple posts anywhere
- Post inappropriate content like hate speech that will offend other users
- Block admins of groups (they will report your profile to Facebook)
- Tag people in unrelated posts just to get some traction
- Share slanderous post
- Steal other people’s content and pass it off as your own (download videos and images that aren’t yours!)
- Invite all your friends to each Facebook event you create
- Add all your friends and family to your (new) Facebook groups
While this isn’t a complete list, this is a great list to keep in mind when getting excited about sharing your next business opportunity, 10-day challenge or Facebook event! Just don’t engage in that type of behavior and you will be fine!
Don’t be tempted to go too fast or do too much and certainly don’t steal, or post duplicate content – you don’t want your content, or you, to be marked as spam!
A Warning: Booked Into Facebook Jail For The First Time
Getting put in jail the first time should be seen as a ‘stern warning from a strict parent’. It gives you a preview of what’s to come if this behavior continues.
You can still see what’s happening on Facebook when you are put into jail, but certain actions will be restricted. Take this warning and change your behavior!
Some people report not being able to comment, share or like posts, other people lose the ability to post.
You will know you are in Facebook Jail because Facebook will tell you!
This is what one Facebook user said happened when put into Facebook Jail:
“The restrictions on activity have increased since the last time I got in trouble a few years ago.
- I couldn’t post/like/comment on my personal page.
- I couldn’t post/like/comment on a business page.
- If I was an admin for a business page, none of the OTHER admins could post to that page.
- My {scheduling tool} did not allow posts to any page that I was the admin of (and no, the account we tried to use wasn’t mine, it belonged to the organization.)
Simply put, my account was chickenpox and everything associated with it became infected.
If I get flagged again, I know I’m going down for 30 days.”
Now if this doesn’t scare you as a social media manager, nothing will!
The worst-case scenario includes losing access to not only your personal profile long-term but also your pages! For any social media manager, that would be disastrous and detrimental to their job or business.
How To Get Out of Facebook Jail
This is going to be the shortest paragraph ever written on this blog.
To get out of Facebook Jail … you need to sit out your time. There is NOTHING you can do once you are blocked or banned to make your time in Facebook Jail shorter. You are stuck in Facebook Jail until Facebook decides to lift that ban.
The End.
How To Stay Out of Facebook Jail Forever
While you might already see the writing on the wall after reading this article, let’s go over how to stay out of Facebook Jail forever.
- Use your personal account for personal use, not business
- Share original content – don’t steal images from Google, download videos and pass them off as your own, or copy and paste posts from others.
- Schedule posts out – do not post the exact same post in quick order to multiple places at once, like Facebook groups and pages.
- When commenting, do not copy and paste the same comment, but write original and genuine comments.
- When liking and engaging on Facebook, try doing it in short time intervals.
- Avoid hate speech and getting into arguments; it’s super simple for someone to report your profile to Facebook!
- Always check the source of the articles and posts you share.
If you are the recipient of pop up warnings from Facebook “You are going too fast”, or “Slow Down” take heed!
These are the first signs that the Facebook algorithm has flagged you and is about to restrict access! Stop what you are doing, get our of Facebook and evaluate what it was you were doing, then do not go back to that same activity, for a long while, or ever!
I am a Certified Social Media Manager, Strategist, International Keynote Speaker, Organic Specialist and Agile marketer! Blogging is my creative outlet. Running, hiking and skiing are how I recharge. You’ll recognize me on stage and online by my always present orange glasses, a nod to my Dutch heritage.
