Last week, I blogged about being banned from a Facebook Business Page. Thanks so much to everyone for the outpouring of support! From the many who commented and shared my story on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, your newsletters and blogs, to the even greater number who private messaged me with words of both bewilderment and support, I am deeply grateful.
I want to be very clear: I am not upset. Now that the initial surprise has worn off, I find it sadly funny. I remain steadfast that there was no good business reason for the ban; it says a great deal more about the “ban-ner” than me. I also won’t be making any more referrals to this business. They’ve revealed an appalling lack of both social media savvy and basic good judgment that I won’t foist upon others. Perhaps I should offer them my services instead! :-)
Many of you expressed the same three issues of concern: First, some of you didn’t know you could be blocked from a page. Second, you wondered when and if you should block page fans from commenting. Third, you wondered about blocking competitors. So, Dear Reader, as a follow-up, I offer guidance on each.
As for when you should block someone: Obvious offenses include rude, threatening or abusive language, profanity, and comments that serve no useful purpose except to defame or demean. I’d also consider blocking someone who repeatedly spammed or advertised their business on my page. I don’t mean another business page making periodic comments; I mean blatantly using my page as their own marketing platform, whether commenting as individual or page. That’s just bad form. As for whether to block your competitors, my answer is no. Social media is supposed to be open and transparent. Period. You’re not going to publicize anything proprietary on your business page, and blocked parties can still see it. So what’s the point in blocking other than not wanting them to comment at all? That’s censorship. If they do comment and don’t break any reasonable guidelines, you should treat them as you would any other fan. Finally, and please exercise great care before pulling this trigger: Here’s how to block a fan.
Now I’d like your weigh-in. What would cause you to block a page fan? Have you had to do it already? Why?
This is my policy for my personal profile (“page” forthcoming): I block obvious stalkers and spammers and anyone (except for close personal and professional friends) who uses my wall to promote themselves and/or their business. I’m glad you agree it’s bad form. I unfriend these people immediately.
Thanks for the weigh-in, Angie. I agree with you and ban or unfriend those types as well. Hope that has not been too big of a problem for you!
Because I had no idea I could ‘ban’ people from my page, I never considered it. In all areas of social media, the only things I do not tolerate are rudeness, disrespect and spamming. No one in any of my circles has used any of my platforms to misbehave – yet.
In any of those instances, I would unfriend the perpetrator if we were friends. On a business page, it’s different. For the first instance, I would respond with a comment reminding the person that the page is a professional forum and that everyone is expected to behave with professional courtesy, and spamming is not permitted. If the bad behavior continued after that warning, I would consider banning them. Just like in real life, disruptive people wreak havoc in the social sphere and can quickly turn a productive conversation into something that makes every participant feel icky. It is my responsibility as the curator of a page to monitor the experience of my fans, and to make certain my page remains an extension of my brand.
In fact, I don’t think there would be anything wrong with creating a tab or disclaimer on a page spelling out the ground rules for engaging in the discussion. It might be something to consider recommending for people with very active pages or social media participation.
Andra, I have seen pages with the types of tab you mentioned here, and I also think it is a great idea. I’ve also seen page moderators warn posters about the consequences of spamming and other unacceptable behavior; for example, that their comments would be deleted if the behavior continued. Also perfectly acceptable. Interestingly, an acquaintance started a “just for fun” group page last week, and made me an admin. All was well until an incendiary post appeared and several posters got very rankled by it. A very toxic thread ensued, and I commented within the thread that it had gotten out of hand and that I, as admin, I was going to ban the individual who started it, as well as delete the entire thread. I did exactly that. Everyone has behaved since, as far as I can see. I removed myself as admin, though and informed the page creator. I agree with you about an admin’s responsibility in monitoring the experience of the fans. I haven’t had any major problems on any of the pages I manage for business, thankfully! Thanks for your comment!