In its mission statement and policies, Facebook is committed to being a place where people build community, where real interpersonal relationships grow, and where authenticity is key. Because it is easy for users to create and share content in a way that works against the community focus, Facebook has developed a strict set of community standards. If you’re just beginning your online presence and want to get a feel for the breadth of standards, take a look at the full list. If you’ve been using the platform for years and just want to hear about a few easy-to-violate standards that may have escaped your notice, read on.
It’s important to remember that following these standards has a direct impact on the success of your digital marketing plan. Sometimes, a violation of these policies leads to an outright account suspension or deletion, which stops your social presence in its tracks and while it is usually simple to resolve the violation and move forward, you may lose valuable data and followers along the way.
Other times, the effects may go undetected by you. Facebook’s algorithms are trained to eliminate threats to the community standards policies and may do so by shadowbanning your account. You would not be alerted to a shadowban in the same way you would for an account suspension, so even if you believe you’re following all the guidelines—or think you’re getting away with violating them—it is important to double check once in awhile that you’re not adversely affecting your account visibility by violating community policy.
Important Community Guidelines to Follow
Avoid “Spam” Posting. Whether you’re posting on your personal profile, in groups you’re a part of, or on a page you manage, be careful about posting high numbers of content every day, especially if it’s the same content or third-party, external-linking content. Posting at a high frequency in general is seen by Facebook as a practice that potentially creates a negative user experience, and if you’re linking out to any questionable sites or clearly trying to use post frequency for “commercial gain”, Facebook wants no part in helping you do that.
Use Your Real Name. It may be tempting to slip into anonymity on Facebook to avoid your name showing up in Google searches or so people from your past who you don’t want to be friends requested by can’t find you. But using a fake name on your Facebook profile is an easy way to have your account removed by Facebook, and could give you problems creating a new profile in the future. Instead, make sure your privacy permissions are set up to your liking.
Remember: What You Do On Your Personal Profile Can Affect Your Business Page. This is especially true if you are your business page’s only administrator, as an account suspension or deletion would make it impossible for you to access your business page. While privacy settings are such that there is no direct data sharing between your personal account and your business page, your account’s health and reputation do affect your access to your page, and your ability to share from it.
If you’re still feeling a little lost about Facebook’s guidelines, or you simply don’t want to handle the stress of keeping up with new community standards, schedule a call with us at Monkey VA—we’re happy to manage your business’ social accounts so you can put all of these online restrictions out of your mind.
