How to Use Facebook Interest Lists to Follow Pages

Facebook has made some big improvements in the past year, and also some not so popular updates to its algorithm. Graph Search is here and is well received, though it is still to be seen how useful this will be.

 

The changes in the algorithm of Facebook pages (Edgerank - something not so well received) have left many page owners wondering where their fans went.

 

A while ago, Facebook introduced an update that should make page owners happy. This is called Interest Lists and means just what the name implies – people can create lists of pages, people, groups, etc. based on their interests, and even control what they see from those pages.

 

Advantages of using Facebook Interest Lists

1. No spam

   Most of us have had experiences of liking pages, only to find our Timeline cluttered with endless posts. Some pages like to send out a multitude of posts at once. What about groups you join? Sometimes posts to these end up on your news feed as well. There is really no control over what may appear on your FB news feed if you belong to many groups. Some of it is certainly not appropriate for family viewing.
   
   All of this can be completely rectified by using Facebook interest lists. You will have some control over what appears there, depending on the pages you follow.
   
   

2. Privacy

   You can set your interest lists to public or private. There may be some pages you may not want to let your friends know you like and follow - but with an “Only Me” privacy setting, they will never know.
   
   

3. Never miss an update.

   We all know how changing Facebook algorithms have limited what we see on our newsfeeds. According to many sources, only 10% of a page’s posts is seen by its followers. But I think that in many cases, it is much less.
   
   One way to solve this issue is by paying money to promote posts. But, if everyone would use interest lists to stay updated with pages they like, there would certainly be no need of that.

 

How to Use Facebook Interest Lists

The traditional method of following a Facebook page has always been to hit the like button.  But, as mentioned, posts only occasionally end up in news feeds.

There is an Interest Lists feature hidden under the little cog wheel icon to the right of the like button (as seen on the right).


* You will not see this if you are signed in as your page. Use a Facebook profile instead, and visit the page.

 

Hit Add to Interest Lists, and a menu will pop up. If you have no lists already created, Select +New List.

 

A larger popup appears where you can select additional people and pages to add to your list. If you don’t want to enter any additional at this time, click Next.

 

 

This page is where you can setup your interest list.

Give it  name, which will from now on appear in the Interest List menu.

Setup the privacy, which determines who can see your list.

Public – Use this if you want anyone to see it, and people to find the list using Facebook Graph Search.

Friends – Only Facebook friends can see it and subscribe.

Only me – Use this if you don’t want anyone else seeing the pages you follow.

 

Managing your Facebook List

Facebook has many available settings for management of your list.

At the top right of your list-page, open up the Manage List menu.

Here you can rename, add and delete pages, select the types of posts you would like to see, change the privacy or delete the list.

 

 

How to Access your Facebook Lists

Facebook lists are kind of hidden away on your home page. Find them in the menu at the left of that page, under the heading “Interests”.

 

Join this New List! – Artpromotivate Artists

I have created a new public Facebook list titled Artpromotivate Artists. It will only include pages from artists on Facebook. To be included, please leave a comment below including your Facebook page link.

To follow the list, hit the Follow button in the top right corner at this page. All included artists will be required to share that page on their Facebook Timeline.

 

What are your opinions of Facebook Lists?

The main problem I find is that it is hidden away and not many people know about it. I want to use it instead of the like button, but because its not in plain sight, I often forgot about it most of the time. But with the new Artpromotivate Artists list, this should change!

It is certainly a handy feature for those who know about it, and plan to use it often.

Here are some additional posts on using Facebook for promoting art:

Facebook Tagging
Facebook Hashtags
Increase Facebook Engagement

Lets hope this post helps to get the word out!

Please share this post on Facebook to help in that endeavor.