What is the follow symbol on Facebook?

The follow symbol on Facebook allows users to subscribe to updates from pages, profiles, or groups without becoming friends or liking the page. When you follow someone or something on Facebook, you’ll see their public posts in your News Feed. The follow feature provides a way to stay updated with people or entities you’re interested in without deeper social connections.

How Does Following Work on Facebook?

Following on Facebook is different from being friends or liking a page. Here’s a quick overview of how the follow feature works:

You can follow public profiles, pages, and groups on Facebook. This includes celebrities, brands, organizations, influencers, and more.

When you follow someone, you’ll see their public posts in your News Feed like status updates, photos, videos, links, events, and Stories.
You won’t see private content they share with friends only.
The profiles, pages, and groups you follow won’t see that you’ve followed them or have access to your profile information.

Following happens one-way. The profile, page, or group you follow does not also follow you back or see your posts.
You can unfollow at any time to stop seeing someone’s public posts in your feed.

So in summary, following allows you to get updates from public figures, businesses, artists, publishers, and communities on Facebook without mutual friend connections. It’s useful for staying in the loop with things you’re interested in.

Where to Find the Follow Button

The follow button on Facebook profiles, pages, and groups looks like a person with a plus sign inside. Here are some of the main places you can find the follow option:

On a profile – Go to a public profile and look for the Follow button near the intro section.
On a page – Visit a public page and look for the Follow button in the top corner or intro section.

In search results – When you search for profiles, pages, or groups, you may see a Follow button in the results.
In your feed – If you see a post by someone you don’t already follow, options to follow them may appear.
In the “Explore” tab – Browse popular pages and profiles to follow based on your interests.

If you don’t see a visible Follow button, that profile, page, or group may not have the follow feature enabled. For example, private profiles typically won’t have the Follow option.

Following Friends and Being Followed Back

You can follow friends on Facebook, but keep in mind it creates a one-way connection. When you follow a friend:

You’ll see their public posts even if you aren’t regularly interacting.

They won’t automatically follow you back or see your posts unless they choose to follow you too.
You can still interact with friends normally by liking, commenting, messaging, reacting to Stories, and more.

Following creates a one-way stream of updates. It does not replace your normal friend connections on Facebook that allow two-way interactions and full profile access.

Following Celebrities, Brands, and Publishers

Here are some of the main reasons people follow public figures, businesses, and media outlets on Facebook:

Get updates from celebrities like actors, athletes, musicians, influencers, and other public figures.
Stay current on brands to see new products, promotions, announcements, and campaigns.

Keep up with news publishers, blog sites, podcasts, and other media outlets.
Get updates from motivational gurus, leadership experts, life coaches, and other thought leaders.
Follow nonprofit organizations, charities, schools, and other foundations to support their mission.

Rather than liking a bunch of pages or having public figure updates get buried in your News Feed, following provides a focused way to stay engaged. You can unfollow at any time.

Following Groups and Communities

In addition to following individuals, businesses, and publishers, you can also follow public groups on Facebook dedicated to specific topics. Reasons you may want to follow groups include:

Keep up with local groups relevant to your city or neighborhood.

Get updates from groups related to your hobbies and interests.
Follow groups for professions, industries, or organizations you’re part of.
See top posts from niche communities that align with your passions.

Discover new groups to join based on categories or hashtags you follow.

Following public groups allows you to passively monitor conversations without joining. You can then decide later if you want to officially become a group member.

Differences Between Following and Liking Pages

While following and liking Facebook pages both allow you to get updates, there are some key differences:

Following	Liking Pages
Updates only appear in your News Feed	Updates may appear anywhere on Facebook
One-way connection to see another’s posts	Two-way endorsement and connection
Private action without public visibility	Public-facing action shown on your profile
Easily follow or unfollow pages	Difficult to unlike pages you’ve liked

As you can see, following allows you to quietly track pages without public endorsements. Liking shows public support and boosts the page’s follower count, but can clutter up your profile over time if you like too many pages.

