Here’s the scenario: You’ve spent countless time building your Facebook Page, because you know social media is the marketing of the future. In fact, to really make social media work you’ve got to be there posting and interacting everyday. And you’ve even added Facebook link icons to all your webpages, product pages, blogs, etc. etc. Facebook is now a permanent and integral part of your marketing engine. Or so you thought. One morning you go in to paste a blog link, and Facebook blocks it. Not going to happen today. There’s no one you can call, and the message Facebook gives you is about as informative as a digital shrug can be. So, you fill out the contact form to appeal, and hopefully you’ll get your link posting privileges restored. Not knowing why is the worse part. Almost as bad is thinking when you’re filling out the Facebook help form, I hope this isn’t going to the same place my last inquiry went–it was never answered.
That scenario actually happened to us this morning. And here’s the Facebook pop-up response that displayed:
The content you’re trying to share includes a link that’s been blocked for being spammy or unsafe: ftjcfx.com For more information, visit the Help Center. If you think you’re seeing this by mistake, please let us know.
Legitimate online marketers always have the risk of being labeled a spammer; all it takes is a few reports on a well-intended post. But the only thing we’ve done on Facebook is post links to our blogs and engaged in the occasional social media interaction. Plus the link they say is banned doesn’t correspond to our blog. A mix-up? And when we Google search, we see the banned link is associated with Commission Junction. Either way, without warning, no more blog links are allowed, until further notice.
Thankfully we have diversified adequately to mitigate the damage. Many online merchants haven’t. In fact, many merchants have been sufficiently wooed with “Facebook is the future” kind of ideals that they’ve migrated everything, including their stores, to the platform. We’re not saying Facebook is bad–it’s still important–but we suggest diversifying, especially when you’re using platforms that tend to be subject to functionality changes on a regular basis.
