Facebook is great for businesses when they get it right, but recently my newsfeed is full of companies getting it wrong.

More and more corporate pages are committing the Facebook faux par of constantly spamming about their business. If you're going to operate in a social medium, you should actually be social. Research on 300 Facebook pages and 700 million users showed that what brands post most is what people like least; corporate pages constantly post links even though videos are 10x more likely to be shared and photos are 5x more popular. The Facebook pages with the most interaction are those that share interesting, relevant content that builds and reinforces their brand personality… instead of constantly reminding consumers that behind the page is a firm seeking profits and increased website traffic - dislike.

Too many businesses also fail to interact with consumers and answer their questions, and even worse than ignoring user comments is deleting them. The public has recently condemned both Coles and Channel 7 for deleting Facebook posts written by mistreated consumers. Thousands of people saw the complaints and lost faith in the brands when the posts were simply deleted.

This month Target has shown that even a negative post with 59 000 'likes' and almost 3000 critical comments can be dealt with. The retailer responded to the confronting accusation that their clothes make young girls 'look like tramps' in a public, professional manner and actually regained some respect in the process.

As well as The Spammers and The Neglecters are The Desperados ("please share, please tell your friends, please like me") The Eddie Mcguires (Facebook haters embarrassingly outnumbering fans) ... the list goes on, but to continue would reveal just how much time I spend on Facebook.

If you're looking at social media for your business, either clue in or log out.

Hayley