I have a confession to make.
Actually, I have two:
- When it comes to blogging, I don’t know what I’m doing
- I don’t want my personal contacts to know what I’m doing until I do. Consequently, I’ve only admitted I have a blog to a handful of close friends and relatives.
This week, I’m piling onto my mounting case of Pinterest anxiety with yet another social media blunder.
Recently, I’ve discovered that trying to launch a blog and generate some buzz on social media can be tough. As you can imagine, it’s a lot harder when you’re attempting to gain traction while tiptoeing around your friends and family.
Facebook Was the First Domino to Fall
Earlier this week, I set up accounts on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Instagram and Twitter were easy – I used my new blog email address to set up the accounts and added my blog logo to each page.
Facebook, on the other hand, was considerably trickier. In order to set up a Facebook page for my blog, I needed a personal account. The second I created a personal account, Facebook in its alarming wisdom suggested I add some friends. ALL of their suggestions were on freaking point. Somehow, Facebook knew exactly who my real-life-friends were.
I decided to roll the dice and create the page anyway. If you check out my About page and are surprised to discover you know me – shhhhhhh.
The second the page was up, I started spreading the word. I emailed a few bloggers I’ve come in contact with to get their advice and beg for “Likes” for my brand new page. A few responded immediately with super helpful tips and invitations to Facebook Groups for bloggers.
I started commenting away and introducing myself until WAM! Facebook halted me in my tracks. The next time I tried to log in, Facebook kidnapped my page. In lieu of ransom, the Facebook team wanted a photo which clearly shows my face.
Now, as someone whose goal is to blog in the shadows, I was not prepared for such an invasive request. Unfortunately, Facebook holds all the cards in this relationship so I sucked it up and met their demands.
For about 48 hours, every time I tried to login to my account I got the message below.
And Then Came Instagram
Instagram took Facebook’s moderate suspicion towards me and cranked it up about ten notches. You would think since Facebook owns both platforms, my experience being mistaken for a spammer would be consistent.
In reality, recovering my Facebook account was like negotiating with an amateur criminal with a heart of gold. Instagram, on the other hand, pulled off a complex and meticulously choreographed heist of my new account.
The tale of my Instagram rejection is a brief one. I logged on, added my blog logo to my profile, and was promptly expunged without warning.
When I tried to log back in I received an error message indicating that my account was disabled. According to Instagram, my account was deleted for violating their terms.
When I read the message below, all I could think was “whaaaaat”? What terms could I possibly have violated in my first thirty seconds on Instagram? At that point, I had yet to share a post, like anything or even scroll through my feed.
I Scrambled to Recover My Account
At this point, I did what any baffled blogger would do and emailed the good folks at Instagram. The response I got back was way more than I bargained for.
Not only did they want a photo of my face, they wanted my name and handwriting along with a specific code they sent me. To me, this request was as absurd as Van Halen’s contract rider prohibiting Brown M&Ms.
I’ll be honest, I could care less whether Mom’s Got it Made has an Instagram account. I was 100% in “I want to see how this plays out” mode.
I briefly considered paying a stranger to hold up a sign for me or using the “hand that’s holding the sheet of paper” to flip off the camera. I also contemplated staging a gram-worthy glamour shot cropped into a perfect square with a feature-softening filter applied to show that I belonged.
Eventually, my curiosity got the best of me and I sent a well-lit smiling selfie and a polite note.
Yesterday – after four days in Instagram jail – I received the email below letting me know that my account was reactivated.
Quick! Give Me Some Social Media Love!
If you get anything from this post, it should be that my social media accounts are a hot commodity that could be ripped away from us at any time. Like Darwin’s Fox, they are getting closer and closer to extinction with each passing day.
Make time to visit them in your lifetime before the great and powerful hands of social media tweak their policies and oust me again. I’m now officially on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Take a moment to share your experience in the comments. Anyone else hide their fledgling blog from friends and acquaintances? Please tell me I’m not the only one sent to Facebook and Instagram jail.
