Facebook is one of the most popular social media platforms, with over 2.9 billion monthly active users as of 2022. With such a large user base, there are many opportunities to connect with new people and grow your network on Facebook.
One way to do this is by inviting friends, family, co-workers, acquaintances and others to follow your Facebook profile. Sending invitations is a simple process that allows you to connect with both existing contacts and new connections.
Who can you invite to follow you on Facebook?
You can invite anyone to follow your Facebook profile, including:
- Existing Facebook friends – Strengthen connections by inviting friends who may not be following your profile.
- Family and relatives – Keep up with the latest family news by inviting relatives to follow you.
- Co-workers – Build professional relationships by inviting co-workers to connect.
- Classmates – Stay in touch with fellow students by sending them invitations.
- Acquaintances – Reconnect with old friends, neighbors, former colleagues and others.
- New contacts – Meet new people by inviting others you may share common interests and connections with.
Essentially, if there is someone you would like to connect with on Facebook, sending them an invitation to follow your profile is a great way to establish that connection.
How to invite someone to follow you on Facebook
Here are step-by-step instructions on how to invite someone to follow your Facebook profile:
- Search for the person’s profile. Use the search bar at the top of your Facebook homepage to search for the name of the person you want to invite.
- Go to their profile. Click on the name of the person from the search results to go to their profile page.
- Click “Add Friend.” On their profile, you will see a button that says “Add Friend.” Click this button.
- Select the invite option. A dropdown menu will appear. Click on “Invite to Follow Page” if you want them to follow just your profile. Click “Invite to be Friends” if you also want them to see your private posts and info.
- Send the invitation. After selecting the invite option, click “Send” to send your invitation to the person.
- Wait for them to accept. Once you send the invitation, the person will receive a notification. They can then accept or ignore the invitation. You’ll be notified once they accept.
That’s all there is to sending invitations to follow your Facebook profile! The process is quick and simple.
How do Facebook invitations to follow work?
When you send someone an invitation to follow your Facebook profile, here is what happens:
- The person receives a notification of your invitation
- They can choose to accept or ignore the invitation
- If they accept, they will start following your public profile posts
- You will be notified when they accept the invitation
- Your new follower can then interact with your profile similarly to a Facebook friend
However, there are some differences between a Facebook friend and a Facebook follower:
| Facebook Friend | Facebook Follower |
|---|---|
| Can access all your posts and info | Can only see your public posts |
| You can see all their posts and info | You can only see their public posts |
| Your chats are connected | You do not have a private chat |
So being Facebook friends gives you fuller access to each other’s profiles, while following just connects your public posts.
How often should you invite people to follow you on Facebook?
There are no hard rules on how often to send invitations to follow your Facebook profile. However, here are some best practices:
- When you first create your profile – Invite initial friends and family to establish your follower base
- Every time you reconnect with someone – Send them an invitation when reconnecting with old friends, acquaintances, etc.
- When you want to strengthen connections – Consider occasionally inviting existing friends to ensure they follow you
- When you make new connections on Facebook – Send invitations to new contacts you meet and interact with
- About once a month – Occasionally review your profile and send invitations to your desired connections who are not already following you
The key is to strike a balance – actively grow your followers, but don’t spam people with too many invitations.
Tips for inviting people to follow you on Facebook
Here are some tips to get more people to accept your Facebook invitations:
- Personalize each invitation with a message – Let them know why you want to connect with them.
- Send invitations from your personal profile – Don’t use a business or organization page.
- Invite friends of existing followers – Leverage your connections to extend your network.
- Invite people you engage with online – If you interact with someone on Facebook, invite them to follow you.
- Invite contacts from your email and phone – Connect your existing contacts to Facebook.
- Follow up on ignored invitations – Politely ask if they received your original invitation.
- Monitor your follower growth – Review your “Followers” list to see who has accepted.
Using these tips can help get more people to follow your Facebook profile.
Can you invite someone who has blocked you to follow you on Facebook?
If someone has blocked you on Facebook, you will not be able to send them an invitation to follow your profile, or interact with them in any other way. When you are blocked by someone, you are no longer connected to them on Facebook in any form.
Here are some things to know about blocked Facebook connections:
- You cannot view the person’s profile, posts, or search for their name
- They will not receive any messages, invites, or connection requests from you
- Any existing posts or conversations with them will be removed
- The person has taken steps to no longer interact with you on Facebook
If you think you may have been blocked by someone, you will have to respect their decision to disconnect from you on Facebook. Take it as a sign to no longer interact with them on the platform.
Can you invite someone who has deleted Facebook to follow you?
If someone previously had a Facebook account but then deleted their account, you will no longer be able to interact with them or send an invitation to follow you. When an account is deleted, the profile and connections are permanently removed.
Here are some things that happen when someone deletes a Facebook account:
- The profile, photos, posts, and all other data is erased
- Friends and followers are automatically removed
- You can no longer search for or view the profile
- Messages and notifications will not be received
- Any future account reinstatements will start fresh
So if you try to invite a deleted account to follow you, the invitation will simply fail since that account no longer exists. Unless they recreate their Facebook account, you have no way of connecting with them again on the platform.
What happens if you invite someone to follow you who doesn’t have a Facebook account?
If you try to invite someone who does not actually have a Facebook account, nothing will happen. However, you will have the option to invite them to join Facebook.
