If you’ve ever run an ad on Facebook or Instagram, you have likely received at least one message stating you’ve broken a rule or your account is about to be deactivated. These messages sent by social media spam bots sound scary and cause a huge threat to your business. Some of these messages have obvious typos, but others can look very official making it difficult to know if it is real.
Clicking links in these messages can infect your system with a virus. Additionally, some revoke your access as an admin, leaving your page vulnerable. Regaining access to your hijacked page is not easy, as Meta is not exactly known for stellar customer service. A page I follow was recently hacked by one of these messages. Although it has been reported to Meta hundreds of times by loyal followers, it remains up, and the hackers continue to post clickbait articles while posing as the original page.
Not only are these messages annoying and dangerous to your brand, but just deleting them, or letting them sit there, also creates a new set of problems. Facebook monitors your reply rate, and highlights to potential customers when you have a quick reply rate. This quick reply rate shows you are invested in the platform and serving your customers to the best of your ability. So, what do you do with these obnoxious messages? Set up a FREE automation with these 10 steps to blocking social media spam bots.
The moment you put a penny into Meta advertising, the spam bots begin flooding your inbox. In as little as 5 minutes, you can create an automation in Meta Business Suite to save you time, energy, and the worry that accompanies these messages.
Step-by-Step Guide to Blocking Social Media Spam Bots
Step 1 – Go to Meta Business Suite (you can open it in a new browser, or log into Facebook as your business page, and open Meta Business Suite through the link on the left rail.
Step 2 – On the left rail menu, click on “Inbox”
Step 3 – Click the “See What’s New” icon that looks like an atom
Step 4 – Click “Create Automation” in the top right corner (This is a great place to explore, as you can also set up automatic replies to commonly asked questions as well!)
Step 5 – Click “Start from Scratch”
Step 6 – Give your Automation a name and choose which channels you want it on for, I recommend doing both Messenger and Instagram
Step 7 – Under “When this happens” select “New message received” and the radio button with “any of the following conditions”
Step 8 – Under the dropdown, select “Keywords” and then enter the keywords you want. Enter one keyword and press enter. Be sure not to select any keywords that may be used by an actual potential customer. I chose the most frequently used terms that I find in these spam messages. “Violated,” “Copyright,” “Violation,” “Final notice,” and “deletion.”
Step 9 – Under “Take this action” use the dropdown list to select “Mark as spam”
Step 10 – Click “Save changes”
By taking these few simple steps, you can protect your business from these annoying social media spam bots. It is important to have your account as secure as possible. Always have more than one admin with full access to the page in case you (or them) get hacked. Regularly change your passwords, and utilize two-factor authentication. Train your admins on social media account safety as you do any other digital safety. NEVER CLICK THE LINK! Remember, Meta will never send you an inbox message to notify you of a concern with your page. Lastly, be sure to check your spam folder from time to time to ensure no actual customer messages have been sent to the spam box.
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