Psssst . . . thinking about starting a blog? Check out my step-by-step guide to how I launched and marketed Mom’s Got it Made.
What an ordeal!! But I’m following on all.
Thanks Julie, you’re the best!
Oh, sounds like an ordeal! I had personal accounts for Instagram and Facebook that I was able to turn into/add blog pages too so I didn’t have to deal with all that. Glad it worked out!
Good call – iI had it to do over again I would have gone that route! Oh well, got a good story out of it.
Wow I didn’t know how strict and serious Facebook and Instagram have gotten. I’ve been on Facebook since 2009 and about 4 years on Instagram. They sure have evolved and its kinda scary. As for blogging in the shadows, I sometimes feel like doing that and not using my full name. Im just starting a blog and Im not planning on announcing it to my close ones any time soon.
I totally get that. There are so many pieces I want to figure out for myself before I get input from my personal contacts. Good luck Nelya! Count yourself lucky that you escaped the new FB and Insta restrictions.
Thanks for this post. I got a kick out of it. 🙂 I too am not so social media savy – I opened the different accounts you mentioned for my blog, but not sure if I’ll do much with me. I also don’t have much interest in telling everyone I know about my blog (maybe just my mom, otherwise she’ll never forgive me!)… I don’t know how some people use their full name or even just their first name as their .com address – guess that’s the difference between extroverts and introverts, and I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way to do this. I wish you well in your blogging endeavors!
Hi Natasha, thanks for commenting! I totally get that – I’d rather use this blog as a tool to connect with others who are interested in the topics I write about as opposed to friends who are reading out of obligation. If you decide to grow your social media accounts feel free to email me at MomsGotItMade@gmail.com. I’ll be first in line to give you some anonymous social media love.
Oh my gosh this cracked me up! I haven’t set up a facebook page yet because I too am not sure I want everyone I know to know that I might possibly be giving this a go. I know it’s ridiculous but I’m terrible at self promotion. I just started dipping my toes in the water of really blogging for a wider audience than just my mom lol. I’m definitely going to be following you! I’d love it if you had a spare minute to head over and check out my also very new blog!
http://misadventureswithmegan.com/
Hi Megan! I can’t wait to check it out. For my first month of blogging “readers” actually meant “mom” for me as well.
Hahaha oh my gosh, this sounds like something that would happen to me!! Granted, I’ve not been booted from any social media, but the goings are slow for me…real REAL slow. Every step forward is only taken after several painful attempts and many, many google searches later!!
Hope everything stays smooth for you now!!
I totally agree Kay, I’ve been Googling my face off lately! Social media has been particularly brutal, but I’m slowly starting to have more fun with it. The beauty of having a blog is that the worst setbacks make the best stories.
Wow! Funny yet informative.. great post!! 🌻
Thanks Dana! As it was happening I definitely had “I can’t wait to write about this” playing in my head.
I giggled the entire time I was reading your post lol. I had no clue that FB or IG had such drastic measures in place for trying to verify people. Your story-telling abilities made this ridiculously entertaining to read! So glad I found your blog (via Pinterest). Let me go ahead and add myself to your mailing list 🙂
xo, Kari
Thanks Kari! I just checked out Mompreneur Money and it is an awesome resource for mom bloggers. In case you hadn’t guessed from reading this, I can use all the help I can get. It’s great to “meet” you!
I just had the same thing happen with facebook! I have a couple of Etsy businesses, but really like to keep my personal and professional life separate. I tried to open a new account so I could make a page for my business while still having some privacy but they figured it out because I only have one phone number 🙁 Your blog gives me hope that it may actually be possible to have a successful internet presence without having to do as much of the whole social media thing.
Thanks AB and good luck! It’s hard to keep it all straight (and I have been seriously neglecting my blog social media accounts lately).