Facebook has inverse quite a bit since I first signed up for an account in 2008. Back then, Facebook was still chosen "The Facebook", and my bio literally said, "Cheque out my MySpace, it'south waaaay better than my Facebook."

Needless to say, Facebook has evolved at breakneck speed since my middle school years, and it'll continue adapting at a swift pace for as long as information technology exists.

If yous need a refresher on how to employ Facebook for marketing your business or you desire to sign up for a personal account, check out this in-depth explanation of how to utilise the most pop social media network in the earth.

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In addition to sharing their own ideas, users tin can engage with the content other people share on Facebook by reacting to it with a similar, a laugh, disapproval, and even a hug. Comments and shares are boosted ways users can collaborate with each other'south content.

Facebook for businesses works similarly, except businesses have Facebook Pages non profiles similar individual users do. Businesses can utilize their Facebook Pages to appoint with existing customers, target new customers, and administer customer support.

To fully sympathize Facebook and how it works, you'll want to become familiar with common terms used on the platform. Hither is a listing of key Facebook terms and what they mean.

Profile

The Facebook contour is where your information will live. Your proper noun, photo, hometown, workplace, didactics history, so on can all be added to your profile. You can make your profile as public or private as y'all want by disabling the information you don't want publicly visible.

Facebook profile example for a beginner

Newsfeed

This is the place where all of your friends' posts volition appear. You'll also see updates from business organization pages that you've liked. Your posts will also appear in the newsfeed where your friends can see them.

Timeline

Often dislocated with a newsfeed, the timeline is your personal record of all the posts you've shared and posts you've interacted with. While you won't usually see friend's condition updates here, there is one exception — if they've tagged you in a post or a photo, it'll appear on your timeline. Your friends can meet your timeline by default if they search your proper noun unless you've set your privacy settings to practise the reverse.

Algorithm

The algorithm is an elusive concept. Essentially, the algorithm is a series of computations that Facebook'south servers do every 2nd to make up one's mind what content y'all want to see, interact with, and click on next. The algorithm uses dwell time (how long you view a post), engagement, folio likes, posts, and more to make up one's mind the blazon of content you lot might like to encounter. Over time, the algorithm gets amend at determining what content to evidence you lot.

Status/Post

The two terms are often used interchangeably, but "post" is the term Facebook uses to describe something you share on the newsfeed. Text, images, videos, and location are merely a few of the types of posts you lot can share to the newsfeed for your friends to see.

How to write a status or post for a facebook beginner

Friends

These are people you've either sent a request to and they've accepted or people who have sent you lot a request and you've accepted. Unlike other social networking sites that allow someone to follow you without you following them back, Facebook's friend system requires both y'all and the other person to be friends with each other. A personal account for an individual cannot have more 5,000 friends (and it'due south not a practiced idea to make a 2nd Facebook contour to get around this rule).How to view Facebook friends for beginners

Followers

Facebook has a follower option as well. When you add together new friends, you automatically follow them (and they follow you, likewise). This is Facebook's style of calculation this new friend to your newsfeed and making sure you see their posts (at least for a niggling while unless you end engaging with them). For individuals who exceed v,000 friends on their personal Facebook profiles, people can opt to follow them instead to stay up to date on their posts. Keep in listen, while Facebook automatically follows your friends for y'all, you can manually unfollow them without unfriending them. This action removes these individuals' posts from your newsfeed. If you do this, you'll demand to search your friends individually and surge their timelines to catch up on their latest posts.

How to follow and unfollow a friend on Facebook

Groups

Facebook users with similar interests might observe it helpful to create a group on the platform. A group is a community of users who interact with each other based on various topics set by the grouping'southward admins and other users. Simply private users tin can be added to groups — pages cannot be part of Facebook groups. Admins have a wide range of permissions they can enable or disable to have the group function in a particular way.

Example of a Facebook private group called the millennial check in

Pages

Businesses use Facebook Pages to create a presence on the social network. Pages are non individual Facebook users — think of them equally profiles for businesses. They can post updates, images, videos, and all the other types of content that profiles tin can. However, they take an advantage — Facebook Pages have the ability to connect to Facebook for Business concern and run ad campaigns.

