A great poet once said, “’Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.” Well, depending on who you ask, this may be true enough. When it comes to Facebook, it turns out that there are numerous ways that you can end up causing your followers to “break-up” with your business. ExactTarget conducted a survey that asked people why they stopped following a company on Facebook and Twitter. On Facebook, the top 3 reasons why followers “unlike” companies were, in order:
1. The company posted too frequently.
2. My wall was becoming too crowded with marketing posts and I needed to get rid of some of them.
3. The content became repetitive and boring over time.
Here’s the full chart from ExactTarget’s Subscribers, Fans, and Followers report:
Businesses should use this study as a guideline. Remember, you can’t please everybody at the same time. No matter what you do or say, some followers will just have a change of heart. With that said, it is vital that businesses who use Facebook, or any social media, remember that people do not want to feel like they are being sold something. The goal of social media is to offer free information, interesting tips and a platform for related discussions. The minute one of your followers smells sales tactics coming at them, there is a good chance that they will end their relationship with you on Facebook. There lies the power of the consumer, and an equally great power that the business has, that if used correctly, will retain these followers for years to come.