How I lost my Facebook profile (and how you can avoid doing the same thing)
So six weeks ago I lost my Facebook profile. The one with more than 700 friends and scores of carefully chosen and shared bookmarks—designed to position me as having a real grasp on how to use social media marketing to build business. You know the one. You may even have been one of my friends.
It happened because I was moving too fast, trying to be overly helpful to a client and not thinking. I had read the terms of service. I understood them yet, in my haste to be helpful, I deleted my own email. In that moment my profile disappeared. Poof! Gone.
I was mortified. Until I learned how many others have lost their own Facebook profiles and pages–and then I felt less alone. I emailed Facebook. I contacted every department I could think of. After about 3 ½ weeks I received an email from them to which I responded eagerly. That was 2 ½ weeks ago. I am still waiting to hear back from them.
Last week I decided to start over again. I am fortunate to have backed up my friend list (thanks to Mari Smith who showed me what to do) and am methodically rebuilding my Facebook network. Unfortunately, I cannot replace the bookmarks. I am not aware of an application that saves Facebook posts and bookmarks-yet.
How can you prevent this from happening to you? (Other than not deleting your own email, of course)
Start by reading the terms of service. Seriously. Facebook states very clearly what they will and will not allow. Make sure you, or your social media consultants, understand the rules. For example, you can’t create a profile for your business. If you have, you are in danger of having that profile removed without warning. You can (and should) create a Facebook page to promote your business.
Be careful how quickly you build your Facebook network. Don’t send out hundreds of friend requests at the same time. Some big names in social media have had profiles and fan pages deleted because they sent out too many emails and were perceived as spamming.
Finally, use the Facebook application Friends Backup to back up your friends list. The application still has bugs but I have used it successfully for myself and my clients. Rebuilding will be so much easier if you should lose your profile or page.
Have you read the terms of service yet? Is your company in compliance? Take a moment to be sure.
And join me on Facebook at http://facebook.com/allenmireles. I look forward to connecting with you.