Example of a Facebook page featuring GoFundme

Events

With so much community happening on Facebook, individual users and businesses have the option to advertise events. The events can take RSVPs, create a guest listing, and share the date time, and location of the upshot. Events can exist virtual through a video platform or they can be in person with a physical location.

Example of a Facebook event featuring a few dozen people in small boats at the 4th annual mega tube float

Messenger

Instead of a direct messaging platform in the native Facebook app, Facebook Messenger exists as a carve up awarding then users tin conversation one-on-one or in a private group setting. When using Facebook.com on a desktop computer, the messenger is attainable through the native Facebook website.

Facebook messenger button for beginners

Story

Similar Instagram stories, Facebook stories are another manner individual users and business pages tin can connect with their friends and followers. Stories are short pieces of content that are visible for just 24 hours. After 24 hours, the stories disappear from the newsfeed.

Facebook stories for beginners

Notification

Represented by the bong icon in the third circle beneath, a notification informs yous when a friend engages with your posts, photos, videos, or timeline, you'll receive a notification that explains what they engaged with and when. Friend requests will also appear here.Facebook notifications for beginners

At present that you have an idea of what Facebook is and how it works, hither's a handy guide to using Facebook.

How does Facebook Piece of work?

Facebook is powered by an algorithm that is able to learn each user's preferences and interests. And then, the algorithm displays content like images, status updates, and videos posted by friends and businesses that the user might exist interested in. The goal for Facebook is to go users to engage with, consume, and share content.

Forth with this, Facebook runs advertisements for businesses and these ads are sprinkled in between organic content shared by your friends on the news feed. The ads are tailored to your interests then you meet what the algorithm thinks you might be interested in based on content you lot've interacted with in the past. This is called behavioral targeting.

How the Facebook Algorithm Works

In the past, Facebook used a chronological timeline. This means that the posts on your newsfeed were listed in the order in which they were near recently shared by your friends on the platform. If your mom posted three hours ago and your best friend posted v minutes agone, you'd see your best friend'southward post first, and then your mom's. All the same, that all changed in September 2011 when Facebook officially appear that it was doing abroad with the chronological newsfeed and replacing it with a more personalized feel. Rather than seeing your friends' posts in the guild they were shared, you lot now see the content Facebook's algorithm thinks you'll enjoy the most. This newsfeed is withal around today.

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Learn how to reach and appoint your Facebook business organization page's audition with the aid of this in-depth guide.

1. Sign upward for a Facebook account.

To sign upwards for a Facebook account, follow these three easy steps.

  • Visit Facebook's website.
  • On the homepage, enter your starting time proper noun, last name, mobile number or email, new countersign, birthday, and gender.
  • Click Sign Upward.

Facebook sign up screen that shows new users how to sign up for Facebook

2. Prepare your privacy settings.

After you've signed up for a Facebook business relationship, y'all can arrange your privacy settings to control who tin can see your profile and data. Follow these iv simple steps to change your privacy settings.

  • Click on the downward pointing arrow that's located on the top correct corner of whatever Facebook page.
  • Click Settings.
  • In the left sidebar, select Privacy.
  • Set who is immune to see your by and future posts. Y'all can too command how people can find and contact you.

How to change Facebook privacy settings for new users

Odds are, there'southward probably someone on Facebook who has the aforementioned proper noun as y'all. To differentiate yourself from these people and help your friends and family observe you on Facebook, personalize your profile by adding a profile picture, cover photo, and some personal information.

3. Personalize your profile.

Picking a Profile Moving picture

  • Go to your profile and click on your profile moving picture.
  • To pick your profile flick, cull a photo that you lot're already tagged in on Facebook, one that you've uploaded to Facebook, or a photo from your computer. You can also add a frame to your profile motion picture.

How to update your profile picture on Facebook

Choosing a Encompass Photo

  • Click the photographic camera button on your cover photograph, which is on your contour.
  • To choose your comprehend photograph, you can option a photo from your Facebook contour, a selection of Facebook's own cover artwork, create a collage, or upload a photo from your computer. You tin can also reposition or delete your current embrace photograph.

How to choose and change a cover photo for Facebook beginners

Updating Your Profile

  • Click the Nearly section on your profile page.
  • In this department, you can make full in information well-nigh your piece of work and didactics, the places y'all've lived, contact and basic info, family and relationships, details almost you, and life events.How to update your profile and about sections on Facebook

four. Similar and follow public pages.

