Ghost Banning on Social Media

About Ghost Banning

If your social media posts are no longer publicly visible or showing up within public search, it is possible your brand is temporarily ghost banned. Ghost banning is a process where an account is invisibly banned from a social network or online community. Accounts that are ghost banned can still access their account and see updates from their connections, but their content and activity will not be displayed to other users.

Ghost banning is often used to restrict the activities of users whose activity is consistent with spam. Website administrators can limit their access until their behavior is consistent with the terms and conditions of the social network or online community.

If your company’s account is ghost banned, social networks will monitor your account to look for evidence to decide whether to block you permanently or reinstate your full access.

Identifying If You Are Ghost Banned

There are different ways to identify if you are ghost banned depending on the site you are using. One of the easiest ways is to search for your username in public search while logged in to the site. If your content appears in the public search, you are not ghost banned. If your content does not appear, your profile has been blocked from appearing in the public search and you are likely ghost banned.

Some social networks, like Facebook and Reddit, will send out warnings before they ban you from the platform.

Reasons for Ghost Banning

Ghost banning depends on your behavior on social media, the content you post, and the frequency with which you share. The following behavior can lead to ghost banning and should be avoided.

• Spamming: Repeatedly sharing the same content. This includes sharing the same link repeatedly even if the text of your post is different.
• Frequent Sharing: Sharing posts too often. This behavior can be seen as spamming.
• Incomplete Profile: Not including profile details like your name, location, or a written bio.
• Third Party Sharing Tools: Giving a third party app that posts spam content access to your account. You can also be ghost banned for following a suspected or known spammer on the platform.
• New Account: If you just created your account and it doesn’t have any content, it may be flagged by the site administrator. Once you start posting content you should no longer be ghost banned.

Preventing Ghost Banning

While every social network and website has their own opinion about what spam is, these activities can help your brand avoid being ghost banned.

• Follow and interact with Brand Ambassadors.
• Never post the same link twice in a short period of time.
• Don’t follow spam accounts.
• Mix up your content by sharing and liking different posts from your customers or ambassadors.