I have decided to remove my business page from facebook !!! Here is why......
Hacked
In December 2021, my facebook account was compromised. Hackers accessed my personal facebook page and then my Maybury Marketing business page. They removed my employee as admin from the page. The hackers then went on to remove me as admin from my own page! My own page! Ba$@ards!
I accept that clearly I was not careful enough in protecting my account. We are constantly being told to set strong passwords and to change those passwords regularly. Ok, so maybe I’m not great at that. And there is that two-step authentication—also highly recommended but not in place for my account. Accessing our accounts needs to be easy, instant, and hassle-free. But
if you are trying to remember different passwords and adding that extra security step, it becomes a pain. But let me tell you, the pain of losing your facebook account to hackers is much worse! I had spent years building up my followers and there was a lovely, supportive community on the page, so I was gutted to lose that.
Mortified
So let this be a lesson to all: it does happen. I was really embarrassed by this happening to me. I mean, I’m supposed to be the marketing professional! How could my page get hacked? I no longer had access to my own Facebook business page.
I managed to get the hacked page removed from facebook, but I still did not have access to it in January 2022. Then, guest what ??? in July 2022, the original Maybury Marketing page reappeared on Facebook! But this time, it wasn’t selling marketing services; it was selling footwear! Add more embarrassment: when someone searched for me (potential clients and business colleagues), they found a shoe shop collection! Not a great look for a marketing professional. What's
worse is all of my contact information remained on that page, as did my content, photos of my children, and my parents.
What is absolutely crazy, too, is the engagement that the hackers post got. Check this out: one post in particular reached over 249,000 engagement !!!!
The Struggle for Resolution
Despite several attempts to contact facebook to report this fraudulent activity and get it resolved, NO GOOD! It was literally impossible to get to speak with someone and this went on for over a year. I failed to reach anyone at facebook who could resolve the issue. In the end, I had to seek legal advice.
In the meantime, I did create a new page for my business and started to grow my followers again: MayburyMarketing.
Fast forward to 2024. Earlier this year, I eventually regained access to the original business page and I was able to remove it. Eventually, faceless facebook sent me a link to reset my password...... Imagine—it was that simple in the end, just send a link to reset your password. Why they couldn’t do that back in December 2021, I cannot understand. After nearly 3 years !!
Moving Forward
But here is the thing: after all of this, I find I don’t bother with facebook much anymore. I’m really annoyed by the way this whole situation was dealt with. I rarely post anything on this platform and its not had any negative effect on my business.
In the past, I have posted updates about the book I wrote, SPINS. And anything I ever shared about my parents got such fabulous engagement. I really appreciate everyone’s support; it’s always lovely to get those comments, likes, etc.
Bye Bye Facebook
But decision made, I will be removing Maybury Marketing from Facebook.
I will continue to manage facebook accounts for clients, but I will no longer post on facebook for my own business. Instead, you will find me on LinkedIn. I like using LinkedIn to post about work-related content. And I find myself using Instagram more and more; it’s easy, and I share some
work-related content but also some personal content. Twitter/X.... I’m a bit hit and miss there, but I do try to post when I can. Oh and I’ve just joined Tik Tok, but this is more for my clients businesses, than my own but watch this space !!! You may find me doing silly dances around the kitchen or maybe not !!
Final Thoughts
To conclude, managing social media content is overwhelming for many business owners, and we need to be realistic about what is manageable. We shouldn’t have accounts for the sake of it; we need those accounts to work for our business and deliver results.
Farewell, my old friend facebook! Thank you to everyone who has supported me along the way. Here’s to new beginnings and continued success on platforms that truly align with my business goals.