Facebook is an online social media platform that connects people throughout the world. You can share content, post images, videos, etc. You can also add new ideas and join the conversation with other people with similar interests. We even have Facebook for business, which also has Facebook pages but not profiles like individual users. Through your Facebook business page, you can interact with your existing customers and also target new ones. To fully understand how Facebook works, here’s a quick guideline to its usage.
- Activate the App: The first thing you need to do is activate the Facebook app on your smartphone. You can activate this app either from the App Store or from the Google Play Store. Once the Facebook app has been activated, you can sign in to your Facebook account with the information that you provided when you registered for the account.
- Profile: It’s on your Facebook profile that your information goes live, and information such as your name, hometown, workplace, and educational history will all be displayed on your profile. There’s an option for you to click on whether you prefer your profile to be public or private. It all depends on your choice.
- Newsfeed: As soon as you log into your Facebook account, you will automatically be taken to your newsfeed. Whatever you post will appear in the newsfeed, and all your friends can view it as well as whatever your friends post. If you like or comment on your post, then you can just click on the like button or the comment button.
- Friends: You can get connected with friends across the globe. Either you send a Facebook request or you accept a Facebook request. Unless you accept a friend’s request or they accept your request, you will not be friends on Facebook. You have to accept each other’s request to be friends on Facebook, and Facebook accounts can’t have more than 5000 friends. In this way, you get connected not only with friends but also with family as well.
- Followers: when you accept the Facebook request, you’ll become friends, and then you automatically follow that person. This is a unique feature of Facebook in terms of adding new friends. Although Facebook automatically follows friends, you can manually unfollow them as well. Automatically, the posts from unfollowed people will be removed from your newsfeed.
- Groups: Facebook users can find groups with people of similar interests on this platform. Just type the name of the group and you will find the group, and then just tap on the join button to join the group. Facebook pages cannot be part of the Facebook group. It is only individual users who can be a part of the Facebook group. These Facebook groups are administered by admins, who have the power to enable or disable the group function and can allow or disallow a person to join the group.
- Messenger: Facebook Messenger is a separate app where users can chat one-on-one in privacy. Facebook Messenger is available on a desktop through the Facebook website, but it is easier and more accessible to use on a mobile device. On the Facebook page, in the top right corner, you will find the messenger icon, and if you tap on it, then it will take you to the independent Facebook Messenger app. You can also make audio or video calls through the Messenger app to family and friends.
- Notifications: Notifications are an important feature of the Facebook app. They appear whenever you get a new notification. It informs you with a bell icon. Whenever a friend posts a new photo or video on your timeline, you will receive a notification that tells you that someone has posted something new for you. Whenever a friend sends a friend request, it will also appear in a notification.
- Manage your account: Managing your account is a very important feature of which every user of Facebook should be aware. On the bottom of the Facebook page, you will find three lines; tap on those, and then you will get full access to your profile, including the settings on the Facebook page. Through the settings, you can change the password for your Facebook account. You can also modify your privacy settings and make your account either public or private. Now there is a new feature added to the Facebook account that allows you to lock your profile so that it is visible only to your contacts or friends.
- Stories: Just like how Instagram has stories, even Facebook histories, through which you can connect with your family and friends. Stories appear just for a short time, just for 24 hours, and after that, they will automatically disappear. Usually the stories appear in the newsfeed as short content and then disappear after a day.
Step-by-step process on how to create a Facebook account
- First, go to www.facebook.com.
- Enter the details such as your name, phone number, email ID, date of birth, gender, and password. If the password is not strong, it will tell you that it is weak, and then you can add a combination of upper- and lower-case letters to your password to make it stronger.
- You must be over 18 to create a Facebook account.
- Finally, you will have to confirm the email address and the phone number that you have entered. To confirm your email address, a link will be sent to that address. You will have to tap on the link to confirm your email ID. To confirm the phone number, a code will be sent to the registered phone number via SMS, and you will have to enter that code in the confirmation box that will appear when you login.
- Once you login, don’t forget to personalize your profile, which is very important for Facebook users.
- Don’t forget to update your profile on a timely basis.
- Keep changing your password every now and then.
Nowadays, most Apple and Android devices have inbuilt Facebook apps. All you need to do is register, login to your Facebook account, and enjoy. Facebook works through an AI algorithm that sets the users preferences. Through this algorithm, videos, images, etc. are shared. Whoever posts the latest on the newsfeed, that post will appear first. In between all of this, Facebook also posts some advertisements for businesses. All this is possible only through AI algorithms.