Facebook is one of the biggest marketing platforms for getting your brand into the hands of new users and sharing your voice. However, such great marketing opportunities are often beset with great challenges. Even though you are striving day in and day out to avail the hordes of benefits Facebook has in store for you, you can actually get thrown into Facebook Jail and have your account temporarily or permanently blocked if you don’t heed their guidelines or act too spammy. Here, I am going to share a few secrets which will avoid Facebook jail.
What is Facebook Jail?
Don’t worry, it is not an actual jail. It is term used when Facebook takes away your ability to comment on posts or post something new. Even though this block is usually temporary, it can also be permanent, leading up to account termination as well. There are several reasons due to which Facebook could block your profile or page from posting content. You could be posting inappropriate content, not heeding Facebook community guidelines, breaking rules, or getting too many likes too fast. If Facebooks blocks your account, you will be notified via email.
Depending on the nature and magnitude of the offense committed, Facebook Jail can keep you blocked for:
- A few hours
- 3 Days
- 6 Days
- A week
- It can be permanent as well.
Top Ways to Stay Out Of Facebook Jail
Here, we are going to tell you a few ways to avoid Facebook jail altogether.
1. Be Careful With Who You Add Or Tag
When you are adding someone, make sure you know them well and vice versa. Adding unknown people to your account not only tarnishes your image but is also considered a spam by Facebook, especially if the other person reports your profile. Therefore, this practice must be avoided. Also, sending many friend or group requests without their consent may also be considered spam if a large number of users mark you as SPAM and delete your request. This is because they don’t know you and are not likely to add you. When someone deletes your friend request, Facebook asks if they know you. If they say no, you will be marked as SPAM automatically. Similarly, never tag people in photos in which they are not present or have no relation to. Perhaps if you want them to see the post, you can tag them in the comments section below, but never on the image.
2. Don’t Spam Even If Your Post Is Legit
No site is partial to Spamming. Facebook is always keeping a hawk’s eye on all members to make sure the site is safe for everyone. There are a number of behaviors that can land you into trouble with Facebook and threaten the existence of your account. One of the top behaviors that act as a non-stop ticket to Facebook Jail is sending friend request to people you don’t know or who don’t recognize you. Along the same lines, never promote your business on the business pages of other people, not even in comments. Even liking their projects includes your mentions on their page, which is considered unethical behavior. Similarly, private messages are not for promotional purposes, and flooding people’s inboxes with promotional messages will only get you reported by the recipients of those unsolicited notifications.
If you continue to post incessantly on groups that are disapproving your posts, can also land you into Facebook jail. If you notice that a group or page is constantly removing your posts, you should avoid posting there immediately or risk account suspension. Also, impersonating someone on Facebook is something that is not taken lightly by Facebook. Even if you have to fake an account, make sure none of their friends or relatives see your account and report you. Lastly, even if your post is legit, try to increase the time interval between posts and avoid posting the same content over multiple pages or groups. If the message is spread widely enough, Facebook can even permanently delete your account.
3. Create Original Content
We talked to several community managers who work with Facebook regarding “how to stay out of Facebook jail”, and they all have the same answer: creating original content! As we have seen all too often, administrators are often blocked because they use the first image, they see on the Google’s search results, without even checking if those images have already been flagged SPAM. Google sometimes suggests images that have already been reported on Facebook as spam. Sharing them will direct the brunt of the complaints your way! Along the same lines, double check that the images you use are free to use and share for commercial purposes and have a proper license, so that you can continue to use them without encountering any future problems. If you are having trouble finding free and legal images online, we recommend you use royalty free images or create your own content. Sharing fresh and authentic content not only augments the look of your profile and keeps it fresh, but also helps you avoid Facebook jail. Remember that originality isn’t limited to just visual content. Even sharing a file, text, or a link that was previously marked as SPAM can land you in hot waters. If you want to avoid being blocked by Facebook and sent to Facebook Jail, my advice is to always stick with original content.
4. Beware Of Saboteurs
Unfortunately, there will always be some competitor or some rival who will play dirty just to get you into trouble and sabotage your reputation. They will try to harm your credibility and image by marking you as SPAM for no reason but to bring you down. You will be surprised how many people resort to such measures just to harm their competition. Thus, they can make sure that anything you post is attacked by “trolls” on the Network. If you ever suspect such shady activity from one of your contacts, block them immediately from your profile or page. Chances they, they won’t be able to do much damage if they can’t get access to your posts. You can also visit their personal profile and individually report them. If nothing else works, you can always contact facebook by using the institutional links available at the bottom of the page and explaining the situation to them.
