A Thoughtful Answer to FB’s “Very Responsive” Badge
For years Facebook has been training business owners to respond as quickly as possible to messages on our business pages.
Why?
Because if we respond quickly enough, we’ll get a badge that says “Very responsive to messages.”
In order to get that coveted “Very Responsive” badge, you must reply to 90% of messages within 15 minutes of them hitting your biz page inbox.
Lately I’ve been questioning this practice.
(Especially for those of us who do not use Facebook business pages page as a primary way to communicate with our current clients.)
What does the “Very Responsive” badge communicate to potential clients?
That we’re invested in our studio?
That we care about our clients?
That we offer a superior lesson experience?
Nope. Nope. And nope.
It tells them one thing: that we respond quickly.
It tells them that we have our notifications turned on. And that we’ll drop what we’re doing to respond in order to maintain that “under 15 minute mark.” That we’re always available to quickly answer questions, no matter what we’re doing.
… but why should we need that validation?
The truth is… we don’t. And we shouldn’t.
An up-to-date and well-maintained FB biz page does not need to have a super fast response time. That’s what good content is for.
The posts we make about our studios, the photos we share, and the information our pages are far more powerful than a “Very Responsive” badge. Those are the tools that will communicate our desired messages to potential clients.
Am I saying you should take days and weeks to respond to messages?
Of course not.
Instead, I’m inviting you to respond on your own time.
And to let go of the race.
A well-crafted response, written with care and sent at your convenience will be more effective than a hurried answer sent at 10pm on a Friday night, or a back-and-forth conversation that interrupts your precious family time. Or the middle of someone else’s lesson time.
And if the thought of losing that badge makes you twitch, here’s one more important thing to consider:
We set expectations from day 1.
If we constantly make ourselves available to answer potential client questions, we’re setting a precedent that we’ll always be able to respond immediately.
Can you imagine if that’s how the rest of the professional world worked? Would your primary doctor respond to FB messages no matter what time of day it is? What about your favorite restaurant after they’re closed for the night? Your hair stylist after they’ve left the salon?
That’s just madness.
And the world has enough madness on its own.
So my friend, if you’ve been worried about that response time… consider this your written permission to say “not right now” to FB’s “Very Responsive” badge.
Take your time.
You’re worth it.
(And pssst… if you enjoyed this post, share it with your music friends.)
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Looking for more?
If you FB page or website hasn’t been bringing in inquiries, reach out! Social media and web-presence are two of my specialty areas. I’ve got some availability on my 1:1 coaching calendar, and I’d love to help you reach your goals.
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