Friends and family don’t support your business

[This Is Not An Ad]

I need to get this off my chest. I started an online business a few years ago now and I get barely any support from friends and family towards it. They ‘like’ my socials page but that’s it. Never like posts, comment, share etc. it really gets me down. I have asked them all before to start liking my posts and told them how the algorithm works and they always say my posts never show on their feed. I’ve also told them if you never interact then they won’t show in your feed but they will go and like a couple of posts them that’s it. I don’t know what’s worse the fact they don’t bother or the ‘pity likes’ they gave. What adds salt to the wounds is that I have a relative who also has business pages on socials and I always see my family and even sometimes my friends liking and commenting on her posts.

I get this probably all sounds very petty but I can’t help but let it all upset me. Has anyone else had this happen to them? How did you handle it? My business is doing ok but I know I could reach more people and build a better client base if more would just interact

 

[candyland_]

Is a handful of likes from your family going to make that much of a difference?
You can’t force anyone to interact with your posts.. You need to attract people who will do it because they are interested.

 

[Kim Mild]

Are these family/ friends your target market? If not, they probably aren't that interested.
It's usually obvious on social media when a pages interactions come from family and friends rather than genuine clients,/ customers.

 

[This Is Not An Ad]

Are these family/ friends your target market? If not, they probably aren't that interested.
It's usually obvious on social media when a pages interactions come from family and friends rather than genuine clients,/ customers.

Yes a lot of them are tbh. And they’ve been quick enough to ask for my services in the past for free.

 

[LifeOfRiley]

I know it hurts but honestly it’s wasted energy. Put it into something productive!

 

[This Is Not An Ad]

I don’t think supporting your friends or families business is much of an ask. The higher your interaction, the higher your reach will be. Sharing posts so that more potential clients can see you etc. Every little helps when you have a small business.

I know it hurts but honestly it’s wasted energy. Put it into something productive!

I’m very productive

 

[LifeOfRiley]

I understand that. I have an online business. I can count on one hand how many people in my family or friends have bought from us or even shared a post.
Ultimately unless they absolutely love it they won’t share stuff. Social media used to be fantastic for business now it’s not so much.

 

[This Is Not An Ad]

I understand that. I have an online business. I can count on one hand how many people in my family or friends have bought from us or even shared a post.
Ultimately unless they absolutely love it they won’t share stuff. Social media used to be fantastic for business now it’s not so much.

It’s true what they say in that strangers are your biggest support. Never thought I’d be feeling this way about it or that they’d be so unsupportive. It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. They’ve all praised my services so much when they’ve had them for free before I started trying it as a business and told me how fantastic I am so it’s not even like they don’t love what I do. Unless they’ve just been lying to me

 

[shadowcat5]

I can see your point. You're not asking them to spend a fortune on your stuff, you're asking them to share your page or like and comment. How hard is it to comment a quick ''! My friend runs her own business, I don't have SM anymore but I always made a point to like and share her stuff because she's my friend, even though the liklihood of getting any business from my 50 followers on a private page was slim, at least she could see I cared.

 

[This Is Not An Ad]

I can see your point. You're not asking them to spend a fortune on your stuff, you're asking them to share your page or like and comment. How hard is it to comment a quick ''! My friend runs her own business, I don't have SM anymore but I always made a point to like and share her stuff because she's my friend, even though the liklihood of getting any business from my 50 followers on a private page was slim, at least she could see I cared.

What a lovely friend you are

 

[shadowcat5]

What a lovely friend you are

i'm sorry that your family and friends seem unsupportive. Next time they ask for anything charge them full price and say you would give them a freebie or mates rates but your business isn't great as it's not reaching enough people (I don't advocate lying but duck them) or do the classic you scratch my back I'll scratch yours. You share my posts, I'll slip you a freebie... fairs fair.

 

[This Is Not An Ad]

i'm sorry that your family and friends seem unsupportive. Next time they ask for anything charge them full price and say you would give them a freebie or mates rates but your business isn't great as it's not reaching enough people (I don't advocate lying but duck them) or do the classic you scratch my back I'll scratch yours. You share my posts, I'll slip you a freebie... fairs fair.

Thank you so much for your lovely words! Yeah I will definitely be saying things like that next time!

 

[Koalabear]

Yeah I've got that too and it's so heartbreaking isn't it. People love asking for gifts and favours and mates rates but won't even engage with your page to like or comment. I keep telling myself that one day I'll be doing so well they're going to have to queue up and I'll be like, nah sorry I've not got time for you love

 

[This Is Not An Ad]

Yeah I've got that too and it's so heartbreaking isn't it. People love asking for gifts and favours and mates rates but won't even engage with your page to like or comment. I keep telling myself that one day I'll be doing so well they're going to have to queue up and I'll be like, nah sorry I've not got time for you love

Yes it definitely hurts! It’s reached a point where I don’t even mention it to anyone anymore. They never ask how my business is going so I don’t talk about it. One of my friends even asked me the other day if a post on her feed was from my page because she wasn’t even sure if she followed the right account!! It’s been a few years since I made it and she asks now?! Sod them!
I’m sure you will smash it and they’ll regret it!

 

[candyland_]

The thing is though.. When the same people constantly share or promote something it puts people off. If you have ten friends all sharing and commenting the same then people will be sick of seeing it and hide your content.
Their followers would have already seen it multiple times.

 

[FilthyGorgeous]

It’s very hurtful I agree

The best advice I got when starting out was not to involve friends and family too much. If they’re the type who want to shout about you from the rooftops then great, but more often than not they knock your confidence. People who want your services will seek you out and you’ll get busy with the right clientele for you. Chin up

 

[This Is Not An Ad]

It’s very hurtful I agree

The best advice I got when starting out was not to involve friends and family too much. If they’re the type who want to shout about you from the rooftops then great, but more often than not they knock your confidence. People who want your services will seek you out and you’ll get busy with the right clientele for you. Chin up

Thank you It’s nice to know there’s others in the same boat. Makes me feel a bit better about it!

 

[judgejohndeed]

What is your business? Is it something they'd usually be interested in if they didn't know you? Got to be honest here, I really hate it when family/friends hound me to like/share stuff from their businesses if their business isn't something I would usually be interested in. I would rarely if ever actually do it, not least because then I get shown loads and loads of similar things I'm not interested in.

 

[Sniffing Eggs]

Honestly, I'm a small business owner too -

My friends/family etc are blocked from seeing my business stuff.
What platform are you using?

 

[derbyshiregirl]

What is your business? Is it something they'd usually be interested in if they didn't know you? Got to be honest here, I really hate it when family/friends hound me to like/share stuff from their businesses if their business isn't something I would usually be interested in. I would rarely if ever actually do it, not least because then I get shown loads and loads of similar things I'm not interested in.

I second this.
I’m really choosy about what I like or share on fb so wouldn’t want to feel pressured into it by a relative or friend. It’s like when you get loads of requests to join ‘so and so body shop at home’ groups. (Not that I’m saying this is what you do)

so yeah might be worth saying a bit more about what the business is. Also, a lot of people don’t realise just how marketing yourself on social media works so they may just be ignorant to it. X