Are you an influencer or an individual on Facebook who wants to add a Follow button to your profile? With over 2.9 billion monthly active users, Facebook is the largest social media platform in the world. Having a Follow button can help expand your reach and gain more followers organically.
In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll explain step-by-step how to add a Follow button on Facebook as a user.
What is the Follow Button on Facebook?
The Follow button on Facebook allows people to follow your public posts without needing to send a friend request first. According to Facebook, "Following allows people to keep up with your public posts without having to friend you."
When someone follows you, your public posts will automatically appear in their News Feed so they can stay updated on your activity.
This gives your content more visibility beyond just your friends list. The Follow button functions similarly to the follow mechanisms on other social platforms like Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
Who Can Follow You on Facebook?
To allow others to follow you on Facebook, there are two requirements according to the platform‘s Help Center:
- You must be over 18 years old
- Your “Who Can Follow Me” privacy setting must be set to Public
Users under 18 do not have access to the Follow button feature. You also need to explicitly enable the Follow option in your privacy settings first.
According to Facebook, “The Follow button helps control the audience for your public posts without sending friend requests. This helps avoid unwanted friend requests and keeps your friends list tailored while still allowing your posts to reach a wider audience.”
How Many People Have Followers on Facebook?
As of January 2022, Facebook has around 1.96 billion daily active users worldwide according to Statista.
The company does not reveal how many users have Follow buttons enabled or how many total followers there are across the platform. However, the feature is commonly used by influencers, public figures, businesses, brands, and creators seeking to expand their reach.
For example, as of February 2023, entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk has over 1.5 million followers on his verified public Facebook page. So the Follow button can help accumulate a sizable audience, especially for established personalities.
Step-by-Step Guide to Add a Follow Button on Facebook
Ready to add a Follow button to your profile? Here is a step-by-step walkthrough:
Step 1 – Adjust Privacy Settings
The first thing you need to do is adjust a couple privacy settings in order for the Follow option to appear:
- Go to your Facebook profile and click on the three horizontal dots in the top right corner.
- Select Settings & Privacy > Settings.
- Click Privacy in the left menu.
Under the Privacy menu you need to update two settings:
Set "Who can send you friend requests?" to Friends of Friends
This setting is located under How People Find and Contact You.
Change it from "Everyone" to "Friends of Friends". This makes your profile unsearchable by strangers while still allowing friends of friends to send requests.
Set "Who Can Follow Me" to Public
This setting is under Public Posts.
Change it from "Friends" to "Public". This allows anyone on Facebook to follow your public posts.
Step 2 – Check as a Visitor
Once you‘ve adjusted those two privacy settings, the Follow button should appear on your profile.
To confirm, go back to your profile and click on the three dots again. Select View As to see your profile as a visitor would.
You should now see a blue Follow button instead of an Add Friend button.
Step 3 – Post Interesting Public Content
Now you can start posting public content that followers would be interested in engaging with.
Remember, your followers are choosing to consume your content, so focus on posting updates they would value. Here are some types of content that tend to work well:
- Industry insights and expertise
- Behind-the-scenes looks
- Photos and videos
- Motivational and inspiring quotes
- Personal updates and milestones
- Polls and questions to spark discussion
Mix up your content types and post consistently so followers have a reason to check your profile frequently. Stories, live videos, and Reels are also great ways to engage followers with timely updates.
Step 4 – Interact with Your New Followers
As you accumulate followers, be sure to engage with them. Respond to any comments or questions on your public posts in a timely manner.
You can also go to your profile, click on Followers in the left sidebar and interact with their posts to further build relationships. Twitter-style good morning and good night tweets can also help foster an engaging community with your top fans and followers.
Why Add a Follow Button on Facebook?
There are several key reasons having a Follow button can benefit your Facebook presence:
Expands Your Audience and Reach
The main advantage of the Follow button is allowing anyone to see your public updates, beyond just direct friends. This helps you expand your audience and reach new people organically.
Public figures, influencers, businesses, brands, creators and community builders can all benefit from increased visibility. It provides more opportunities for your content to be discovered through hashtags, shares, and the news feed algorithm.