On Facebook, y'all tin can follow and become updates from your favorite brands, celebrities, sports teams, and publications. The best manner to practice this is by searching for them on Facebook and liking or following their public folio, which will have a blue verified check mark side by side to their name. Later on you similar or follow their folio, you'll beginning to see their updates in your news feed.

How to find like and follow public pages like HubSpot on Facebook

5. Review your timeline.

Your timeline is a digital log of your Facebook activity in reverse-chronological order. Your status updates, uploaded photos and videos, and the photos y'all're tagged in volition appear on your timeline.

How to find and view your Facebook timeline

6. Add friends on Facebook.

There are iii ways you can add friends on Facebook. Y'all can either search for them, observe them in the Discover Friends tab, or import a list of contacts from your email, iCloud, or phone.

To find friends on Facebook, go to your contour, select the Friends tab, and tap the Notice Friends button. You'll see a list of friend requests from other people and a list of people you may know that you lot can add as a friend on Facebook.

If y'all upload a list of contacts onto Facebook, you can add your friends as you sort through each of your contacts.

How to add friends on Facebook for beginners

7. Post on Facebook.

The main purpose of Facebook is to help friends and family connect with each other. And the all-time way to connect with your friends and family is past updating them well-nigh your life with status updates. To share a Facebook status, get to the text box at the top of your news feed page or on your profile folio.

With status updates, y'all can share text with 15 unlike colored backgrounds, photos, videos, GIFs, stickers, and links.

You can likewise share other types of posts, like:

  • Feeling/Activity: Share how you're currently feeling or what you're currently doing.
  • Cheque In: When y'all visit a urban center, location, or identify, check in and let your friends know where y'all're at.
  • Tag Friends: If you're hanging out with your friends, tag them in your status and share what you're doing.
  • Tag Result: If you're at an event, you tin can tag it in your status and share what upshot you're attending.
  • Inquire for Recommendations: If you just moved somewhere or you lot're almost to visit a location, you lot tin can ask your Facebook friends for recommendations on where to go.
  • Poll: Enquire your Facebook friends what their opinion is on a certain topic.
  • Support Nonprofit: Cull a nonprofit organisation of your choice and share it through your condition. Your Facebook Friends can then select the donate push button to back up the called organization.
  • Answer a Question: Choose a predetermined question to answer or create your ain question to answer and share it with your Facebook friends.
  • Lists: Choose a predetermined topic to brand a listing for or create your own topic and share it with your Facebook friends.
  • Facebook Stories: All the content that you can share through a condition update is shareable through your Facebook story. You can also upload content to your stories by clicking the Add to Your Story button on the right sidebar. Additionally, you can watch all your friends' Facebook Stories by clicking on their picture in the Stories section, which is besides located on the right sidebar on your dwelling house folio.

viii. Add photos and videos.

On Facebook, y'all can add photos, videos, albums, and live video broadcasts to your contour for all your friends to meet.

Uploading photos or videos

To upload photos or videos to your profile, follow these four uncomplicated steps:

  • Go to your Profile.
  • Select the Photos tab.
  • Select Add Photos/Video.
Upload pictures or videos from your computer.How to upload new photos and videos to Facebook

Creating photo or video albums

To create a photo or video album, follow these iv unproblematic steps:

  • Go to your Profile.
  • Tap the Photos tab.
  • Tap Create Album.
Upload pictures or videos from your computer.How to create a new photo or video album in Facebook

Facebook Live

To do a alive broadcast on your Facebook account, follow these three simple steps.

  • In the box that says What'south on your mind?, select Alive Video.
  • Once you select Live Video, you can write a clarification almost your broadcast, tag people in it, add a feeling or activity, check in to an outcome, back up a non-profit, or add a poll. Yous can besides title your alive broadcast or tag a video game if you're live streaming someone or yourself playing a video game.
  • Select Go Live when you lot've finished describing your live broadcast.

How to go live on Facebook for beginners

9. Connect with friends.

On your news feed, you'll see updates from your friends, family, or public pages you follow. To interact with them, you tin can like and react to their posts, share content on their timelines, and communicate with them through text or video chat.

Like, Comment, Or Share

If you like someone'southward mail, give them a thumbs up, comment on their post, or share it.

