“What does it mean to ‘subscribe’ to someone on FB and should I allow this?”
Interestingly, if you are a ‘friend’ of someone on FB, you are already ‘subscribed’ to them. You get their updates and they get yours. Here is a quick tutorial on how and why to use the Facebook Subscribe Feature.
Subscribing to someone that is not a ‘friend’ allows you to get their PUBLIC updates without fully ‘friending’ them – without inviting them to be a friend and without needing them to accept your invitation. They will know you have subscribed to them but they will not receive your updates unless they subscribe to or ‘friend’ you.
It is like a lower level ‘friend’ option allowing you to follow people that cannot (maybe they have reached the maximum number of friends they can accept) or will not (maybe they don’t really know you) have you as a ‘friend’. It is similar to a Twitter ‘follow’ which doesn’t require approval or reciprocation.
Important note: If you do not want anyone, other than your ‘friends’ – people you have accepted as your Facebook friends – to be able to ‘subscribe’ to your updates, you do not need to do anything. The default is for the subscribing option to be OFF. You actually need to go in and activate the subscription feature to get the option to turn it ON.
UPDATE: See this tutorial, from Facebook for how and why to use the subscribe feature https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook/introducing-the-subscribe-button/10150280039742131
And remember, if this is all really overwhelming and you are just as happy to just keep in touch with the friends you already have on Facebook, that is FINE. This is an opt-in feature, you need not turn it on if it doesn’t feel right for you!
Please post any questions to my Facebook Business Page Wall – http://www.facebook.com/LisaMarieDiasDesigns – I am always happy to answer!
I can help you effectively use Facebook to engage your community and grow your business.
