Facebook is largely a dying platform in Western countries, but ol’ Zuck and his web site are still is a necessity if you have a product, business, service or band to promote. It’s also a good way to learn about those types of things. I get most of my new music from Facebook groups for example.
There are a ton of ways to go about promotion on Facebook, most of which involves paying Facebook a ton of money for negligible results.
If you’re looking for good ways to promote on Facebook, go elsewhere. Today I’m going to teach you about the worst possible promotion method that everyone hates!
How To Piss Off Absolutely Everyone When Promoting™
While I never send a request to someone I don’t know and have never chatted with, I’ll add pretty much anybody who sends me a request. It’s a safe bet that you enjoy my content if you’re sending me a friend request without knowing me personally.
Likes/upvotes/whatever are a form of digital currency that help boost visibility, and random Facebook friends are are a source of that type of clout (and possibly money too).
Anyone who creates some form of content usually has the same “add anybody” policy for the same reasons. However, I’m always wary of four classes of people:
- Artists
- Musicians
- Marketers
- Real estate people
That’s because these people will send you a friend request, then the minute you accept, they’ll send you a request to like/follow their page.
This happens a lot especially in the heavy metal community. Guys in low-tier local bands, generic artists and desperate salesmen are the biggest offenders. No message introducing themselves, no comments appreciating your content, just a soulless, impersonal spam request to follow their content.
Everybody hates this method of anti-promotion. It does nothing for your brand except create instant animosity.
Yes, I’m talking to you
You right now, being fucking annoying
This post is specifically to show to the people do this terrible self-promotion. If you’re reading this post, there’s a good chance that you’re engaging in this type of bad practice. Stop it.
When you engage in this type of anti-promotion, you’re sending one message.
That message is “I don’t give even the smallest shit about my followers, and I’m doing the absolute minimum amount of engagement in order to promote my brand.”
It also shows that you don’t care enough about your own brand to promote in any other way besides mass spamming.
Take the message to heart, because you’re damaging yourself by giving people a negative image of you and your brand.
There is a better way!
What’s the solution? Simple, just stop doing this.
There’s nothing wrong with self-promotion. I do it all the time. But there’s a right way to do it. Send a quick message introducing yourself and say why you’re reaching out. Here’s an example:
“Hey, I’m Matt and we chatted a bit in the comments section on that page Hedgehogs Who Own Expensive Snowboards. I added you because it seems like we both love hedgehogs and expensive snowboards. Crazy huh?”
Engage in a little back-and-forth to show you actually are interested in the person and appreciate them. Build up a conversation. Most people are willing to at least check out your content if you take the extra 5 minutes to engage in some personal communication. Bonus: once you have enough followers and good enough content, you won’t even need to do this because people will come to you.
Now what???
Does this article apply to you? Congratulations, this is your tough love wake up call. Stop engaging in this form of shit marketing and send a few messages with a personal touch. Despite the call out, this post is meant to help you engage in better marketing and I wish you success with whatever you’re trying to promote.
Speaking of promotion
- I create logos, illustrations and book cover interiors. Check out my art portfolio or hit me up if you need graphic design work
- Listen to my musical projects
- Buy my humor book as a hard copy or in ebook format from Terror House Press
Photos courtesy of pexels.com