Other Reactions

If your Facebook friend's post evokes a stronger reaction in you than a like, you tin likewise express that yous love, laughed, are amazed, pitiful, or angry at their post past holding downward the Like button.

Facebook emoji reactions

Sharing Content on Your Friends' Timelines

Anything you lot can mail on your status, you tin can also post on your friend's timeline.

Facebook Messenger

To conversation with your friends or public pages on Facebook, use Facebook Messenger. You can admission information technology past borer the Messages push at the peak right corner of whatever Facebook page or selecting the Messages push on the left sidebar of the home page.

How to use Facebook messenger

Next, select New Bulletin and type in your friend or brand's name that yous want to connect with. Facebook Messenger also lets you create group chats by clicking on New Group. After that, all yous have to do is proper noun your group and add the friends you desire to include in the grouping.

How to send a new message in Facebook messenger

When you bulletin your friends or group on Facebook Messenger, y'all tin can upload pictures, videos, and files from your computer, as well as stickers, GIFs, emojis, and take pictures and videos from your calculator'south or phone's photographic camera.

You can as well view Messenger on its ain folio, where you can search for by conversations and manage your settings. To view Messenger on its ain folio tap the Messages button in the tiptop right corner of any Facebook page and then tap the See All in Messenger button.

How to find Facebook messenger

To instant message your friends' who are logged onto Facebook at the same time as you, tap the Chat push button on the bottom of any Facebook page and strike up a conversation with your friends who are online.How to view messenger conversations on the main Facebook screen

Telephone and Video Calling

When you have Messenger open up on its own page, you can search for whatever of your friends or groups, click on their proper name, and tap the phone or video chat button to call them.

How to chat through Facebook messenger

x. Review your newsfeed.

Your news feed is a curated feed of posts from your friends, family, and public pages y'all follow that Facebook's algorithm thinks you'll be interested in. You lot'll as well come across ads from brands who remember you lot'll enjoy consuming their content or products.

To customize your news feed, tap the downward pointing arrow in the upper correct corner of any Facebook page and tap News Feed Preference.

From there, yous tin can prioritize whose posts you'll see first, unfollow people and groups to hide their posts, reconnect with people and groups yous unfollowed, discover public pages that match your interests, and hide apps from your news feed.

xi. Discover additional Facebook features.

Facebook isn't only a platform for viral content and connexion. It's also a hub for community communications, video streaming, marketplaces, and games.

Events

The Events page on Facebook will show y'all any upcoming events that are popular with your Facebook friends or accept been set up by the groups you belong to. You tin besides find events based on their date, location, and category.

To observe the Events page, select the Abode button. Then, on the left sidebar, you lot'll meet the Explore section, where you tin select Events

Facebook event in Bartlett, TN for an outdoor spring crafts fair

Groups

The Groups page on Facebook will show you lot which groups you manage and vest to. You can likewise notice groups to join based on Facebook's suggestions and a ton of other categories.

To access the Groups folio, tap the Home button and so on the left sidebar, you'll see the Explore section, where you lot tin can click Groups.

How to find and see a group on Facebook

Facebook Watch

On the Facebook Watch platform, you can spotter videos from the shows you're post-obit and search for other shows and videos.

To access Facebook Lookout man, select the Home button. And then, on the left sidebar, you lot'll encounter the Lookout man button correct under the Marketplace button.

How to view groups in one page on Facebook

Marketplace

Not only does Facebook compete with Netflix in the streaming industry, simply they too compete with eBay in the market place manufacture. With Facebook Marketplace, you tin browse for all kinds of products, join groups to buy and sell products with people in your area or who share like interests, shop for products sold from different shops, shop by category, and sell your ain products.

To access Facebook Marketplace, select the Domicile button. And so on the left sidebar, you'll run across the Marketplace button right under the Picket button.

Facebook marketplace for beginners featuring a table, a house, and a studio apartment for sale

Games

Facebook Games is one of Facebook'south best features. They host a huge drove of massively popular games, and you can browse the well-nigh popular games on the platform by superlative charts and categories. You can fifty-fifty play most of the games with your friends, too.

Facebook games for beginners Editor's note: This post was originally published in Oct 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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Free Resource: How to Reach & Engage Your Audience on Facebook

Originally published Apr 14, 2021 seven:00:00 AM, updated August 27 2021