March 19, 2024

Facebook Etiquette – A List of 17 “Don’t Dos”

Everyone is different about what they think is okay and not okay to do on Facebook.  If you have an opinion, we would like for you to sound off about it here.

After reading through 86-some comments at a well known marketer’s Facebook page, it’s confirmed everything I’ve always believed to be a “don’t do.”

And so I’ve compiled a list here.  This post condenses and summarizes all of the “don’t dos” I gathered from the page I referenced above plus some that I thought were left out.

Use these “social offenses” as a learning tool for what not to do on Facebook.

  • Oversell
  • Post business opportunity related information out of no where
  • Profanity (especially the “F” word)
  • Personal drama
  • Friend request plus immediate post on Faceook wall about your business opportunity
  • Political bashing. Religious or spiritual bashing. Any kind of bashing, especially…
  • …Bashing another network marketing company, and trying to bring them over to your company
  • Posting under the influence of drugs or alcohol
  • Whining. Or dooming, glooming, negative talking. Complaining
  • Pilfering of friends list. Don’t friend up Ann Sieg then friend up all 4,470 of her friends
  • Games i.e. Farmville
  • Derogatory remarks toward other people
  • Adding someone to a group without permission
  • Tagging other people in photos for “cheap” exposure
  • Not sending a personal message with friend request
  • Sex talk
  • Consistent complaining about this or that, or did I already post that one?

Your turn. Please add your own list of “Don’t Do on Facebook” in the comments below

About Eric Walker


Eric is an 80/20 Marketing staff member and marketing collaborator. He spends his days writing content and copy for a marketing purpose. Eric is an optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together. If you have a question, and/or would like to communicate with Eric directly, email Eric@8020MarketingInc.com

Comments

  1. I think you hit it on the head!!

    Political/religious comments definite no-no because everyone is different and you can offend someone if you make a statement

    Cursing,sex talk, drug no-no and no! Very unprofessional

    Hard selling and spamming never works!

    • Karen Nelson says:

      As I have said, many times here, My page was ONLY opened, due to my being distant from my Family Members. Such as My Children and especially My 7 grand Children, also. So I do agree, this should NOT be for business, and for my end, it’s not been, but they who have been asked, time and time again, keep making their lists and get this, I’m supose to PAY money to be on one, On my Face Book Page?!! NOT going to happen, but it’s being asked of me, however, I’m finally up and running again, and one thing which will be changed, as soon as tomorrow, is ALL these little “Clubs”, if you will, for I was not asked, Nor was I ever thanked, for them doing this. I have had many leave due to the Constant Bickering and much more, so As of Tomorrow, ALL CLUBS and MY Face Book Page, returns to what it was intended for, My Family and Friends, which most of the people here, do NOT Even like me, and I personally really do NOT care, for I’ve struggled a long time and I quite agree, they are not making this easy for me. So, I’m going to say this to the PEOPLE on my page, who have their CLUBS and so forth, YOU NEVER asked me, nor have you done what I have asked of you, so close it, open it elsewhere, and it stops, today! Thank You,
      Karen Clark/ Nelson…

  2. Never post anything that you wouldn’t want your Grandma or Mom to read… even though you think it is deleted.. it is out there for all time.. Oh yea I learned the hard way :-)
    Great list now if people would just read these… Thanks!

  3. ellane arguelles says:

    thanks for sharing mam Ann…Godbless!

  4. This is an excellent list. Sadly, these should be basic, common sense, but aren’t. And that last sentence just broke one of the rules. 8)

    Thanks for reminder of on these.

    I would include “Don’t give out anyone’s personal information in the wider group.” For instance, “Hey Eric, are you still going to order that special cream we talked about?” or “Is your phone number still 111-555-1212?”

    Either of those would immediately turn me off from the offender.

  5. Absolutely! Thank you for making sure this topic is brought to light. We remind our team to be themselves, but act as if their mother were watching! Thanks Again.

  6. Just finished reading another page of FB dont’s.
    I agree: I don’t care if you just did your laundry, or if your baby spit up or you dog chewed your shoe. Unless I’m playing your game with you I don’t want or have anything you are growing, mining, digging, designing or eating.
    I’m a believer in…If you can’t say something nice, then don’t say anything at all. Hmmm, on that note I should finish by saying “every one is wonderful, have a beautiful, peachy keen day, sunshine, lollipops and……you know the rest.

