Why Facebook Posts Aren't Sales Snipes

I have a friend from college that recently started a new career. I know this because of Facebook. He and I’ve used the service to argue about politics, music, and the Cleveland Browns for a few years now. If it weren’t for Facebook, we’d may be talk once a year over email when a reunion is being planned.

From what I can tell of his new job, it is a home-based virtual sales job that relies on the salesmen to recruit others to work under them. It strikes me as an Amway type of company. I know this much about it because a couple of times a week, he uses Facebook to try and convince people to join him. The first time I didn’t mind.  The second, it was a bit off-putting.  At this point, it makes me uncomfortable.  I haven’t probed him about the work he is doing, but by posting what are essentially ads on my feed, he’s leaving a bad taste in my mouth.  It’s like he is walking up to me at a party, and selling instead of conversing.  If he wasn’t a good friend with fun memories as a base for our relationship, I’d probably hide him from my wall. 

After his last one saying the first three people who reply to his post will get this wonderful work opportunity, it finally hit me.  This is what most brands are doing!  They are littering my experience with awful, self-serving ads.  The latest trend are pictures that have nothing to do with their brand, used as a big “Like” hook.  If I wasn’t in digital marketing, I’d unlike a lot of these brands.  Instead, I endue them jumping into my dinner party conversation, just to talk in a complete self-serving, narcissistic way.  I hate that guy, and I hate that brand. 

The dinner party analogy is the same one used brilliantly by Paul Adams of Facebook in this presentation.  He says most brands are using Facebook to invite them create an awesome party, but then inviting a bunch of strangers.  He calls for these brands to first build relationships though lightweight interactions that are conversational, not sales-y or clearly fishing for business.  Then, once you’ve built trust, then you through the party.  It will be much more successful. 

This is such a different marketing idea than what we are used to.  This is thinking about the long view to build loyalty, not just sales

now, now, now.  I hope my buddy reads this post, and thinks about how hitting his friends over the head with sales posts just doesn’t endure him to friends who may actually be interested in his offer.  I hope some brands I love do to.