Facebook Event Invitations – Unsubscribe Option?
Are you tired of the incessant irrelevant Event invitations on Facebook? I certainly get my fair share on a daily basis. However, when the tables are turned and I’m hosting my own Event… it sure can get tricky. Facebook’s current features don’t make it all that easy to manage larger networks of friends in terms of who to invite.
I run a Facebook Event about once every 3-4 weeks. I do my utmost to keep the Invitee emails to a bare minimum. I appreciate these messages can be intrusive as all of a sudden you start receiving emails from someone you may not have a relationship with… yet.
As far as who to invite, well, you can only invite in batches of 100. When you click the “Invite People To Come” link, Facebook displays a somewhat abridged version of your Facebook friends and you need to keep going back in to invite groups of 100.
With a major event that I believe brings extraordinary value to my entire network, I have no qualms about inviting 90% of my Facebook friends. (The 10% are immediate family members like my mom! She reads my tweets and follows my Facebook activities, but doesn’t need to attend my events).
So, I just completed a successful event with my mentor, Kevin Nations and his Ultimate Step-by-Step Profit System. The feedback leading up to, during and after the call was astoundingly positive. It warmed my heart.
Yet, my heart sank a bit when I received this email from one of my Facebook friends, social media expert, Dan York:
With all due respect to Dan, I’m sure he doesn’t know if he had just RSVP’d NO or clicked the Remove from My Events link, he would not receive any further emails.
Dan York writes many blogs such as Disruptive Conversations – “PR/communication and the ‘social media’ of blogs, podcasts, wikis and virtual worlds – and the way our conversations are changing…”
I’m sure Dan is a super guy with good intentions. For me, it’s just easier to hit the delete button on incoming emails than ask to be removed… especially given I consider myself an influencer.
I wrote a pleasant note back to Dan:
… and toyed with whether I should just unfriend Dan as maybe we’re not a good match for professional networking buds. I know this is a dilemma shared by many. So here are two solutions I’ve come up with:
Solution for Incoming Event Invitations
Until Facebook comes up with a better way to manage incoming Event invitations, from your Requests page, just click the “No” button or the “Remove from my Events” link. (Actually, if you click Remove from my Events, it’s possible you could receive another invite from the same friend for the same Event, so better to just say NO!).
Event organizers can only message invitees who have RSVPd Yes, Maybe, or have not yet responded:
Or, if someone keeps sending you inappropriate and irrelevant Event invites and you’re finding this person is not a match for your network, go ahead and Remove as a Friend (click the link at the bottom of their Profile).
Solution for Sending Invitations as an Event Organizer
Use the Friend Lists feature to create a “DO NOT INVITE” list, then add those Facebook friends who have expressed a desire to not receive your invites. 😉 Just be sure to refer to the list when sending your invites!
I’d really like to see an “Ignore all Event Invites From This Friend” feature added just as there is with Application Invites. Or perhaps an “Opt Out” link like the one for Page Updates. Because, for the most part, I’m happy to keep most all of my Facebook friends in my network… I just don’t necessarily wish to receive all their Event Invites! 😉
What do you think? Are you tired of the non-stop barrage of weird and wacky event invites? Are you running your own Facebook Events with success? Do you have a “Remove” policy?
@James
There are two very good options related to blocking applications.
1. Simply block the applications, inorder to avoid multiple invites; and
2. Click the option, Ignore invites from “particular person”
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Hi Mari,
You’re exactly right about this being a delicate situation. I haven’t had it too bad with the event invites but the group and application invites have swamped me from time to time – and I personally found it easier to unfriend the two people that sent me 99% of my useless application requests than bother sending a note or trying to figure out how to block the notices. I wonder if others do this if they get too many event invites.
Facebook is a great and interesting tool, but I agree that it’s hard to manage a large list of friends (and my friend list is pretty small compared to most people).
Very few tools have this ability – mybloglog is a classic example.
Keep up the great work,
James
I find mostly that I feel bad when I receive an event that I can’t attend. I get gallery invites from all over the world and feel guilty saying no! but even then it’s no problem. I’d rather get the invites and know what was going on and have the option – even if I can’t make it. it takes nothing to hit no and to type a quick message, and having run events of my own I know how nice it is to get those little messages and solid numbers – even if the answer is no!
with my most recent event I decided to invite everyone, even those who aren’t local because you never know! -they might recommend it to someone else who has a family member who is local or may be attending a conference, or perhaps they just want to know what’s happening, Like I do. If someone wants to be removed I will probably take your advice. but so far I’ve had no complaints.
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Mari – thanks for sharing – actually I know of you both and both of you deliver great content.
I actually use the ‘remove from my event’ function, but I have to say that I have never used the events function in Facebook as I don’t want to be seen an annoyance to people as i know some of my connections in Facebook are ‘weak’ vesus those in LinkedIn. My blog and my newsletter is where I focus my sharing of events as I know people are there as they have opted in to access the information I share.
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You have made a very good point the feature needed for all facebook users I have not done any events but slowly I am learning how to use facebook by reading your blogs.
Govindji Patel
Hi Mari,
You brought up some great points. There are so many events happening everyday in FB… it can get overwhelming.
The “remove from events option” reminds me of the spam button in emails. I often wonder how many hit spam instead of delete.
I developed a list of FB peeps that whenever they hold an event I attend. (of course u r on that list). I’m learning something and I want to show support. When I see someone from this small group hosting an event, it’s a no brainer on attending.
When developing a new relationship, attending their event can assist further growing the relationship or determining if it’s worth pursuing.
Unless the title really catches my attention or curiosity, the rest I decline.
I like your policy of one event every 3 or 4 weeks… it brings up one of the points in your call with Kevin yesterday… scarcity of access to you.
Ann Rusnak
“The Time Diva”
I’m with you Mari, I find it easy to just delete them. I’ve always felt that if you accept a friendship on Facebook, then you are interested in their life & events. If you are facebooking for business, it should be reciprocal. You came up with some great solutions… now if you could come up with a way to get my friends to stop sending me stupid zombie apps. I’d happily accept your event invitations over those any day!
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