  7. I especially agree with the religion/political bashing, and I will add spamming my Facebook page with links to political news articles. There’s nothing that will get a person blocked from my list faster than bashing a person’s religious or political beliefs. Also, it doesn’t matter whether I agree with a person’s political views or not, if you fill my Facebook page with political news which is derogatory toward the opposing viewpoint, I will block that person in a heartbeat. I Facebook to connect with friends, not to take sides in a political or religious debate.

  8. Marco De Veglia says:

    I fall prey of all these bad practices.

    But when it happens, the subtle revenge is unfriending, blocking or signaling the offender to Facebook. Maybe it doesn’t work, but if it does I love to punish stupidity and ignorance.

    I would add the statuses full of simbols instead of content. AND ANY Facebook App just for fun (if I want a FB App I register myself, thank you guys).

  9. Saying how much FB sucks even though you’re still on FB . . . . Hello? Who’s forcing you to be here? Are we biting the hand that feeds us?

    • Dee, can you clarify?
      Are you scolding us?
      Not sure what you mean here.

      • Hey Eric,
        I’m sorry my comment was not clear. I meant to say it irks me when people trash and put down FB – but continue to show up and post all the time. That’s like when you go to a restaurant, your meal arrives, you scarf it down — – – then right before you pay your check you tell the waiter that you really didn’t like the food and that it was not cooked right. That is just bad manners! Sorry for the confusion. No, I love this post and all the comments. And I know I am guilty of many of the above listed bad behavior. I am sorry my comment was not clear. I was not scolding you or this blog. quite the contrary. :-)

  10. I particularly don’t like it when you see posts that when read just do not make any sense. A reent one was where you assign the first few people on your friends list to some arbitrary role such as “race car driver” or whatever. Also I totally agree about derogatory religious or political statements.
    And if your kid does well at something, that ‘s awesome! Post an occasional big accomplishment. But don’t post every little thing (brag too much). It can get old.

  11. Michele Kole says:

    Thank you Ann! Great list of don’t dos. I have a couple of adds:

    Don’t put a super revealing oversexed picture of yourself as your profile picture if you expect to be taken seriously. Unless you really are on Facebook to attract that kind of attention.

    Be kind when someone does one of the “no-no’s” on your wall. Many newbies to FB just got advice from their upline somewhere or attended somebody’s class who told them to post their business everywhere. I usually do it in a private message to that person – I’ve gained some good friends that way.

    I really appreciate when people have politely told me what I was doing wrong and how to correct it without blasting me. I’ve made several of the BIG NO-NO MISTAKES when I just didn’t know any better. :)

    • I agree with you Michele. Some people want to blast you out but how can you know unless you are told? The person blasting you out wasn’t born knowing not to do that. Nice is much better.

  12. I am telling you. I just love reading the comments that have rolled in here today.

    Just priceless. It’s brought me lots of laughter and smiles.

    I have thoroughly enjoyed this.

    Thanks all for stopping by!

  13. Good list Eric! I think you hit most of them. Did you mention profile pictures with too much skin, like massive cleavage? No thanks! lol.

    Profanity is a definitely tacky, especially the f word, like you said. I’ll hide your post once, next time you’re gone.

    I do post political videos on my personal page, but ones reinforcing my opinion, never bashing someone else.

    The games are annoying, but I just hide them.

    Most annoying and unwanted– posting sales pitches on my page. If you want to do it, use your own page, not mine.

    I think I’ll refer people to this article if they break a “rule”. 😉

    Kari

  14. These are pretty comprehensive. I think another one is to keep tagging a lot of your friends with your long notes about what the person is interested in right now. That person may have a lot of time for writing out missives but if it gets too many, I don’t have time to read them. And they keep showing up on my wall! Thanks for a great post. Blessings, Amy

  15. Hi Eric,

    What I liked about the list: short and to the point. In other words, informational without overkill. I would add to what someone else listed about, basically, keeping it reasonably modest. Saw something definitely not at all modest in my news feed recently and unfriended immediately.

    Thanks again,

    Lee

  16. * Way to much skin or way to sexy of a pose.
    * The profanity .
    * Don’t post nothing you wouldn’t want your mom to see or grand mom.
    * Don’t use F/B to break up with one one.
    *Don’t use the “N” word people, we didn’t like it than and we don’t like it now , for you younger folks.

    -Orlando

  17. I have a hard time with the posts that ask you to copy and paste an opinion/position someone else wants to promote.

  18. I always wonder why it is that so many can mess their pants with irritation when someone commits one of the no no’s. Frankly I don’t care. I still friend the person and engage them in a conversation. There is nothing that is ever posted that offends me (I’m Angel) LOL! Really very rarely and if I do get offended I know it’s my issue.

