Can you relate to this scenario? You’ve simply popped on to your business page to create a post and immediately got distracted by a post on your personal account … and then another … and before you know it, you’ve wasted half an hour looking at nothing in particular and still haven’t got round to posting something yourself! What a waste of time!
Before I learnt of the many Facebook tools to save me time and tips on how to tidy up my Facebook newsfeed, I’d find myself being distracted too. I now spend my time effectively on Facebook.
To business owners time is precious, so how do we get to see only the posts we want to see that will add value?
The timesaving Facebook tools which I am about to share with you will transform your day!
6 Facebook Tools You Probably Didn’t Know About (or definitely need to be reminded of!)
⚠To make optimum use of these tips you must make sure that your personal profile has been set up correctly as nearly all of your distractions can be blamed on your personal account!
Top Tip #1 Request the data that Facebook holds on you
As you are aware, Facebook has an immense amount of data on every one of its users. I requested the data before writing this blog, and believe me, there’s more than you think!
Knowing the data Facebook has on you will allow you to make changes to the way you are marketed to and you’ll be able to opt out of things such as groups. Remember, a few years ago, someone could add you to a group without asking for your permission – now is your chance to do something about that and clean up your Facebook account.
Websites that you visit can inform Facebook that you have bought from them or shown an interest in their product or service. This report will tell you which external websites do this, and if you don’t want to see their products or services pop up as adverts you have the opportunity to stop this from happening. What a useful tool!
Here’s how to request the report – please note that it can take a bit of time for the data to reach you.
- Go to your personal Facebook account:
2. Click on the downward grey arrow so you can see your profile
3. Select Settings (*or if in new format select Settings & Privacy – then click Settings*)
4. Click on Your Facebook Information
5. Click view against Download Your Information and select what you want to download
Your report can include things like all the posts that you have ever engaged in, all the events you have gone to or been interested in, all the groups you belong to, things you have bought from the marketplace, your posts, your locations, your search history, the external website which share information on you, and so much more..
Tip #2 Tidy up your newsfeed, focus your time on what matters
Uncluttering your newsfeed is a must if you want to get the best out of your time on Facebook.
Unfollow someone: If you have a particular friend who is prolific on Facebook, you can stay being friends with them but unfollow them. This way you are in control of when you want to take a peek at what they are up to. Click on their profile, click on the friend icon with a little tick next to it and select unfollow.
Always see what someone is up to: On the flip side of this, you may always want to see what a friend is up to. In this case follow the actions above but instead of clicking unfollow, select See First.
This works exactly for the same for business pages, you can stay connected to them but unfollow them, then you won’t see their posts unless you click through to their page. If you want to make sure that you see ALL of my posts in your newsfeed, head to my business page and select “See First”, then you’ll never miss a social media tip or update 👇
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Top Tip #3 Control How Others See Your Profile
This is really important if there’s a chance that your customers or potential customers can see what you get up to on your personal page. It’s highly unlikely that there’s going to be something there that will put them off doing business with you, but this is about protecting your privacy and taking control.
View your personal profile on a laptop or PC to see an ‘eye’ icon next to where you edit your profile. This is the ‘View As’ button. From here you can select what your personal profile looks like to your friends and also to those who you are not connected with as friends (possibly your business followers if your accounts are linked).
You should also do this from your Facebook business page as you only ever see it in its admin mode. The way your followers see it is completely different. Head to your business page, click on the three dots and select View As Page Visitor as shown here 👇
Take a bit of time looking through both your personal and business pages in the ‘eyes’ of someone else. Is there a picture or a post that is ‘global’ which you only want your friends to see? Make the necessary setting changes so others see your pages exactly how you want them to see them.
Top Tip #4 Monitor how long you spend on Facebook: reduce time on Facebook if you need to
One of the best time saving tips for managing your Facebook page is to monitor exactly how long you spend scrolling each day. It may surprise you!
From your phone you can check the time you spend as well as set a limit for yourself. If you do set a limit, Facebook will notify you when you are getting close to your limit, telling you it’s time to put your phone down.
You’ll need to set this up from your mobile phone. Click on the three lines to the right of the screen and select Your Time on Facebook. From here you can change notification settings, set a daily time reminder, choose how you interact with friends and edit your newsfeed preferences.
Top Tip #5 Manage what posts appear in your newsfeed
This is such a useful tool to put you in full control of what you see.
On your laptop or PC open up your personal profile, click on the home button, then click on newsfeed on the left to edit your preferences.
If you have the latest version of Facebook on your laptop or PC you will have to click on the downward grey arrow on the top right, select Settings & Privacy, select Newsfeed preferences.
You will see these Facebook focusing tools:
‘See First’ – choose who to see first in your newsfeed
‘Unfollow’ – unfollow people, pages and groups to hide their posts from your newsfeed
‘Reconnect’ – reconnect with people, pages and groups you’ve unfollowed
‘Snooze’ – manage your snooze settings so you can hide posts for a set amount of time
Top Tip #6 Manage your notifications: focus your time on Facebook
Do the numbers by that little bell icon at the top of your page drive you mad as they continual rise? It’s great to have such a busy business page, but the downside to that, is that it is possible for you to miss an important message.
Head to your Settings and select Notifications to amend these tools to save time on Facebook. From here you can choose to be notified about comments, tags, reminders, friend requests, birthdays and so much more. You decide what you want to be notified of, so you never miss an important message ever again.
I hope you have enjoyed learning about these Facebook tips to save you time.
For more Facebook hints and tips, resources and support click below:
The way your pages are set up really does set the foundation for how successful your Facebook business page will be. My online Facebook Course will guide you through every step you need to take to set up your accounts correctly.
There are over 35 bite-sized video-based tutorials which will tell you what content to use for your audience, how to understand the analytics, how to rank higher than your competitors, and so much more. Check out all of its features on my website today.
To maximise your Facebook business page full potential, click here for my best top 8 tips for running a successful Facebook ad campaign.
Bye for now,
Becs
