Facebook Events are the New Spam

For many years I worked with a corporation here in California, training their interns and developing systems throughout the business. We learned that so many “unwritten rules” had to be documented when one day an intern covering the front desk asked me to cover the phones so he could get the ID number from a copy machine on the other side of the building. Curious, I asked a few questions and learned that a caller on hold needed the number to send out more toner.

I picked up the phone and said “we’re under contract with-” they hung up. After explaining to the intern that this was a popular scam and the company calling didn’t have an order from us and would have charged us 3 times the value of the toner, we included this in the front desk manual for all interns to read.

Recently, I’ve been noticing that well meaning entrepreneurs are using a similar tactic on Facebook in the hopes of growing their business. But they’re only succeeding in annoying me and I suspect many of their friends. 

Several times a week I get a Facebook event invite to a virtual class, launch, or event coaching program. While the intent is inviting, caring and sharing, the real effect is pushy, spammy and cold.

I love having a thriving network of entrepreneurs on Facebook with whom I can connect and while I love seeing their updates, I am over Facebook event invites. While I’m sure this will ruffle many feathers, here’s why event invites are the new spam and should cease to be a marketing strategy immediately.

“Join my Facebook Event” is 2013 spam

First of all, accepting a friend request is not the same as agreeing to attend every house warming, moving party, online class or telesummit your friend throws in a lifetime. While most friends will only move a few time each decade, entrepreneurs launch frequently (which is great! to an extent…). And while only those who live nearby might be invited to a local party or event, online events mean anyone, anywhere can attend and thus get invited. So the sheer volume of these requests throughout a network are overwhelming.

It’s not that your event isn’t awesome, but it’s lost in the multitudes of invites meaning it doesn’t stand out.

Second, mass invites are spam, Facebook has just made it easier to send. You don’t even need to type in email addresses, just check “send to all” and they do the work. Which is the real problem: it doesn’t feel personal. So instead of communicating “I love you and think you might get value from this call – or someone you know might get value” the message tends to be “you’re on my friend list, everyone is getting this, you might not even be on my email list, but you should attend because you’re my friend.” It’s like getting a cold call from a telemarketer who used to go to high school with you as a reason why you should let them pitch their business for an hour.

Depending on the user’s settings sometimes these events begin sending email notifications every time a post is made on the event page. So if you’re already fighting email overwhelm and now have updates from dozens of events it’s even more frustrating.

Keep in mind that just like email marketing, you wouldn’t begin sending updates on your programs, offers and launches to everyone you’d ever met without their permission. While this is accepted as standard practice in email marketing, it’s ignored completely in social media marketing.

While I’m sure there are hundreds of social media gurus who will tell you that creating an event for your business calls, launches and programs and inviting everyone you know is a great way to get eyes on your business, you have to weigh the costs as well as the benefits.

What happens to Spam?

You don’t even have to frequently engage in this tactic to annoy your friends. Remember when Facebook became an avenue for playing with mythical farms, sororities and mafias? Even if you just sent one brown cow to a friend who had seen thirty Facebook invites about Farmville, it was one too many.

And while Facebook allows users to block updates from applications so invites and status updates are hidden, it’s harder to do so for events. After all, hiding invites from one friend or blocking them entirely is a drastic move.

The real impact is not just that people won’t be engaging with your event or log in to RSVP as “not attending” but instead your friends and family may just become numb.

What’s the solution?

I love automation marketing, don’t get me wrong, but you’ve got to do it in a way that doesn’t encroach on someone’s space (and more now than ever our online profiles are an extension of ourselves and our interests), doesn’t assume interest and involvement and gives those you’re connected to the opportunity to say yes.

You’ll find that you have much more interested and engaged followers, qualified leads who are seeking you out and, I suspect, better responses overall.

Automation Marketing that doesn’t annoy all your friends

Want to be really wild? Instead of sending 1,000 invites through Facebook, reach out personally to a few friends each week and let them know what you’re doing. Stop trying to convert your friends into fans and market to the thousands of people who are looking for the solutions you provide. Invest your energy in those who need your business, not the people who happened to lived in your dorm or go to your summer camp a decade ago.

And above all remember, it’s a balance.