This week we will dive more into engaging on Facebook, if you missed part one, check it out here!
A lot of times when someone shares content or poses a question, particularly in group of people with shared interests, you’ll have people wanting to know what happens/what feedback and answers the original poster gets. Some people will want to interact with the post to make sure they get notifications if someone comments after them. To do this, people will often just comment something general like “following” or even just a . to make sure they get notifications to remind them to come back to the post. This is because once they have interacted, the default setting for Facebook is to send notifications when others comment or interact with that content. However, many don’t know you don’t need to comment on content to be notified as other people interact.
Similar to saving content—as discussed in the basic blog—those three magic dots at the top of a post have a lot of options. Clicking those dots, you’ll see an option to “Turn on notifications for this post” and that will send you notifications when there is activity on the post.
I love this feature, however, I also find it is a lesser-known feature/option for people. It can really help clean up a comment section on a post.
Engaging on Facebook is all about community and your network! Tagging is a great feature to share content with people.
Originally, tagging was just in images but has since expanded to tagging people in content you share and comments. Let’s talk about how easy it is to tag someone in your network!
When sharing images, you can tag someone IN the image. When uploading you, usually, have the option to tag someone if you are uploading multiple images or creating an album. If you do a direct upload to your timeline, you’ll need to click on “Edit” to get the option to tag within the photo. If you want to tag, always look for the tag icon. Once in tagging mode, you can click on a face and start typing someone’s name. To tag someone, they will need to have a Facebook Profile and be connected with you.
To tag someone in content or a comment, the quickest way is to put the ‘@’ symbol and type the name (no space), this will give you suggestions on who to select for tagging. You can do this when creating/sharing content and typing out your message and when commenting on content. Sometimes if you are typing out a name, you’ll get suggestions to tag someone as well! Some business Pages also allow you to tag them, which can be nice when sharing a business you love.
Helpful tip: When you tag someone in text content/comments, you can use the @ to select someone, and then their full name will appear. Example, @Rebecca Maguire and then once my name is selected, my name would show up highlighted in blue. If you just want to use someone’s first name, you can then click the backspace ONCE and delete the last name. I use this to keep my comments more personable, as I usually wouldn’t call someone by their full name.
If you want to interact with someone (or a few people) privately, you can use Facebook Messenger. A few years ago, Facebook created a separate app for Messenger to make it easier to connect with people and message, however you can still access your messages when logged into Facebook.
On your computer and even on the app, you can access your messages by clicking the speech bubble with a zig-zag line through it in the upper right corner. From here you have so many options to create a message for one person or multiple people. You can also utilize audio calling or video calling.
Think of Messenger as a similar way to connect as texting, with more features! You can directly send money, add attachments, send stickers, and more. Also, Messenger is connected to your Stories, so if you post a Story, if someone reacts or responds, it will come via Messenger. You will also see your comments/reactions to Stories in your Messenger as sent items.
A new feature for Facebook Messenger is Rooms. This is how Facebook describes this new feature:
Messenger Rooms make it easy to spend quality time with friends, loved ones and people who share your interests. Create a room right from Messenger or Facebook, and invite anyone to join your video call, even if they don’t have a Facebook account. Rooms will soon hold up to 50 people with no time limit.
To learn more about this feature, click here.
Facebook tries to help you by only giving you notifications for messages from people you know and are connected with on the social media channel. However, we all know spam/junk messages are everywhere these days from your email to your cell phone.
Message Requests helps keep your inbox clean from spam, but also may not be checked very often. Message Requests may come from someone trying to connect or asking you a question, so I recommend checking your Requests folder occasionally—with the caveat of being aware of spam!!
When you are on your computer and in Messenger, find those magic three dots. They may be at the top of your messages if you just have the right-side panel open. They will be on the left above your messages if you have Messenger in full screen mode.
On your phone, when in the Messenger app, press on your image in the top left and you’ll see a menu of options pop up, including “Message Requests”.
From your Message Requests, you’ll see two inboxes — “You May Know” and “Spam.” Facebook will help filter out people “You May Know” from your network and what groups you are in from spam messages coming from fake accounts or bots.
ALWAYS be cautious about what you click on in Messenger…. And email or text messages! Spam is everywhere and getting harder to decipher from real content.
Remember to always think before you share and comment. I’ll talk more in-depth about privacy next week, but I want to warn you about false information, fake pages, and security threats!
As I mentioned before, we should all be checking our sources and information before we share. We should all help curb the spread of misinformation. A lot of times false information is being shared to cause an emotional reaction, get engagement, and get in front of more people.
Always verify pages you are following. Large brands are verified with blue checks next to their name, but not everyone has the luxury of that blue check. Look at the page, look at the content being shared. Is it consistent and genuine?
As an artist, I’ve had art stolen and shared on other Facebook pages. The other pages didn’t have a consistent look or didn’t interact with their comments. They also were doing “quick sales” with stolen art.
Another thing to look out for is pages asking for shares—”Share this and you’ll make it to Heaven” or to “Share if you agree.” Or asking for comments sharing your age, year you were born, high school you attended, etc.—these are often security threats. Don’t let people know these random details about you, especially things you may use for security questions when setting up various accounts.
Remember, sharing and interacting with posts will build engagement for that content. If the information is false or a security threat, you are spreading it to your network and others. Share useful, fun content, not harmful misinformation.
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