Public Facebook Lists Let You Recommend Pages, Subscriptions & People! (Be Sure To Include Yourself!)
Facebook now has two types of lists… private lists and public lists!
Okay, that’s a big amount of generalization, but I think it will help you understand not only the differences but where Interest Lists can help your business. So work with me, okay? ;)
You’re likely already familiar with Facebook’s private list system which is often called “Friend Lists” (though it can include subscriptions and pages as well). These lists allow us to do a lot of internal filtering of our news feed and do not reveal their secrets to the world!
Now, in a move that is strikingly similar to Twitter lists (which are public), Facebook has introduced public lists, known as Interests lists (which may include pages, profiles and subscriptions).
If the terminology feels a little wonky, you’re not alone. The systems are so similar that even Facebook’s documentation often confuses the two.
What Are Facebook Lists?
Facebook lists are features that belong to your Facebook Profile and are a great way to create groupings (not Facebook Groups, different thing) of people, places and things we follow in our news feed. (Your page can not make lists.) Lists allow us to quickly see a filtered view of content. In the case of private lists, they are also used to specifically control who sees our postings. Public lists let us create and share a topic or “magazine” collection. People, places & things added to any list may be selectively removed from the main news feed for organizational reasons if we wish.
The Three List Types
Lists or “Friend Lists” = Private (strictly)
Interest Lists = Public (But can be set private or semi-private)
Smart Lists = inbound & outbound control and are not “real” lists like the other two but actually filters.
Both Friend Lists & Interest Lists can contain people, subscriptions and pages you follow.
If you already understand how Friend Lists work, you will find that Interest Lists are very similar with a few unique tools and settings (like Public!).
I already have Friend Lists, why should I care about Interest Lists?
Friend Lists and the associated Smart Lists that work together with them will continue to constitute the bulk of your energies because they are designed “for you” explicitly. However, in the same way that Twitter Lists can “go viral”, function as “suggested reading lists” and help build your brand… while still serving as a news filter for you… so too can Interest Lists!
You will want to create a niche interest list (or three) for the niche you specialize in, add yourself to it, and then share it with your readers. If they they share your list (which they may since you’re going to make it useful, right?) then your message has the ability to spread in a new way! You are saving your readers the time it takes to build the list while helping yourself at the same time.
Gotta Get Me Some Interest Lists!
You can make your own Interest Lists to share AND you can subscribe to interest lists of others.
There are a couple different places in the Facebook interface that we can make Interest Lists, for our convenience, which is handy. They all work the same though.
Getting Started: Finding Your Facebook Interest Lists
From your Facebook news feed page, your left sidebar, possibly hidden under the “more” link, contains a new link that says “Add Interests…” which opens https://www.facebook.com/addlist/
Clicking on a existing list name will let you preview the list contents. Clicking subscribe next to the existing list will add the list name to your current Interests Lists, found here: https://www.facebook.com/bookmarks/interests
Search for lists in your niche for ideas!
Like any other sidebar element, Interest Lists you create or subscribe to can be easily added to your Favorites for easy access.
Creating A Facebook Interest List
The “Create New List” button is available in three different locations: In the “addlist” page (above), in the “Liked”/”Subscribed” drop-down of a page or subscription in your news feed, and in the “Liked”/”Subscribed” drop-down of a page or subscription on their timeline. All three buttons work the same.
Clicking the “Create New List” button starts the wizard:
In the first screen: Select the people, pages and subscriptions you want to include in your Facebook Interest List.
In the second screen: Give your Interest List a keyword appropriate name (for the search tool to work in your favor), set its privacy (Public generally) and click Done.
Once you click Done, the list will be created and added to the page that displays all of your interest lists: https://www.facebook.com/bookmarks/interests (accessible by clicking the word “Interests” in your left sidebar). From there, you can easily set it as a Facebook Favorite if you wish.
Managing Your Interest List
Open up your list, and under the “Manage List” button you will find options to easily rename your list, add/remove people, pages and subscriptions, as well as restrict displayed content or delete your list
The “Edit List” option will let you easily add or remove who is on the list… making management real simple.
Adding Pages & Subscriptions To Interests Lists On-The-Go!
Both Pages & Subscriptions provide you with an easy pop-out, for adding them to an interest list, from their news feed entry and their Timeline. (This is nearly identical to how profiles offer a similar pop-out for adding them to a private Friend List.)
Sharing Your Interest List – Start The Ball Rolling!
Each Facebook Interest List has a unique URL and a share button, giving you several ways to share your list with your profile, groups and pages. The URL can even be shared out directly to your twitter followers!
Useful Links For More Information
Check out my Facebook Interest List FAQ!
http://newsroom.fb.com/News/Introducing-Interest-Lists-109.aspx
https://www.facebook.com/bookmarks/interests
https://www.facebook.com/addlist
https://www.facebook.com/help/?faq=245280282226964&in_context
Wrap-Up
As you can see, Facebook Interests Lists are really straight forward to use… and a great opportunity to showcase yourself and others in your niche!
Are you taking advantage of Facebook Interest Lists yet? If so, feel free to share a link to YOUR interest lists, with the community here, in the comments below!
PS: If your list begins to go viral, and you have featured some Pros in it, you could probably earn some brownie points by gracefully letting them know they’ve been featured on a rapidly growing list!
image source: facebook (logo), me (screenshots)
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