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How do you know if you’re becoming annoying to your fans? It’s a super scary thought! You’ve worked so incredibly hard to get them to your wall… The last thing you want to do is drive them away!

I have spent a lot of time thinking about this for the Go{4}Pro Facebook Page... Trying to give you the right amount of smiles, inspiration, tips… Sometimes I think I’m doing pretty good. Other times I’m worried that I’m painfully boring, repetitive, annoying (it changes). Finding the right balance takes time and insight.

There is no cookie cutter template on what to do and how to do it. Some people blow up their social media 24/7 – they go super personal, it seems like what they’re doing shouldn’t work, and yet for them it does! While others try to fit that same mold and fail miserably. The one thing that I know for sure with Social Media is that anyone who I’ve ever seen have long term success from it – has stayed genuine and true to who and what they are.

But for the sake of this posts, I think that these 5 annoyers are pretty universal and staying away from them is just good common practice… Of course there are always exceptions to the rule. Except for #2. Don’t make exceptions to that one, cause it’s annoying always! 

Here are 5 Big Annoyers you might want to avoid….  

Don’t criticize your competition or your peers. This really really frustrates me when I see photographers bad mouthing other photographers. We are not all going to agree, we are not all going to do things the same way and we are not all going to get it right all the time. Don’t self appoint as the Queen B who’s going to set other’s straight. I’ll admit it, you’ll probably get the short term gain of a lot of attention but ultimately all you’ll do is attract the type of people who love to criticize as well… And don’t be surprised if one day that criticism turns on you.

The “Hello” Spammy Tag. If you’ve ever made the mistake of writing something like “Saying Hello” and tagged a bunch of others pages. Chalk it up to a momentary lapse in judgment and vow you’ll never do it again. It’s not professional, it looks a little desperate and it can get you blocked or reported for spam. If you want to introduce yourself you should absolutely do it but be creative and be genuine. Tell them why you like being there and how grateful you are to have been introduced to their page. I can tell you that at least for me personally there is a much higher chance I’d check your page out if you’re creative and considerate than the 0% chance if you’re not.

Stop the Replay Button. I’m going to be the first to admit it, I dont’ know what the perfect amount of posts are and I’m not sure how you know when you’re posting too much but if you’re posting the same content every 30 minutes, I can guarantee you’re gonna get annoying. I’ve had days where I’ve felt like I was being insanely annoying. (Sorry if I annoyed you) I think at minimum you should post once a day, at maximum… I don’t know that answer. Pay attention to your feed. Is interaction drying up? Consider trying not to hit their feed more than once in a scan cycle.

The conversation that goes the wrong way. Have you ever had a client leave a post on your wall that they want to book a session? Hip, hip hurray for sure BUT don’t let this convo continue where it’s at. Instead you need to hop in the conversation car and drive it on over to a more suitable parking space (like your inbox). Respond to the comment with enthusiasm and let them know you’ll be emailing them asap. Two great things happen by doing this; 1) You educate other clients to keep scheduling where it belongs and 2) You don’t wind up in a huge awkward wall post where they ask if they can get a deal and now you’re stuck needing to respond with the knowledge your entire fan base is “listening”.

Overly TMI. Your fan base will come to learn what they should expect from you based on what you put out there. If you put a lot of personal stuff, you’ll attract fans who enjoy and appreciate it. If you never post little personal bits then randomly put one out there, your readers may be confused to see it. Finding your middle ground is the best answer! But the one rule you must obey… Be professional. That doesn’t mean be uptight. It doesn’t mean you lie, but you should always remember that your posts are representing your company. Once you’ve put it out on the web… it’s really tricky to take back!

Treat your fans like gold because really, they are. We should be grateful for the opportunity to interact and build a relationship with Facebook followers. I know it’s easy to click ‘like’ but I still consider it a huge honor when someone makes a CHOICE to like my page! One great way to show your gratitude is by interacting when a follower gives you the chance. If you put out a post, make sure you’re monitoring for responses. Ignoring  comments (intentional or not) will leave that follower and many others who are looking in, the impression that you’re not really in this for your clients. 

My last tip of advice is to STICK WITH IT! Don’t give up if you’re numbers aren’t climbing walls at the rate of certain Vampires at Twilight. And don’t be too hard on yourself if you’ve committed one of our “Annoyers”… Stick with it… Try different approaches and see what brings you the most interaction. Paying attention to what works for you and what doesn’t will be your best starting point. After that… You just have to experiment and see.What’s your best Facebook advice? Do you have any annoying rules you’d like to add? What has worked best for your own Fan Page and what mistakes have you learned never to make again?

{HubSpot Image Source: mashable.com}

What’s your best Facebook advice? Do you have any annoying rules you’d like to add? What has worked best for your own Fan Page and what mistakes have you learned never to make again?

Remember to please be kind to one another (there is always a REAL person on the other end of your words) but be specific so that we can all THRIVE a little better.