    I enjoy all the status updates and conversation people are having even the ones I disagree with. It demonstrates how very much we are alike.

    Appreciation from the Heart,

    Richard De Haven

  19. I like this… this is a great way to get the word out that Facebook is a “social network” not for spammers!

    I always say to my team “keep your links on your own wall!”

    Great idea…..

    question… can I repeat the ideas behind this post to my team through my blog?

    Thanks again

    Pete

  20. Great post and comments – I for one learned loads of new things about what to do and not to do.

    Don’t tell the world you are going on vacation for two weeks and your house will be empty – I am sure every police officer in the world rolls their eyes every time they see that one and…dont tag someone in a photo or say you are out with them without permission – they should have a say what you do with their name on line.

  21. Here’s one for you: Vaguebooking. It’s when someone asks you a question or mentions something in their comments and you respond with “I’ll PM you” instead of answering under your status ABOUT that topic. It also refers to someone who posts nebulous updates such as, “Uh oh.” with no further explanation. It’s annoying. If it is that much of a secret, don’t post or comment to begin with.

    A PR firm I started working with took a look at my personal FB page and found it remarkable that it was neutral, yet so active. I read the list of 17 “don’t do’s” this morning and admit I don’t do any of them to begin with. There must be a connection… Great list!

  22. Oh, and one more thing to add…that list assumes that people would apply the rules to both status updates AND comments, but some people think that comments are fair game as long as they keep their wall clear of ‘ugly’ status updates or links. Not true. If anything, adding comments that break the 17 rules will expose you even more and project your negative image a lot faster in the end. There is no double standard!

  23. Killer list and great information. It’s great you put this out there as a ton of people need to take notice of the no-no’s. I have NEVER done any of those things!

  24. People need to be educated on this so they can apply it. When you are creating a professional profile, you have to be conscious of others and how you look. People follow famous people in twitter, but facebook is more personal. You can’t use the same approaches.

  25. Just one man’s opinion here, but if you’re using Facebook as a marketing tool, at this point in the game, why would anyone still be using their personal profile? Your personal profile should be just that, PERSONAL. If you want to play Farmville all day, DO IT. But if you’re going to be marketing, create a Fan Page, and keep your business and personal lives separate.

    Or, even though Facebook is technically against it, create a separate profile for friends and family, and one for business associates. You have different lists in your autoresponder, don’t you? Why not different lists on Facebook?

    Now, one of the things I find terribly annoying is when people invite everyone in a group to their business presentation, even though we’re not connected at all. No relationship building, just volume spam.

  26. How about people who post in ghetto-short-cut-typing that is totally unintelligible to the regular guy?!

    • Tammi Johnson says:

      I think you meant say to the racist guy………..Heres another tip do not use descriptive words in posts or comments that could be viewed as racist.

  27. I really like it when someone friends you and then keeps sending notes or IM’s banging you about there op. Makes me wanna just jump up and down with joy. I always love to read unsolicted messages es[ecially when the grammar is absolutely pathetic.

  28. I agree with most, but here is my point of view on religion, I don’t bash anyone’s religion, but if your friend me and see that I am christian. Then expect me to post a bible verse. I use my page to speak for myself, I have friends that of other religions and if they want to put something on their own wall then that is their choice. I am not going to comment on it. It is not bashing others beliefs to have your own. Now if I chose to friend others and went to their walls and clutter it with bible verses then yes that would be wrong, but I don’t do that and neither should anyone else, but my wall is my wall and for friends only. My business page is the only public page I have.

    • I agree.

      Re: “I don’t care if you just did your laundry, or if your baby spit up or you dog chewed your shoe.”

      My take is, if I’m connected with you on Facebook in the first place, then I know we’d be close enough for you to care.

      Reading comments like the one above, and looking at some of the “social offenses” on this list, I’m thinking, “Hey, this is my Facebook wall, why can’t I share these things with my Facebook contacts who I’m supposed to be friends with?” I mean, in the first place, I connected with them on Facebook because my relationship with them is intimate enough that I assume they’d actually care about my thoughts and what’s happening in my life. Maybe the title of this post should be changed into “Facebook Etiquette – A List of 17 “Don’t Dos” FOR YOUR PUBLIC ACCOUNT”. Or maybe not. I personally think it’s none of my business what religious or political opinion people put on their own Facebook wall unless it refers directly to me or my family or breaks a law.

