Can the Spam: Your right of reply

>>> Quick link to Can The Spam

Many businesses on Facebook regularly experience the frustration and annoyance of other businesses posting ‘spam’ to their walls; often with the primary goal of gaining more fans to their own pages, through self promotion.

That is,the post is either:

unsolicited
indiscriminate
repetitive
impersonal

You have all seen it many times before:

”Hi, love your page, I <3 your awesome products. My name is XXX & my business is @mybusinesslink. We make Widgets, gadgets and other things, and are trying to get 1000 likes. Please come and visit my page and press the like button. You won’t be disappointed”.

This is how I REALLY read this comment:

Hi, love your page: greeting to not seem too rude.
I <3 your awesome products: to appear to have actually looked at my page content before posting. But which products of mine do you like exactly? It is a very generic comment which covers almost all pages – except for the CHA page of course because we don’t have products. And yes, we get this comment a lot.
My name is XXX & my business is @mybusinesslink. We make Widgets, gadgets and other things, and are trying to get 1000 likes: The real reason why you are here. Nothing to do with me or my business at all.
Please come and visit my page and press the like button: Call to action away from my page.
You won’t be disappointed: How can you possibly promise that?

Seem familiar?

If this annoys you, of course you can mark it as spam, delete and even have them banned from your page, but this doesn’t quite feel like a satisfactory solution. This is because you know they will continue on; on other pages, annoying other people. Plus you haven’t told them what you really think.

Now you have a way to quickly and easily communicate that this behaviour is not appreciated, with the CHA Can The Spam right of reply.

When you receive a spam-ish post to your wall, cut and paste the following link underneath, and let them know what you think about their businesses’ behaviour.

Can The Spam: Your Right of Reply
http://contemporaryhandmadealliance.blogspot.com/2011/05/please-can-spam.html

Further Reading:
For more information on being ‘spam-ish’ please visit Build A Little Biz’s blog and read the following relevant posts:
Spam Explained and Defined
How not to be Spam-ish

Cheers, Chicken

Addition to original post

How To Post Without Being Spam-ish:
Of course, CHA (as I am sure all pages do) welcome genuine, personal expressions of appreciation and admiration on our page! And we do like to know who is expressing their feelings. There are more professional and appropriate ways of posting to a business wall, without being spam-ish. Facebook is a great networking tool and used properly is a very important part of your business marketing plan. The articles from Build a Little Biz go into this in great detail and I highly recommend you read them both (see above).

PLEASE! Can the Spam

I consider your posting behaviour to my business wall to be Spam-ish. That is, it is either:

• unsolicited
• indiscriminate
• repetitive
• impersonal

Please cease this behaviour on my page.

Spam-ish behaviour is becoming increasing unappreciated and could have a negative impact on your business image and reputation.

If you would like to promote your business on Facebook, there are many legitimate and appropriate ways to do so. Some suggestions are:

• Purchase ad space with Facebook Adverts
• Ask your friends and contacts to post about your business on their personal and business pages
• Find an appropriate space to purchase low cost advertising, which is relevant to your industry, such as blogs like Shop Contemporary Handmade
• Start your own blog and fill it with useful and interesting information which will attract attention to your business

For more information on being ‘spam-ish’ please visit Build A Little Biz’s blog and read the following relevant posts:
> Spam Explained and Defined
> How not to be Spam-ish

For more information about Can The Spam, please visit the following CHA Can The Spam page.

Thank you.

CHA Craft Swap 2011

Taking applications now
All items to be mailed no later than 30 June 2011

Yes! It is that time of year when we host a lovely craft swap to get your warm and fuzzy, handmade love on!

Last year was a resounding success, with over 80 participants on board, swapping lots of lovely handmade goodness.

This year, we are hoping for 100 participants. So remember to spread the word and encourage fellow crafting businesses to get on board. Post about it on your Facebook page and blog if you can! After all, who doesn’t adore getting handmade love in the mail?

THE DETAILS
Please create a hand-crafted item(s) which you would value between $30 - $50. You can send multiple items to bring it up to this value if you like.

Please create an item for an adult (and not a child); your item is a gift for your swap partner.

Please ensure that your item is in the post no later than 30 June 2011. If you have any issues meeting this deadline, please contact the CHA and your swap partner to advise.

Make sure that you check out your partner’s website to get an idea of who they are, and what they might like.

You will need to contact your partner via email to get their postal address. Take this opportunity to get to know someone in the industry!

IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW
It is really important that people don’t miss out because their partner doesn’t follow through on their commitment. Therefore we ask 3 things of you:

1. Only sign up if you are committed to your participation and to creating quality items for your swap partner to enjoy.

2. Only sign up if you are able to post your item no later than 30 June 2011.

3. That you supply AT LEAST 1 of the following: Facebook page address, blog address, website address to ensure you are contactable and legitimate.

CHA cannot take responsibility for people who fail to follow through on their swap.

SIGN UP
To get on board, sign up by completing the below online form. Then wait for us to email your swap partner details through. Once you receive them, make contact and get to know each other. I know that last year’s craft swap helped many participants make new, genuine connections with other handmade businesses; and some friendships bloomed too! How nice.

ONLINE APPLICATION FORM

Some images from the 2010 CHA Craft Swap

Have fun!

Cheers, Chicken