Gains Followers Without Needing Mutual Connections
On Facebook, sending or accepting friend requests typically requires some existing connection to a person. The Follow button eliminates that friction.
Anyone who finds your profile can simply click Follow to receive your updates. This makes it much easier to build an audience and gain followers from scratch.
Curates News Feed Based on Interests
For users, the Follow button allows better personalization of the news feed based on interests. Rather than only seeing posts from friends, users can fill their feed with content from creators they find inspiring, educational or entertaining.
It‘s an opt-in mechanism. If someone is no longer interested, they can simply unfollow with one click. This level of control is beneficial for both creators and consumers.
Limits Unwanted Friend Requests
Having the Follow option can stem unwanted friend requests from strangers or vague acquaintances. It keeps the relationship more casual and lower commitment than friends.
For individuals, the Follow button may be preferred for acquaintances compared to sending or accepting direct friend requests. It keeps connections at a level they feel comfortable with.
Facilitates Discovery of New Accounts
When users browse hashtags or locations on Facebook, they can easily follow any public profile with compelling content. This frictionless discovery and onboarding helps new accounts gain visibility faster.
Whether it‘s a new business, influencer or community page, the Follow button aids the initial growth phase. Fans can start following right away without needing to take the extra step of sending a friend request.
Best Practices for Using Your Facebook Follow Button
Here are some top tips for making the most of your Facebook Follow button:
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Post Consistently: Give your followers fresh content regularly so they have a reason to keep checking your profile and posts in their feed.
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Provide Value: Focus on posting content your target audience would find useful, interesting or entertaining – not just promotional posts. Offer them value.
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Diversify Content: Share different types of content – videos, images, Stories, live streams, Reels and more. Keep experimenting with new formats.
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Interact Frequently: Reply to follower comments and questions. Check notifications and messages daily. @ mention top fans. Go live and engage directly.
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Cross-Promote: Link to your Facebook page from other social platforms to increase follows. Let your wider audience know they can follow you on FB.
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Analyze Metrics: Check your Facebook Insights to see follower growth, engagement rates, top posts, and demographic data. Learn what content resonates most.
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Run Ads: Consider occasionally running Facebook ads focused on increasing your followers and engagement from your target demographic.
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Reward Loyal Followers: Identify your top fans and followers and reward them with things like exclusive content, contests, early access, and discounts.
Follower Demographics on Facebook
When it comes to followers on Facebook, there are some key user demographic insights worth noting:
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Gender: 52.4% of daily Facebook users are female, while 47.5% are male as of 2022 according to Statista. So the platform has a relatively balanced gender split.
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Age: The largest percentage of users are ages 25-34 at 29.7%, followed by the 18-24 bracket. However, all age groups from 18-65+ have significant representation.
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Locations: Facebook has the most users in India, Indonesia, the United States, Brazil and Mexico according to Statista. So follower demographics will vary based on your target country.
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Interests: Facebook has over 2.96 billion monthly active users worldwide, so followers come with diverse interests looking for entertainment, news, inspiration and community.
Understanding your target demographic can help tailor your content strategy and messaging on Facebook to resonate most with potential followers.
Pros and Cons of the Facebook Follow Button
Adding a Follow button comes with some advantages but also limitations to consider:
Pros
- Increased reach and visibility
- Gain followers organically
- Followers can opt-out easily
- Better news feed customization
- Helps new accounts get discovered
- Less friction than friend requests
Cons
- Only available for users over 18
- Must share posts publicly
- Followers can unfollow anytime
- Doesn‘t notify you of new followers
- Metrics limited compared to friends
- Follows carry less weight than friends
Weighing the pros and cons can help set proper expectations. While beneficial overall, the Follow button has some inherent constraints compared to Facebook friends. But it serves its purpose of casually expanding your audience.
Conclusion
Adding a Follow button introduces new opportunities for increasing your reach and cultivating an engaged audience on Facebook. While not quite the same level of connection as a friend, followers help grow your community organically.
This guide covered who can follow you, step-by-step instructions to add the button, strategies for attracting followers, demographic insights, and pros and cons to consider.
Hopefully you now feel equipped to enable following on your Facebook profile and start building your follower base. Best of luck engaging new audiences!
