Eric Fading Flower Like Prydz

Are you getting 'grouped or paged out' on Facebook? Have you clicked the like button on so many Facebook pages you have lost track? Or worse, did Facebook tell you that you cannot join any more? There is a limit to the number of groups you can join - Facebook says 300. But I cannot find a hard limit to pages - yet. Sometimes their limits are in place but hidden.

Many people have joined so many groups and pages they feel overwhelmed - the updates in their newsfeed and event invites just keep piling in. You can solve this in a few simple steps.

What happens when you join a group or page? Well.. for starters, you are now connected to many more people through the group - and if you are using Facebook for your business that was probably part of your initial strategy. Join relevant groups to connect with. The key word here being - relevant. Then you start to receive updates or invites to events. Let's see... if you respond, your update goes out to all the members... again, your name in front of many and good if the group or page is relevant.

Now, when someone posts a note, wall post or link, on any of the groups or pages- their post will show on your wall. Which also means, if you post on another group's wall or page, your update will be seen by all the group members or people connected to the page. So many people you are talking to.

The issue everyone seems to have is when they start to RECEIVE all these notes, invites, links and more on your Facebook newsfeed...that's when people become overwhelmed and some just stop joining anything.

Well... if you are like many Facebook users, and have more than 100 friends, you probably have lots of stuff already being posted on your wall from actual friends - not to mention the flower gardens, butterflies, IQ challenge tests, TV quizzes etc, etc, etc. Do you read all those? Probably not... that's why everyone skim-reads now. Way too much to take in. You skim and only look further into items that catch your eye. How do you deal with it and still remain connected to all the groups and pages? Ignore all those gardens, challenges, hot date messages, flowers, fishbowls - and yes, even FarmVille. Period. In keeping with your purpose for being on Facebook- join groups and pages that support your strategic plan. Check out the wall posts and discussions to determine if you should participate actively in that group/page or just be kept informed. For those you want to participate in, do so by posting on the wall and responding to other posts. For those you simply want to keep in touch with, quickly scan the invites/posts. Respond to those you want to and then mass ignore those you will not be joining (saves lots of time and clicks). This is not a mean thing to do and don't feel bad if you ignore an event invite, or a friend invite for that matter. The people sending out invites would really prefer only to get responses from those truly interested. That way their connections are one of interest not just a number. It's not a big deal to belong to all these groups as long as you listen and join in. If you are always ignoring them and never want to participate then go ahead and un-friend, un-like or un-join yourself.

Unconnecting is fine... and if many people follow your route, the owner of the group or page may realize they were not giving value to their connections - especially if people keep jumping ship.

It all comes down to why you are on Facebook and how much time you want to put into it. There are always ways to save time and still participate. It's an ongoing cycle - Find, Join, Listen, and Participate. If you stop all participation, then leave the group. Simple choice - No Value, No Join.

I invite you to receive a free copy of my Social Media DO's and DOn'ts Guide - Perfect for Beginners! You can access this at .

If you are new to Social Media, join our to network and learn tips and tricks to use on your Social Media networks. From Kathy Colaiacovo, Social Media Virtual Assistant