Comment Vomit: The Facebook Fan Page Edition
If you’re familiar with Momcomm, you’ve probably heard the term Comment Vomit by now. It’s my term for those icky, self-centered comments that some bloggers like to leave on your favorite posts. Some of them don’t know any better; others just don’t care because it may get them a couple of clicks at the sake of annoying the other 99.5% who didn’t click. Or they think they are “marketing.”
I thought I’d revive the ranting. Facebook fan pages are all the rage among bloggers these days. And for good reason. When done right, fan pages are a powerful way for bloggers to connect and build a community.
But Facebook fan pages have inspired a whole new breed of comment vomiters and I’m here to call them out. But I also offer simple fixes for each one ’cause I’m nice like that. Let’s get to it, shall we?
Liked you, now like me
Vomit: “I liked your page. Here’s mine!”
What it sounds like to others: “I liked you. Now you better like me even if we have nothing in common. I’ll probably never even look at your page again either but let’s like each other anyway.”
Why it sucks: Well, reciprocal Facebook page liking is one thing. If you want to like pages in order to get a like back, so be it. However, spamming a bunch of fan pages with a copy and pasted note from you is impersonal and unappreciated.
How you can fix it: Keep those “like me, like you “requests to the gazillion threads about it on blogging forums everywhere (Mom Bloggers Club, Blog Frog, etc). That way it’s not cluttering up fan pages for the people actually reading it. And please, only like pages that you actually want to follow, not ones that you hope will follow you back. NUMBERS AREN’T EVERYTHING.
Promoting your latest sale on someone’s page
Vomit: You tag someone’s page and write something like “We offer classic baby items, made with love for your special ones!”
What it sounds like to others: “You’re a mom? You have a fan page for your blog? Great! I just know you’ll love my new baby items because really, who wouldn’t? I’m just THAT awesome.”
Why it sucks: Ya know spam isn’t just sent by evil people. You may sell cute little bows, but you too are a spammer.
How to fix it: Find legitimate ways to promote your business. Encourage customers to spread the word for you (not by spamming though). Just stop tagging people’s pages like this. IT IS NOT MARKETING.
Anyone and everyone welcome
Vomit: “hey all, Would love a follow!”
What it sounds like to others: “I’m casting a wide net and trying to see how many fish I can sucker into getting caught.”
Why it sucks: Plain and simple version? You sound desperate.
How you can fix it: Just resist the urge to ever do this. Instead, focus on building connections with other bloggers. Participate in forums. Leave genuine comments on people’s blogs. All of these are legitimate ways to gain followers without polluting fan page walls.
Fake events
Vomit: “Sending an invite to my blog hop!!!”
What it sounds like to others: More spam.
Why it sucks: Again, you kind of sound desperate. This isn’t marketing either. This is kinda like walking up to random people at a party and handing them an invite to your birthday party with a chipper “Here’s an invite to my birthday party!” and then happily skipping off to the next victim. While you may very well be a nice person, you leave a bunch of people scratching their hands and wondering why you’d invite them when they don’t even know you.
How to fix it: Never ever do it. Keep it on your own Facebook fan page or on forums that allow postings like this. No one wants their wall covered with invites to blog hops.
Puking on your own page
Sadly, bloggers can even vomit on their very own Facebook page.
Vomit: Four posts in a row of your “likes” from MyLikes or some other type of advertising.
What it sounds like to others: “I’m trying to make as much money off you as possible so I’m going to post a lot of these.”
Why It sucks: It sorta makes you look greedy.
How to fix it: First let me say there is nothing wrong with trying to monetize your blog. Most of us want to make money from our blogs. There’s also nothing wrong with MyLikes (I plan to sign up and see if it works for me) or similar money-making services… when promoted properly. The easy fix is just to space them out a bit, not only for your readers’ sake but for potential fans as well. Would you like a page on Facebook if four of the last seven posts on their wall were all about earning them money? Doubt it.
So when should you tag a Facebook fan page or post on their wall? We’ll talk about that next week!
In the meantime, be sure to share this post on your Facebook fan page. Let’s all be passive aggressive, shall we?
And finally, tell me… have you been a victim of Facebook fan page vomit? Or seen a repeat offender?
Psst… If you wanna know the RIGHT way to engage with others, check out my follow-up post: Six Non-Spammy Ways for Bloggers to Engage with Other Facebook Fan Pages
NOTE: Because of mean spammers, I had to turn off comments on this post. Who knew spammers liked vomit so much?
