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?
