Marketing on Facebook is becoming as fun as a fastball to the face. What to do?

By Roy Harryman

Once upon a time, marketing on Facebook was fun. Then it made billions of dollars, got hauled before congressional committees and a bunch of other stuff. Fast forward: It’s no longer fun.

The point in sharing my personal travails with Uncle Zuck (AKA Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg) is that everyone’s marketing strategy should include diversification. More on that in a moment.

All the shoes drop
My first inkling that something was awry at Facebook was when a local small business owner and friend had her account hijacked by someone claiming to be a jihadist. Now that’s not unusual. However, she had employed two-factor authentication and the account was still hacked. Because her Facebook and Instagram accounts were linked, both were hacked. And not only hacked, but deployed by the criminal for nefarious purposes.

“OK, but you can’t blame Facebook for that.” Maybe. Maybe not. But I can blame Facebook for their non-response. As you may have found out, you can’t talk to a real person at Facebook, only bots. So her business reputation was being damaged by a jihadist and Facebook wouldn’t help her.

The good news: It eventually did. Because she went on three different TV news interviews. An employee of Facebook eventually saw the coverage, felt chagrined and called someone higher up.

We made it go away
A while earlier, I heard that the Social Media Examiner’s Facebook page had simply disappeared. This was a well-established page with 100,000+ fans. There was no one to call, but because they had friends in high places, eventually it was restored after tons of bad publicity. Yet a friend of mine who owns a small video agency was not so “lucky.” When his Facebook page was vaporized, he had to start over from scratch, trying to reclaim the 3,000 fans he had built organically over years.

Yes we have no appointments
My recent travails with Facebook could basically be characterized as benign incompetence. Because I help clients spend advertising dollars on Facebook, I am part of a program where a Facebook rep reaches out to evaluate your program and make recommendations. The first meeting went great … except that the company’s screen sharing service was down. That meant our conversation was a bit strained because we couldn’t exactly understand what the other was talking about.

For the second meeting, I suddenly had a new rep. She was very knowledgeable and nice. She didn’t even mention the screen sharing app. The third and fourth appointments didn’t happen because Facebook has issues identifying time zones. Once she called at night and the other time she didn’t call at all. So far, that’s the end of it.

Getting political?
One of my clients addresses social and cultural issues but doesn’t venture anywhere near candidates, legislation, politicians or the government. An example would be, “You can help remedy homelessness in Countryland.” At some point, Facebook decided this was political advocacy. To run this ad you would have to register as a political advertiser. This is a hassle. And just as importantly, it seems completely arbitrary. My guess is that some countries are flagged and others aren’t. An ad that passes muster for one country is “political” in another.

Suppressing businesses and non-profits
Last year, Facebook announced a crackdown on organic (non-paid) content from businesses and non-profits. One lifeline they gave was to allow people to click a button to “See First.” This means that, although Facebook would normally suppress this post, if a viewer clicks See First, they’ll give you the privilege of viewing it. However, they apparently don’t want anyone to know about this.

I say this because they will not allow you to boost a post about this so your fans can learn about See First. There are about 27 regulations for boosted posts. I read them all. I complied with them. But no matter what I do, Facebook says I have not followed its advertising guidelines. Hmmmm …

I revised a See First video three times and the third time was the charm. Facebook approved it and let me boost it to current fans of a page. But the next time I tried to run it, it was in violation of one of the 27 regulations. They don’t tell you which one. So I revised it again and it was approved … until it was denied half way through its run.

Its cousin Instagram
Facebook owns Instagram, so I believe we can expect more of the same on this platform. I recently had an enlightening security meltdown on one of my customer’s accounts. A friendly neighborhood Russian hacker tried to saw through our account for a week. It was a battle of wills as I changed passwords and he changed them back. Finally I lost. I was locked out. I was mortified to learn that 100% of the Instagram “help” articles on this topic relate to being able to access your account. A full 0% of them relate to what to do if someone has completely and totally taken over your account. There is no one to talk to. There is no place to make a report. As a result of this, people are turning to “ethical hackers” to steal their accounts back from regular bad guy hackers. For realz. Because our Instagram and Facebook accounts were linked, we were able to vanquish the rogue and lock him out for good. But if not for that, it would be game over.

The bottom line
Facebook (and Instagram) are valuable marketing tools. So use them and be sure, of course, to maximize your security. However, posting to Facebook has become like visiting the DMV. The company has become an unreliable business partner, at best. This means it’s time to diversify. There are numerous social networks and digital tactics you can use to reach customers and prospects. Never, ever put all your eggs in one basket. Especially if Facebook owns the basket and can make it disappear while you sleep.

Need ideas about how to diversify? Let’s talk.

Roy Harryman is the principal of Roy Harryman Marketing Communications and helps small business and non-profits make a big impact on a small budget. He’s a former journalist and has served small businesses and non-profits for more than two decades.