How to Follow Someone New on Facebook

Here are the steps to follow a profile, page, or group on Facebook:

Find the public profile, page, or group you want to follow.

Look for the Follow button, often shown as a person icon with a plus inside.
Click the Follow button to start following and getting updates.
You’ll now see their public posts in your News Feed.

To unfollow, click Following below their posts and select Unfollow.

The Follow option must be enabled by that user, brand, or group for you to be able to follow them. If no visible Follow button appears, then the option may not be available.

Managing Profiles and Pages You Follow

To manage the profiles, pages, and groups you currently follow on Facebook:

Go to your profile and select “Friends and following” from the left menu.
Select “Following” to see profiles, pages, and groups you currently follow.
Hover over any profile, page, or group and click “Following” to unfollow them.

Click on pages or groups to visit their profile and see recent posts.
Click the x icon next to any follow to remove it from your list.

Cleaning up who you follow from time to time can help focus your News Feed on more relevant updates. Remember, you can refollow anything you unfollow later on if you change your mind.

Privacy and Following

A few privacy notes to keep in mind about following others on Facebook:

Pages and profiles you follow won’t see that you’ve followed them or access your profile.
Your full list of follows is private and only visible to you.

You control who you follow and can unfollow at any time.
Be selective about following groups if you want to keep your interests private.
Following someone does not give them special access to your profile information.

In summary, following is designed to be a one-way, private action to get updates. Use your best judgment on who you follow to maintain your preferred privacy settings.

Follow Features for Facebook Creators

Facebook also provides follow features for content creators to build their audience. As a creator, you can enable the Follow button so fans can follow you to get your latest updates. Key benefits include:

Grow your follower base who want to regularly see your content.

Increase visibility and reach for your public posts.
Engage followers by posting exclusives, Q&As, and behind-the-scenes looks.
Cross-promote your Facebook presence to fans on other platforms.

Monetize and build authentic relationships with superfans.

The Follow tool provides creators a direct line to fans separate from noisy social feeds. See Facebook’s follow features for creators to learn more about activating and using it.

Who Can Follow Me on Facebook?

By default, your Facebook profile can be followed by anyone on Facebook. However, you can customize follow settings to limit who can follow you. Options include:

Public: Anyone can follow you, even people not logged into Facebook.
Friends of friends: Your friends plus their friends can follow.
Friends: Only your confirmed friends can follow your profile.

Specific friends: Only the friends you select can follow you.
Only me: Disable the Follow button entirely.

Adjusting these settings from your profile’s Followers section provides more control over who can see your public updates.

Using Your Facebook Follower List

As a creator or public figure, you can leverage your Facebook followers in multiple ways beyond just posting updates. Some ideas include:

Give exclusive perks or discounts for loyal followers.
Promote special events, launches, or announcements.

Share personal updates, behind-the-scenes looks, and daily vlogs.
Interact with top fans and build closer community relationships.
Cross-promote your follower milestones across platforms.

Go live, share stories, or post Q&As for engaged discussions.

Build authentic connections with followers and give them VIP access in exchange for their support. Treat followers like a distinct audience separate from your general friends list on Facebook.

Analytics for Your Facebook Followers

On Facebook, you can view key metrics about your follower base including:

Total follower count over time.
Demographics like age, gender, location.
When followers are most active.

Traffic sources driving new followers.
Total post reach and engagement.

Study these analytics to create content tailored for your audience and post at peak times when followers are engaged. The more you interact with and reward your loyal followers, the more they’ll stay subscribed and share your updates with others.

Conclusion

Facebook’s follow feature provides a simple way to get updates from public profiles, creators, businesses, groups, and communities. Just look for the Follow button, click to subscribe, and start seeing new posts in your feed.

Following allows you to quietly keep up with things you care about without friend requests or public page likes. It’s great for staying in the loop with celebrities, thought leaders, brands, local groups, and niche communities.

As a creator, be sure to enable following so fans can subscribe for your latest updates, exclusives, and community engagement. Growing an audience of followers gives you a platform to amplify your voice on Facebook.