Facebook Pontificating… Enough Already

 

It’s been a while since I’ve felt the need to rant.

We’ll see how much of a rant this becomes (and I may be contradicting my own subject line, that’s fine), but I need to get it off my chest.

AND… the truth is, my opinion on these types of posts varies depending on my mood (tell me I’m not the only one who feels this way), but for the most part, it’s getting really, really old.

The posts I’m referring to on Facebook are the lengthy, long-winded, preachy posts where someone is telling you how or why you should do something.

It’s part motivational, part cultish, and quite frankly, tends to leave little room for discussion beyond the ass-kissing that goes on for the individual posting.

Can there be value in this type of content?

Sure.

Once in a while.

And just for fun, here’s the definition of pontificate:

More often then not though this seems to be the norm for some people. Not sure what type of posts I’m referring to? Here’s a little example (and I’m just going to give you the opener of this because these posts all tend to be ridiculously long):

“I was once where you are.

Broke. Divorced. Not knowing how I was going to pay my bills.

Then one day…”

… continue with individual rags to riches story, overcoming obstacles, finally telling a boss, spouse, or unsupportive friend to eff off, then sharing how amazing life has become.

Am I saying you shouldn’t tell your story?

Absolutely NOT.

Unfortunately, these posts aren’t always about telling a story. They can also be short posts… they don’t have to be mini-tomes. More often than not, the shorter posts are quote posts turned into a preachy moment for the person posting in hopes of positioning themselves as wise and authentic.

Now… let’s play devil’s advocate for a moment, shall we?

Do those posts get engagement?

Yep, often times they do.

BUT… who is the engagement from? It reminds me of a client I worked with once who was ALL about posting inspirational quotes because they got engagement on her page. Mind you, it was from people who would never buy from her, never took any action (because there wasn’t a call-to-action), and provided zero value to the people who would potentially buy from her, but what do I know.

Like I said above, how I feel about these posts tends to depend on my mood, but for the most part? It’s fluff.

I look at these people as “fluffpreneurs” (I totally stole that from Ben Settle, so thank you, Ben).

When you have zero substance or value to provide, you provide nonsense.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”When you have zero substance or value to provide, you provide nonsense.” quote=”When you have zero substance or value to provide, you provide nonsense.” theme=”style6″]

Are there people who use these types of posts AND have a solid, highly profitable business? Totally. But it’s not their standard type of post. They share something that shows an actual result… and they don’t do this regularly because they’re too busy building a business and creating real value.

My prediction: this will run its course, just like every other ‘tactic’. You can’t build a business solely on someone else’s platform. If you don’t have a strong foundation to support your business it’s going to crumble.

I’m going to share a little more of this on today’s webinar “How to Make More Money with a Small List.”

Join me today at 1:00 PM PST for a real training… I promise, zero nonsense (in fact, I’m kind of debating on scrapping the planned presentation…hmm, that might just be my mood right now).