Despite the fact that Facebook’s “Subscribe” feature has been live for nearly two years, it feels to me like something that many people are still not aware of, and don’t take advantage of.

So, let’s answer that question first: what are Facebook subscriptions?

Facebook subscriptions give you  the ability to allow people to subscribe to your personal FB feed. Normally, if someone wanted to connect with you, they’d send you a friend request. Assuming you knew them, and were cool with that, you’d accept, and then the two of you would be able to see each other’s posts on your main FB feed: you’d see theirs and they’d see yours.

Subscriptions, however, are one-way. You subscribe to someone on FB, and you see what they post, but they don’t see what you post. In that way, it’s more like a Facebook Business Page.

So, why would you not just get a FB biz page?

There are tons of advantages to having a FB biz page:

• They are indexed by google, helping to drive up your SEO
• They supply you with stats and insights, so you get to know your audience better, and understand what it is that they want
• They neatly divide the “personal” you and the “professional” you. 

However, they’re also extra work. You need to find things to post to your FB biz page every day, and it’s probably best that the things you post there are at least slightly different than the things you’re posting to your personal page. Maybe that’s not a problem for you.

For my money, FB subscriptions are perfect for:

• Someone whose “business” is “themselves.” 
• Someone who either doesn’t want to take the time, or doesn’t have the time, to create separate posts every day on their biz page and on their personal page. 
• Someone who is okay with revealing some of themselves and their every day lives, and is not super hung up on privacy.

Here’s how to turn on Subscriptions on your personal FB:

• Sign into FB and click on the little icon that looks like a gear on the far right in the top navigation bar. 
• Click on “Privacy Settings.” 
• Now, in the main, left-hand side menu, click on “Followers.” 
• Check the box at the very top that says “Followers will only see your public posts and will not be added as friends.”
• Now, you have subscriptions enabled. 

How to use it:

• If you have a post that you want your subscribers and your Friends to see, mark it “Public.” 
• If you have a post that you only want to let your friends see, mark it “Friends.” 

Which is right for you? Hopefully now you can make an informed decision. I have both. 🙂