Facebook Review

Facebook was the first social network I ever joined.

I'd like to say it's because I was too young to have been part of the Myspace crowd. Truth be told, I remember Myspace, I just didn't feel the need to join.

I think Facebook had been around about a year when I joined. I was playing quite a lot of online bingo at the time and one of the people who I spoke to regularly on there was setting up a Facebook group for members. I decided I wanted to join it, so I joined Facebook.

It doesn't take long to become addicted to it! I absolutely loved it and if I'm honest, I kind of still do.  Candy Crush addiction anyone?

I know it's not the "in" social media network. It hasn't got the instant gratification of Twitter or the supposed glamour of Instagram but there is something about it. Something that makes millions of people still want to be a part of it. I'm not sure what that is. Maybe it has the X-Factor!

When I started promoting my blog through social media, I decided I wanted to keep my Facebook profile completely separate to my blog. I would like to have a profile for it, but Facebook won't allow you to join in a name it decides isn't real - I think that's going to be a bit of a problem for the next generation with some of the weird and wonderful name popping up!

So I made the decision not to use Facebook at all in relation to my blog. That has changed slightly when I was invited to join a fantastic group that really is a good way to connect with bloggers and get your stuff seen (more to come on that later in the month!).

Things I like:

 

1. Being able to log in anytime and find out what's happening with my friends from all over the world.

2. Being able to re-connect with people that I probably otherwise would have lost touch with.

 

Things I dislike:

 

1. The drama and the fakeness. I generally avoid this because, for the most part, my friends aren't drama queens and aren't fake. But you do see a lot of attention seeking statuses and the picture perfect lives. I take it all with a pinch of salt. And lets face it, we roll our eyes etc, but sometimes it's fun to watch people posting their dirty laundry all over Facebook!

2. The ridiculous rules. It bothers me how its ok to post pictures/videos of animal abuse, people being beaten up etc but pictures of a woman breastfeeding gets taken down!

Also, the thing I mentioned above about not being to create a profile for a blog, business etc. I understand you can set up a page but I find it much easier to connect with a profile than a page.

 

 

Top tip for bloggers:

 

If you do choose to have a page for your blog, I know its tempting to ask all your friends to like it so you get a high number of followers. If that's all you want, then that's a good way to go, and get your good friends to invite their friends etc.

If you want a genuine following that interact with you and have a real interest then you need to be more selective.

The Facebook algorithms rank pages that have high engagement much higher than ones with a low engagement to likers ratio. So if you have a lot of people like your page but  are not interacting with it, Facebook decide people aren't interested in your posts and very few people get to actually see them.

 

Love it or hate it?

 

Facebook is still my guilty pleasure. For personal use, I love it. As a promotion tool, I don't think it's as good as Twitter, but if used correctly and you are willing to put in the time and effort, it does have potential for a large number of people to see your stuff.

 

What do you think? Are you a Facebook lover or hater? Let me know in the comments and if you have a Facebook page, feel free to leave your user name in the comments and like each others :)

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