  29. Hi dear!
    Thank’s for your post.
    To me, Facebook should remain a friendly way to contact people, know other new people and share valuable ideas, help searching somebody’s similar interests and promote good things of public interest, in any language.
    Politics and Religion should be left aside because it’s a very personal matter of opinion or something deeply spiritual. We should respect every one’s and that’s why any proselytism is unuseful.
    I personnaly like to respect everybody’s choice and feeling about spiritual belief. But yes! I definitely would agree to promote good business opportunities and valuable ideas of any kind even music and arts ! A good Fan Page can do that.
    A final thought; I really think that Facebook is just an amazing opportunity and easy way to get in touch with the rest of the World! Cheers!
    Ralf U. Krebs – San Juan de Pasto – Colombia

  30. Hello Eric,

    Awesome post! Full of things that should be obvious. I plead guilty to one of the points, and I’m paying the price for 7 days, so not too bad. The lesson for me here is to never take things for granted.

    Philippe

  31. Hi Ann,

    thank you so much for sharing that list of ‘don’t’s.

    They do make a lot of sense. Especially posting a biz opportunity straight after befriending someone.

    I also find it annoying that when you have accepted someone as a friend and they send you a msg about their biz or free ebook straight after.
    To me posting anything that is not positive does not make sense.
    Why spend time on that?

    Much appreciated.
    Cheers,
    Yorinda

    P.S. have you considered the commentluv plugin, it’s free.

  32. Great post…this needs to be shared! One more no-no…friend someone and then send them a “thanks for friending me” email with any type of link…opportunity or helpful tools, free or not. My fb inbox has been overwhelmed with emails that say thanks now check out what I am promoting…

    What I find so interesting though, is when I reply and genuinely ask them how this method of connecting with people and promoting their business is working for them, the majority of people respond that it’s working great…hmmm.

    Thanks again for the great post!

  33. Speak your mind is the heading for youyr box to fill in

    Dont your rule shout PLEASE DONT!!

    pleaseing yourself

    Social media…………………BE there Or NOT
    your choices reeally.!!

    Friend or NOT

    Your choices or NOT

  34. Thanks Anne n Eric for this post. Now I don’t feel bad about not accepting request from ‘ friends’ I don’t think I know n who don’t send a message with it. And to untag those happy taggers. Just like those days when mobile phones were being used, it is good to educate one another n not be too worked up about it. Kamsia (thank you from our heart in our dialect) :)

  35. Facebook can really be such a double-edged sword! I’ve enjoyed reconnecting with old friends, which is such a great gift, but on the other hand, I’ve seen such abuse, too! The teenage daughter of a friend of mine decided to video record her dad (my friend) while he was partying (a a few too many “cups of cheer” after his team won a championship game). She posted the video without his knowledge on fb, only to have his employer see it, and my friend (believe it or not) came close to losing his job for inappropriate behavior! There’s a BIG Fauz pas for you!
    BTW: Love u all 80/20 Marketing Ann and team!! ~ fran

  36. Ann & Eric-

    This is such a great list of things to avoid… all are spot on, and it’s amazing how many people do those things! I agree with a few of the comments above: this is truly a list to avoid when you are using Facebook as a marketing tool. If you use Facebook as a way to connect with your close friends and family, then perhaps letting them know some of the details about your life isn’t such a bad thing (i.e., dog chewed your shoe, baby spit-up updates, etc.). But if that is the case, then use a Fanpage for your business. Or, as someone else suggested (although not ‘blessed’ by Facebook), create an entirely different profile to use for your business.

    Keep up the great posts.

    ~~Crissy

  37. Your right on with this. I still see these tactics used over and over, sometimes even on myself unfortunately. Great post!

  38. Sarah, Teen with Proper Etiquette says:

    Hello,

    I agree with all but one “don’t” on this list:

    A friend request without a personal message.

    That is true for people over 30 who have grown up with Facebook, but for people up to my age, 16(and maybe even a few years ahead), etiquette is different. We have more of a sense of comfort over the internet. We know those whom we friend, and they know why we are friend-ing them.

    We grow up in a fast world, and even through it may be polite to write a sweet introduction to a Facebook friendship, people my age might actually consider the intro rude if it contains information they already know.

Trackbacks

  1. […] Check out Ann here: Ann Seig’s Blog […]

  2. […] bloggers, Facebook, Tweeter,,,etc who have had success. One of these people  I’ve notice is Ann Seig and she has some great info concerning what she call’ s  ‘social offenses ‘ , […]

  3. […] pleasure of recently reading a fantastic post on the “Renegade Blog”. It list some 17 “Don’t's of Facebook Etiquette” and it gives some great insight as were you can really get it wrong when Marketing your MLM […]

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