My friend, Chris Kieff took the following message I sent to him and used it as a blog post, and I thought that was a really good idea.
My client, a law firm, had a Facebook Page with a year’s worth of content, including about 4 dozen videos and posts from 4 blogs, as well as updates.
I added a Facebook Place for the main office a few weeks ago, and when I went to the Page last week, I was prompted by Facebook to merge the Page and Place, since they looked similar. “Merge” seemed reasonable to me, so I clicked okay.
Within a day or two, all subscribers were moved to the Place, and the Page was deleted, along with all content. Now, when I type the firm’s vanity URL, I return to my Facebook Home Page. The firm’s Page has vanished.
“Merge” means combine, not replace. I believe it is incredibly irresponsible for Facebook to encourage users to do something that erases valuable content. Much of the firm’s advertising includes a Vanity URL that goes nowhere now. This “merge” is deceitful, and it is frustrating that Facebook provides no channel to rectify the situation.
This is not an inconvenience or bug. This is a major issue, and people must be aware that when Facebook says, “merge,” they actually mean, “replace.” Don’t do it unless you are willing to sacrifice your vanity URL and all your Page content.
On a lighter note, the following made me laugh, and maybe you’ll chuckle a little bit too. They were actually included in emails, cover letters and resumes of applicants for employment with one of my clients...
