As a conscious business owner the last thing you would ever do is send SPAM emails – right? Well, if you have ever sent a bulk email to your Facebook friends list, then this blog is for you.
There’s been a trend building over the last several months on Facebook that has on a daily basis, filled my inbox with dozens of unwanted solicitations from well meaning “conscious” business owners trying to get the word out about their products, services and events. My experience is not unique, as I’ve talked with others who say they too are getting an increasing number of solicitations in their Facebook inbox.
In my opinion, these Facebook emails are SPAM just as unrequested and unwanted as a Nigerian 419 letter or those never ending offers for free drugs to encourage the growth of certain body parts.
It’s understandable why so many are resorting to spamming their Facebook friends – it is a heck of a lot easier than building a real direct response list – but bad marketing practices have never been the path to a solid and sustainable business. The few sales you gain short term, cannot make up for the damaged relationships and lost credibility over the long term.
Also, while bad marketing practices are annoying when applied to your own products and services, spamming as an affiliate can be grounds for loss of affiliate promotion privileges and even forfeiture of commissions in some cases.
If treating your Facebook friends as a direct response list is not the way to go, what are the options?
Here are my suggestions for upgrading Facebook marketing practices and results:
1) Create an event and invite every one of your Facebook friends to the event. The invitation will show up under “Events” and not in their email inbox. Then, and this is VERY important, send confirming emails only to the invitees who reply “yes” or “maybe” and NOT to the ones who do not reply or who say no. Ask your confirmed and maybe attendees to use the Share option on the event page and post the event on their wall or share with individually selected friends via personal email thereby increasing your exposure to others who will be interested. It’s the Like attracts Like principal, and it works.
2) Create a fan page – which is much more like an opt-in list because by becoming a “fan” the person is essentially saying, “I am interested”. If you are going to be sending marketing emails to your fans on a regular basis, I recommend you give them a heads up right on your fan page. Fan pages are getting very creative, and many businesses are making a fortune from well designed Facebook fan pages. Go for it!
3) Get personal – if you’ve got some “good fit for my stuff” peeps in your friends list (and of course you do), why not send them a personal email inviting them to look at your offer? Yes, a personal email takes more time but it is proven more effective. It also creates an opportunity to maximize the real value of Facebook, which is building relationships. Instead of getting “unfriended” or “blocked” because of unprofessional social media marketing strategy, a personal email could lead you to a new client, a great referral partner or a gold mine of a joint venture partner.
4) Get organized – if you feel you simply must treat your Facebook friends like a direct response list, at least take the time to segment your friends into groups based on demographics or what you perceive their level of interest could be. Minimally this will prevent you from looking like a dork for inviting friends in Montana to a networking coffee in Florida.
These are some of my thoughts on the subject of email marketing via Facebook, and I’d love to hear yours! Comments are welcomed and encouraged but please, hold the blog spam.
Mary Kay Morgan is founder of AffiliateWealthPartners.com the only affiliate and joint venture resource exclusively serving the needs of the conscious business community. Sign up now for our FREE membership into our Affiliate Community and gain access to our library of affiliate tutorials and to our approved list of high integrity, proven affiliate opportunities.
