Why are my Farm-to-Table Posts Being Blocked on Facebook?
It’s no secret that I believe in marketing your business on Facebook. In fact, my business began by finding a new way to market cattle - by selling the first load lot ever on Facebook. But social media is constantly changing and since that first sale I made more than 5 years ago, Facebook has come leaps and bounds in setting up avenues to market your business.
But there is a group of businesses who are seeing their posts being blocked, deleted, removed, and flagged. That group is people involved in animal agriculture and farm-to-table sales.
Why?
Well the short of it is that PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is now a shareholder of Facebook. And with their shares, they purchased some power in deciding what types of content are and are not allowed on Facebook. You can read more about this topic over on Ag Daily.
This is a great reminder that when we use Facebook as a platform to market our businesses, we are playing by someone else’s rules. This means we need to be sure we don’t put all our eggs in one basket and rely solely on Facebook for our marketing.
So, does this mean we shouldn’t use Facebook to market our Farm-to-Table businesses? Absolutely not. Facebook is still a GREAT way to market your business. Let’s look at a few things you can do to make sure your posts are seen and don’t get deleted.
Tips for Marketing your Farm-To-Table Business on Facebook
Don’t post your farm-to-table items for sale in Facebook Marketplace if they are animal-related at all. This includes meat, eggs, milk, etc. This also includes anything with words like beef, cows, chicken, etc. Yes, even trying to sell egg cartons can get flagged just because it contains the word egg. A lot of times, Facebook will recognize you are trying to make a post about things you are selling and will direct you to make a post in Facebook Marketplace. You can tell if you have been re-directed into making a marketplace post if it leads you into a structured posting with a series of questions like “title,” “price,” and selecting a category. Don’t use the “sell something” option when creating a post.
Don’t include photos that are just of animals or meat and then use words like “for sale” or include prices and dollar signs in the post text. These are things Facebook is specifically filtering for and your post will almost definitely get removed. Instead, use photos that are from farther away. For example, you could include a photo of an entire meal, instead of just a piece of meat.
Do use the comment section to provide details about pricing. Instead of putting the price of your items in the original post, make a comment on the post with the price.
Do get creative. You may have seen others use terms like “bacon bits” to refer to hogs they have for sale. These kinds of terms can help your post slip through the filters.
The above tips are great loopholes you can utilize. But the best strategy is to use Facebook as it was intended - to meet people and build community - and give our customers more ways to connect with us off the platform. That way if Facebook was taken down tomorrow, we would still have a way to talk to our customers.
Find tips about how to do that in these blogs and videos:
Additionally, follow these 7 tips that work for ANY business on Facebook.
7 Tips for Marketing Any Business on Facebook
1. Post Frequently
Facebook’s algorithm is smart. Every post you make goes through a screening and testing process before the algorithm decides who to show your post to and how many people will see it. To reach more people, you need to post more frequently. Once a month isn’t going to cut it. By posting often, you are training the Facebook algorithm that you have posts people want to see.
2. Don’t be the annoying salesman
If the only type of content you are posting is “buy my beef” or “sale on roasts” or “purchase a ticket to our farm-to-fork dinner,” then no one is going to want to engage with your posts. Social media is about being social. Remember to engage in conversations, talk about things that matter to you with your friends, and create content that brings value to your audience.
3. Don’t touch the boost button
Boosting a post when you are selling farm-to-table products is a sure way to have your post deleted. This is like posting something that Facebook doesn’t like, then giving them a call and saying “Hey, look what I did!” Instead of boosting a post, create an account at business.facebook.com where you can access the Facebook Ads Manager platform and run Facebook ads. You will have more options here and because it is an advertisement, not a post, you will have more freedom.
4. Stop breaking group rules
Sharing “for sale” posts violate the rules in many groups you may be in. Even if the group allows for you to sell items, they likely have rules about how often you can post and how often you can post the same items for sale. Be careful to read the rules of each group you are in before posting in them. The more your account gets reported for breaking group rules, the more likely you are to have posts deleted, or your whole account shut down.
5. If an ad is denied, try one more time - but ONLY once
If you set up an ad and it gets denied, try to see if you can change it up and fix the issue. But don’t keep trying over and over. Each time your ad gets denied, your ad account loses credibility with Facebook and you may lose access entirely. Once you lose access, it’s incredibly hard to get it back. If your ad gets denied twice, it’s time to call in an expert or help. We’ve got some great tips for you (LINK)
6. Use your business page - not your personal page
Personal Facebook accounts don’t have the same abilities Facebook business pages do. Using your personal account to promote your business is ok every once in a while, but getting in the habit of utilizing your business page to build an audience for your product adds up over time and allows you to access data and analytics that will help you promote your business even more effectively.
7. Build community
Facebook’s goal is to get more people to spend more time on Facebook. If you help them achieve that goal by creating engaging content and starting conversations, they are less likely to flag your posts. Playing nice and working alongside Facebook to help them achieve their goal means they are more likely to play nice and let you continue to promote your business on Facebook too.