Dont be a Facebook comment spammer

So we all know that email spam is bad. Actually its probably one of the most hated things on the internet. With everyone from software developers to ISP’s to web hosts taking huge steps to stop it. Well time was, back in the late 90′s and early 2000′s that email spammers where called ‘marketers’ and now that these kinds of spammers our out there is a new kind emerging. Yep Im talking about the comment spammer.
We see the comment spammer on all sorts of forums, blogs, and BBS’s and we hate them. They post links to diet programs and get rich quick scams. They want you to buy cat food from over seas at 99% off and they want you to check out the latest porn site. But thats not the kind of comment spammer Im talking about here. Im talking about the Facebook comment spammer.

The Facebook comment spammer is a more sinister type of animal in that they tend to be a little more sneaky, a little more clever, but none the less they are just as much of an annoyance. Perhaps one of the biggest problems with the Facebook spammer is that most of them are NOT bad people. There just misguided people who listened to bad advice and where led to believe that spamming has some how become synonyms with marketing again. Sorry guys it hasn’t.

The comment below is an example of a comment spam. It offered nothing of any
value to the people reading the post. It was made for the sole reason of posting
the link the the posters website. A website that had nothing to do with
the post, the comment, or even the theme of the First Social Apps fan page.


Generally comment spamming is about the lamest thing you could do. First its going to annoy the owner of the fan page you spammed. In effect making it difficult for you to form any type of networking relationship with them. Second its going to annoy the people looking at the post. Third it really makes you look pathetic, like your begging people to check our your site. As if you dont offer anything of enough quality on your own to interest people.
Now Im not saying that every link in every comment is evil. However there are some easy to remember rules for when its acceptable to post a link and when its not.

1) If your post is something short that brings no value to the conversation. Something like “I agree” and you include a link. Your comment spamming.
2) If your posting a link that has no relevance to the post your commenting on. Your a comment spammer.
3) If your posting more than one link in a comment. Your a comment spammer.

Even if you ARE posting a link in a comment and it is relevant you should still think twice. As even links that are relevant may run the risk of you being considered a comment spammer. This is especially true if your doing this on a random fan page you came across.
Personally I make it a point to never post a link on a fan page unless the page itself invites me to (some pages have posts on occasion where you can post links or tag yourself) the way I see it is that its like running into someone else’s business and starting to scream for everyone to come check out your store. I mean if you owned a pizza parlor you wouldn’t be to happy if someone came into your shop and started yelling “hey everyone come down to my restaurant and check it out” now would you. A fan page is a Facebook representation of someones business or organization. Posting uninvited links to there fan page time line is just lame. Especially if you haven’t contributed and the link is not even relevant.


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