In wake of Facebook's controversial decision to charge businesses to reach more than a small percentage of their Fan base, I've noticed a strange, but not unexpected trend, from small businesses (and musicians) on Facebook. They're asking Fans and Followers to go to their page, and make it so that they see all updates.
When I saw my favorite restaurant implore their fans to do this, I had to stop what I was doing, and gently caution them that doing this is a very, very bad idea. And here's what I told them.
Here's five reasons why lot of other small businesses could benefit from thinking about Facebook's moves in this light.
1. Facebook is a multi-billion dollar, multi-national corporation. Its' goal, from Day One, was to make small amounts of money from billions of people
2. You know that Facebook is a paid application that allows companies to monetize their relationships with customers. That was what your company signed up for when you went out and got a few thousand fans.
3. Just because you offer "free" music (when a patron purchases $30-100 worth of food and drink) does not make your business a non-profit or a musician.
4. Asking customers to circumvent Facebook's Paid Updates system gives either the impression that your business is financially performing poorly or that you don't believe your vendors should be paid, or both.
5. Would you allow a customer to walk in off the street, use your restroom, drink a glass of water, and then walk out with a box of napkins? Technically, those things are "free," but in reality, they have a hard cost associated with them. So does Facebook's newsfeed space, as its inventory is finite.
[Mashable gave a solid breakdown on how the new Paid Updates work a few weeks ago: http://mashable.com/2012/05/30/facebook-promoted-posts/]