What Does "Following" Mean on Facebook? The Ins and Outs of Facebook‘s Follow Feature

If you‘re an avid Facebook user, you‘ve likely noticed the Follow button on profiles and pages. But what exactly does following someone on Facebook entail? How does it differ from friending? And how can you make the most of Facebook‘s follow feature?

This in-depth guide will cover everything you need to know about following on Facebook, from a social media expert‘s perspective. We‘ll dig into the nuances of the tool and how individuals and businesses alike can capitalize on follows.

Let‘s dive in!

An Introduction to Facebook‘s Follow Feature

Unlike platforms like Instagram and Twitter, Facebook‘s main connection tool is friending rather than following. But back in 2011, Facebook introduced the Follow feature as a complement to the existing friending mechanism.

Following on Facebook creates a one-way connection where you can subscribe to the public posts from a profile or page without needing them to approve a friend request. This provides a lightweight, informal way to keep up with people or entities you‘re interested in.

When you follow someone, their public posts will automatically appear in your News Feed. So it serves as a simple way to customize the content you see from broader connections like brands, influencers, co-workers, distant connections, and more.

Pages get notified when you follow them, but individual accounts won‘t know unless they specifically check their followers list. So it allows you to discreetly keep tabs on certain people if you desire.

Now that we‘ve covered the basics, let‘s explore some specific benefits of leveraging Facebook‘s Follow feature.

5 Key Benefits of Following People on Facebook

As an individual Facebook user, here are some of the top reasons you may want to follow certain accounts:

1. Stay Updated on Celebrities, Public Figures, and Influencers

Following is a great way to keep your finger on the pulse of your favorite celebrities, artists, influencers, thought leaders and public figures. Since they likely have huge friends lists already, following lets you see their updates without needing to send a friend request.

For example, following music artists gives you access to their latest song teasers and album announcements the moment they drop. Staying up-to-date on influencers in your industry helps you learn about trends, opportunities, and news right away.

2. Discover New Content From Pages That Interest You

In addition to individual accounts, you can follow pages on Facebook to discoveries new content tailored to your hobbies and interests.

For instance, if you‘re an aspiring photographer, you can follow pages that share tips, inspiration and news about the latest gear. If you love to cook, follows relevant recipe pages like Tasty and find new dish ideas. Into fitness? Follow motivational pages and workout channels.

Facebook‘s algorithm will start suggesting more related content to follow based on your initial follows, helping you unearth pages you‘ll find valuable.

3. Keep Tabs on Acquaintances and Distant Connections

Got an old classmate, former coworker or extended family member you want to keep loosely in touch with? Following them lets you stay updated on major life events and happenings without needing to be Facebook friends.

You can also follow new acquaintances right away rather than waiting for them to accept your friend request. This helps avoid that awkward social media limbo as you get to know someone.

4. Support Causes You Care About

Following nonprofits, social enterprises, activists and fundraisers allows you to stay looped into causes you want to support. You‘ll get notified about petitions, donation drives, events and other initiatives where you can get involved.

5. Curate a Personalized News Feed

The main appeal of following accounts on Facebook is gaining control over your News Feed‘s content. Rather than simply seeing a firehose of all your friends‘ posts, you can fill your feed with updates just from those you follow.

This lets you shape a News Feed with the topics, people, brands, and organizations you truly care about. You can unfollow accounts anytime to further hone your feed.

How Businesses Can Capitalize on Facebook‘s Follow Feature

Now that we‘ve covered the benefits of following for everyday users, let‘s discuss how companies, creators, and organizations can leverage Facebook follows as part of their social strategy.

Expand Your Reach Beyond Existing Fans

One major advantage of enabling follows on your Facebook Page is that it allows you to reach users beyond just those who have actively liked your Page. People who discover your content can follow you right away without needing to formally become a fan first.

This gives you a larger potential audience of casual followers who may not engage heavily, but will see your posts as they scroll through their own feeds. Over time, this increased visibility can lead to more brand awareness, site traffic, and even conversion down the line.

Increase Passive Discovery Through the News Feed

Most social media users spend the bulk of their time scrolling passively through their News Feeds rather than actively searching for new accounts. So the more times you can get your content to appear organically in followers‘ feeds, the better.

Posting consistently, responding to comments, and running promotions limited to followers helps drive up impressions and keeps your brand top of mind. This trains the algorithm to show your content more often.

Notify Followers of Exciting Announcements

Followers who have opted into notifications will get pinged about your new product launches, events, offers and other major updates. This helps ensure your biggest announcements reach fans without getting lost in crowded News Feeds.

Suggest Relevant Pages for Followers to Follow

Grow your community by guiding your audience to other complementary pages and influencers based on the topics your brand focuses on. This keeps followers engaged with content relevant to your niche.

Gather More Data on Your Followers

Facebook provides Page admins with data on followers such as demographic info, what times they‘re most active, top interests and more. Analyzing this can help you tailor content and offers to what resonates most with your audience.

Key Stats on Facebook‘s Follow Feature

To provide some helpful context around how people use Facebook‘s Follow feature, here are some notable stats:

As of 2022, over 1.96 billion people use Facebook each month. This represents a huge potential audience reach for follows.
65% of Facebook users say they have followed at least one public figure, while 54% have followed a local business.
Individual Facebook profiles have an average of 155 followers.
Pages see a 26% higher engagement rate from followers compared to non-followers.
The most followed category of Facebook pages are around musicians and bands.
Facebook users spend an average of 15.5 hours per month actively using the platform. This demonstrates significant opportunity for passive content discovery through follows.

Facebook Following vs. Friending: Key Differences

While following shares some similarities with friend connections on Facebook, there are a few core differences:

Friending

Two-way, reciprocal connection
Must be approved by both parties
Full access to profile, info and all posts
Shows up mutually in main friends lists
Notifications sent for new friend requests

Following

One-way connection, only need to follow one party
Only have access to public posts
Does not add person to main friends list
Individuals don‘t get notified of new followers
Better for casual acquaintances or public figures

So in summary, friending indicates a tighter, mutually approved bond, while following is better suited for looser, casual connections where only public updates are shared.

Tips for Curating Your Facebook Follow List

Ready to start building your Facebook follow list? Here are some expert tips:

Follow hashtags: Discover posts around your interests by following hashtags like #digitalmarketing or #smallbusiness.
Follow competitors: Keep an eye on competing brands‘ strategies and announcements.
Follow friends of friends: Get to know new people in your extended network.
Follow trending pages: Stay on top of viral sensations and pop culture moments.
Follow niche interests: Indulge your quirky passions by following very specific, targeted pages.
Follow local businesses: Support shops and restaurants in your neighborhood.
Follow media outlets: Get breaking news fast from trusted journalistic sources.
Follow organizers: Learn about local events and happenings.

Final Takeaways on Facebook Following

Hopefully this guide has helped unravel the ins and outs of Facebook‘s Follow feature. Here are some key points to remember:

Following allows a one-way connection to see someone‘s public updates, without friending.
Individuals can follow celebrities, influencers, interests, causes and acquaintances.
Businesses can leverage follows to increase reach, discovery and engagement.
You control the content you see by carefully curating follows.
Friending indicates a tighter bond than following, with more access.
Follow who you want, unfollow anytime, and customize your ideal News Feed.

So next time you‘re browsing Facebook, don‘t hesitate to hit that Follow button on profiles and pages that pique your interest. With the right follow list, you can make your daily Facebook scroll a lot more relevant, valuable and entertaining.

Have fun finding new accounts to follow! Let me know if you have any other Facebook questions.