How and Why to Use Facebook's Save Feature

Whenever I see someone post something with a caption like "saving this for later" I cringe. You see, last summer Facebook introduced a feature that should have done away with that type of post. The problem is too many people are oblivious to its existence.

Facebook's "Save" feature allows users to save any type of Facebook post (link, photo, video, etc) for later viewing or sharing, or just for posterity. It organizes saved items according to category. For social media managers especially, the Save feature is a handy way to collect ideas and items to use later, since Page shares can't be scheduled in advance. For regular users, saving items saves your friends the headache of seeing yet another "For later" post in their News Feed. Because of the EdgeRank filtering algorithm, it also means that they'll see more of the things you want them to see, like and comment on.

Here's what not to do. The original post even contains a call to action that the save feature is intended to replace: "Share to save this to your timeline!!!" This type of call to action can actually decrease the reach of posts by brands because of last November's news feed changes to discourage promotional language and "click baiting." 

Click on the dropdown arrow at the top right corner of any post and then click "Save." 

You'll find your saved items by clicking on the "Saved" link in the left-hand menu on your homepage, or at facebook.com/saved.

Your saved items are organized by the date you saved them under All, or according to the type of post.

Happy saving!

Confirm Your Facebook Page Category

Heads up Facebook page admins - your page's category is now featured at the top of your business page, beneath the name of the page. This will help Facebook users better identify at first glance what type of page they are seeing. Now's your chance to confirm and/or change that category. You may see a message that asks you to "Confirm Your Page Category" next time you view your page:

You can use the two dropdown menus to edit the group (general) and category (specific) that classifies your page. Then click "Update Category." If the group and category shown are what you want, you can click "Update Category" without making a change. When Facebook switched to the new pages format, many page categories changed to an incorrect or generic type, so this is a good opportunity to make sure your page is listed correctly. The type of group and category that you choose affects the type of information on your Info tab, so if you do decide to change your group and category, be sure to check on the Info tab and make sure that the information displayed there is accurate and everything looks OK. If you'd like to update the categories in the future, click "Edit Page," "Basic Information" and then you'll see the same dropdown menus.

Using Your Personal Profile to Post Comments on Your Facebook Business Page

Some of my clients have asked if they can post comments on their business pages from their personal profiles instead of from their business pages. In the past, my answer was unfortunately no. With the new updates to Facebook pages, the answer is now yes! Here's how:

• Visit your business page on Facebook
• In the top right corner, click "Manage" then click "Edit Page" in the dropdown menu
• In the left top area, click "Your Settings"
• Make sure there is no check in the box next to "Always comment and post on your page as (Page Name) even when using Facebook as (Your Name).
• Click "Save Changes"
• Go back to your business page.
• Comment on or "like" existing posts by the page or its fans and it will appear to come from your personal profile.

You will need to repeat this process to switch back if you want to leave comments as the business page. The new changes mean you can now also leave comments and "like" posts on other Facebook pages as your business page, but that's another story for another day.

Happy posting!

Lauren

UPDATE: This setting does not apply to Facebook's mobile application. Your likes, comments and wall posts will always appear to come from your Page, not your Personal Profile.