Here is what will occur if you try to invite a non-user:
- You search for the person’s name
- Facebook will not find a matching profile
- You will see an option to “Invite [name] to Join Facebook”
- This will invite them to sign up for a new Facebook account
- If they join, you can then send them a follow invitation
So while you cannot invite someone without an account to follow you, you can facilitate them joining Facebook and then connect with them.
Can you invite someone to follow you if you are not Facebook friends?
Yes, you can invite anyone to follow your Facebook profile even if they are not currently your Facebook friend. An existing Facebook friendship is not required to send or receive invitations to follow.
The advantage of sending an invitation rather than a friend request to a non-friend is that the person can follow your public profile posts without having to share all private info. For acquaintances, new contacts, and others you interact with online, a follow invitation may feel less intrusive.
Here are some examples of when you may want to invite a non-friend to follow you:
- Interacting with someone in a Facebook group or at an event
- Getting to know a new co-worker or classmate
- Reconnecting with an old friend or neighbor
- Meeting contacts through networking
In these cases, sending a follower invitation can establish a social media connection without the pressures of Facebook friendship.
Should you invite coworkers to follow you on Facebook?
It can be beneficial to invite coworkers to follow your Facebook profile in order to strengthen professional relationships and develop connections. However, there are also risks to consider when connecting with colleagues on social media.
Potential pros of inviting coworkers to follow you:
- Strengthen work relationships and team bonding
- Facilitate collaboration, communication, and information sharing
- Show you are open to developing connections
- Expand your professional network
- Increase visibility at your organization
Potential cons to be mindful of:
- Your posts, photos, interests may be judged
- Private life details are exposed
- Offline relationship boundaries could blur
- Comments and interactions may turn awkward
To balance these factors, keep your profile professional if coworkers follow you. Avoid oversharing personal details and seek common interests. Also, don’t pressure coworkers to accept invitations. Let connections develop organically.
Should you invite your boss to follow you on Facebook?
It’s usually not recommended to invite your boss to follow you on Facebook. There are risks associated with connecting with a superior on social media.
Here are some of the potential issues with inviting your boss to follow you:
- They will see personal activities, opinions, and other private details
- It could damage your professional reputation if you post questionable content
- Your online presence may influence their opinion of your character
- Declining the invitation could harm your offline working relationship
- They may use your Facebook activity against you
- It could reveal workplace complaints or criticism you have shared
Additionally, following a subordinate may make your boss uncomfortable. It could seem like you are monitoring their private life or seeking to gain an advantage through excessive familiarity.
Unless you have an extremely casual and open relationship, it is usually wise to keep your boss off your Facebook followers list. Connect in person, not online.
Should you invite your teacher to follow you on Facebook?
In most cases, students should avoid sending Facebook invitations to their teachers. While you may have positive student-teacher relationships, connecting on Facebook can cross personal boundaries.
Here are some reasons why inviting teachers to follow you may be problematic:
- Seeing your private social life could damage their opinion of you
- It may provide unfair personal insights that influence their grading
- Your posts and info may not be age-appropriate for a teacher to view
- They may feel obligated to accept due to the power dynamic
- Interactions outside school are often discouraged by districts
- Other students may feel excluded if some connect online
An exception is if you have a pre-existing out-of-school connection to the teacher through family, community groups, etc. Even then, follow invitations should only be sent if you are certain the teacher is comfortable interacting on Facebook.
Should students invite teachers to follow them on Facebook?
It is generally not recommended for students to invite teachers to follow them on Facebook. There are ethical and privacy concerns around connecting students with teachers on social media.
Potential issues with students inviting teachers to follow them include:
- Seeing student posts and info could bias teachers or undermine authority
- Interacting outside school blurs student-teacher relationship boundaries
- Posts may reveal inappropriate behavior, damaging student reputations
- Following some students over others could cause perceptions of favoritism
- It contradicts guidelines many districts have about social media connections
- Student posts may not be age-appropriate for teacher viewing
An exception would be if the teacher is a family friend or has a relationship with the student outside of school. Even then, appropriateness should be carefully considered before sending an invitation to follow.
Should parents invite teachers to follow their children on Facebook?
It is generally not a good idea for parents to invite their child’s teachers to follow the student’s Facebook page. This can put the teacher in an awkward position and cross important relationship boundaries.
Some reasons parents should avoid sending their child’s teacher Facebook invitations include:
- Seeing student info could create bias or unfairly influence the teacher
- It puts pressure on the teacher to interact through inappropriate channels
- The teacher may witness questionable behavior posted by the student
- It could undermine the teacher’s classroom authority
- Other parents may perceive favoritism if teachers follow some students
- The teacher may not wish to view student pages for ethical reasons
If a parent wants to share information relevant to their child’s education, they should do so through appropriate school channels, not social media. Parent-teacher interactions should remain professional, not personal.
Conclusion
Sending invitations for others to follow your Facebook profile can be a great way to enhance connections and increase your social media presence. Use the invitation feature to strengthen existing friendships, reach out to acquaintances, and meet new people.
Focus on inviting those you have real-world connections with and interact with online. Avoid spamming people with unsolicited invitations. With a thoughtful and strategic approach, you can grow your community of followers on Facebook.
Just be mindful of relationship dynamics when inviting bosses, coworkers, teachers, students, and others to follow you. In certain cases, social media connections may not align with professional boundaries. As with all online interactions, exercise good judgement.
Following these tips will help you effectively and appropriately invite others to follow your Facebook profile and stay connected through the platform.