Facebook Has a Profanity Filter

An engaged brand page on Facebook is a wonderful thing, it is a sign that people are engaging with you and your brand. They want to comment on your posts and share their thoughts about your content. It’s a positive sign that you are getting into their feeds.

But an engaged page can also be a lot of work.

There are many kinds of comments that you might not want visible on your page:

• Posts advertising a competitor

• Posts talking down about your product or brand

• Posts from trolls and other haters

Maintaining the comments on a truly engaged Facebook page is like tending to a garden. You need to give it regular attention, pulling weeds early and supplying plenty of sunshine and love to your flowers (supporters).

But sometimes pulling those weeds can feel like a full time job. Did you know that your Facebook page has a profanity filter to help nip those weeds in their annoying buds?

That’s right. Facebook understands that not all pages approve of F bombs on their page. If you are selling baby food, there is probably never a situation where you need someone coming by and dropping profanity in the comments (not necessarily true if you own a bar). Turn on the filter and Facebook will prevent profanity from being posted to your page in the first place.

Okay, But How Do I Turn It On?
It’s simple! Go to your brand page. Click on “settings” (next to “help,” in the top right corner). Scroll about 2/3s of the way down the page and you’ll see “Profanity Filter.” It’s most likely set to “Turned Off.”

Click “edit” and Facebook gives you three options:

• Off

• Medium

• Strong

Medium is going to filter out some words; strong is going to filter out more. Pick which one is appropriate for your brand and enjoy your profanity-less page.

But my problem isn’t with profanity
As mentioned, profanity is not the only thing you may want to keep from your page.

Let’s imagine that every time you post about your baby food, some industrious troll comes by and shares with your reader that your mashed carrots aren’t as good as those of your competitors. You can delete the comment, or even block the troll. But what if many people keep sharing comments about your competitor’s product? It’s simple.

Go back to settings, and right above “Profanity Filter,” you will find “Page Moderation.”

When you click “Edit,” you will have an opportunity to add in any words that you want Facebook to prevent from being posted to your page.

Maybe it’s the name of your competitor’s or simply a word people associate with your brand which you find unflattering. Whatever it is: if you don’t want it on your page, keep it from your page!