5. Don’t Like And Comment Too Frequently
Certain actions can get you marked as a SPAM-bot on Facebook. If you don’t know what a SPAM-bot is, it is a type of automated software that is designed to mimic human behavior social media. If Facebook algorithm thinks you are a SPAM-bot, it blocks you from commenting or liking other posts and pages. In worst case scenarios, they can even prevent you from liking anything on the social network, among other sanctions, due to “excessive behavior”. To avoid getting a “Facebook Time Out” or sent to Facebook Jail, we would recommend that you control the speed at which you like and comment on other posts and pages. Traffic information is an asset to Facebook, and this is done just to maintain the balance. If too many users engage in different activities within a short time span, this system would collapse.
Also, don’t go crazy posting and saturating your followers’ timelines with incessant publications. To avoid infractions and penalties while trying to publish the same content on multiple pages, try leaving at least a few minutes in between each post. Posting your own business page two to three times a week, while a maximum of 5-6 daily publications in the biography itself, is considered suitable, but then again, it varies from industry to industry. The ideal thing to do is experiment and repeat trials to find out the ideal frequency of responses according to each audience. Posting too often can get you marked as SPAM as well.
6. Provide Authentic Information On Your Personal Profile
One of the most important sections of your page is the information section, since it tells your followers who you are, what you do, and other pertinent details about your business. The more they know about you, the more comfortable they will be when it comes to interacting with you. Your personal information is usually the first thing every user will search for on your profile. Compelling and interesting content in the about section is usually enough of a kicker to get them to like your page. So, it is essential that you provide them with complete and interesting information about your business to welcome new users and will finish convincing potential followers. However, remember that it is not necessary to tell customers EVERY nitty-gritty detail about your business. You should rather aim to send them to your website, where there they can learn more about your project if and when they want to.
7. Use “Shortened Links” On Your Page Biography When Linking To Your Site
You must be acquainted with shortening links to save space and characters on Twitter, but it is an essential trick to avoid getting into Facebook jail. This is because posting the same link across various posts and pages can be construed as SPAMMY behavior by Facebook. To avoid Facebook from marking your URL as SPAM, shorten links on your page biography, using sites like wp.me, bit.ly or goo.gl.
8. Don’t Use Your Business Name For A Personal Account
A lot of Facebook users run their businesses on Facebook as a profile instead of a page. However, this approach will not grant you any favors by Facebook. You should always use your real name on your personal account, instead of using your business name or even a fake name. If Facebook notices a personal account with the name “Maria’s cupcakes”, it could be marked as SPAM. You would do better to create a Facebook page with your business page and a personal account with your real name. Not to mention, when you do business via Business pages, you will have access to all the business tools on Facebook. Not to mention, Facebook rules dictate that each person can only have one personal account. Therefore, if you have multiple businesses, you should create multiple Business pages on Facebook from your actual personal profile and promote them openly without being flagged as SPAM. This way it will be easy for the customers to contact you and provide you feedback.
9. Understand How Facebook Works
Most of us don’t have the time or the energy to survive reading through the entire Help section of Facebook. Not just that, most clauses are too confusing and dull for an average user to understand, so here, we are going to summarize the few aspects that matter in this regard. If you want to use Facebook properly, there are a few rules that you have to follow. For instance, as mentioned above, you cannot create a “human” profile with a business name like “Clara’s accessories,” with the intention of posting in groups while promoting your business. Biographies are intended to be used by people with their real names, but you can mention your business in your personal information, or create a business page separately and promote it using your personal account without incurring the wrath of the Facebook sheriff. Secondly, keep in mind that only one account per person is permissible, even though multiple business pages can be attributed to the same account. This makes it easier for your customers to directly contact you. If you want more information pertaining to this discussion, please review the Facebook terms and policies for both business pages and personal biographies.
10. Never Use Scripts Or Automated Softwares
Overt use of automated software and multiple scripts guarantees your entry into Facebook jail. Therefore, the use of these automated programs is never recommended. If you need to use such devices, never do so frequently. It is better to schedule them for 4-5-hour intervals, interspersed with one to two hours of rest, This will help in convincing the Facebook that you’re a human and not any robot doing these actions.
