Social Media Etiquette. 6 Things you are doing to Lose Friends and Fans

Google, "How to get more Facebook Fans" and you will get thousands of articles. Even recently, our friends at The Oatmeal gave us their take on the issue.

So, your number is going up. (Yay!) But, you aren't getting more comments and likes. Maybe you've broken some unwritten etiquette rules - that you didn't even know about, honestly.

Here are a few things that might be impacting your Social Media bottom line.

1. Starting a page, inviting friends with NOTHING TO SHOW! Personally, if I am going to like a new page, I would be much more likely to join an active community - or at least one that has the appearance of community. Be sure to populate the page with articles, information, blog posts, etc. to show new viewers what they might expect from liking your page.

2. Starting a page, inviting friends and NEVER posting. Because a Facebook page is all about engagement and creating community, you MUST be active. Daily posts are a good standard, and a great habit to develop.

3. Over inviting, when you are holding an event - When you are having an event, create an event and invite those people who might be able to attend. And, by that, I mean - if you are having a networking event in Seattle, don't invite your friends that live in Albuquerque.

4. Over promoting when you are holding an event - Something that starts to look like spam is when you send multiple Facebook messages, or post on multiple friends walls. Be warned as you can easily be reported and lose posting privileges.

5. Using only your personal page to post your business information. Not only does using your personal profile for your Business violate the Facebook Terms of Service, but it's also just downright annoying if all you ever share is business information. A Business Page is the perfect place to share sales, new products, etc.

6. Using only tools to post. Studies have shown engagement on Facebook decreases by over 70% when you use tools anyway. If you want to engage with your Facebook audience, come to Facebook! Feel free to use tools to post to Twitter and LinkedIn! People aren't necessarily expecting to have a conversation on those platforms.

I am sure there are more...in fact, I can think of some already, but these are some of the top.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and experiences.