In January, Facebook introduced a new feature – Graph Search – that makes searching for people based on their likes, photos, comments, etc. easier. While this will make the network even more social, it could also expose you to unwanted attention. This is why, before this rolls out to all Facebook accounts, you should perform an account audit.
There are three main parts to this audit, which will ensure that your personal profile is ready for Graph Search. Bear in mind that this is for your personal account, not your business Facebook Page. This audit is ideal if you would like a more professional looking profile.
Step 1. Check who can search for you
The whole idea of Facebook is to be social, however you may not want to be found by every man and his dog on this platform. You can check who can search for your profile by:
- Clicking the Lock icon in the top-right hand side of the screen.
- Selecting Who can contact me?
- Looking at Who can send me friend requests? By default it is set to Everyone, but you can change this by pressing the downward facing blue arrow.
- Looking at Whose messages do I want filtered into my inbox?
Step 2. Check your Activity Log
The Activity Log is essentially a journal for Facebook. It covers everything you have done on Facebook, and provides you with a quick way to edit your profile. You can access it by:
- Clicking on the Lock icon in the top-right hand side of the screen.
- Selecting Who can see my stuff?
- Click on Use Activity Log.
Depending on how active you are on Facebook, it could take a bit of time to look through your activities. If you see something you don’t like, or would like to change, press the pencil at the right-hand side of the activity. This will allow you to edit the post, remove it from your timeline or delete it. Note, that if you remove it from your timeline, the information won’t be deleted.
If you press the Lock icon you can change who can see the post/activity on your timeline too. It would be a good idea to look through your whole timeline and ensure that any unprofessional comments, links, likes, etc. are either deleted or removed from your timeline. It wouldn’t be a good idea to make your profile completely private however, so ensure some posts – maybe ones related to your business, hobbies, interests, etc. – are still visible.
Step 3. Check who can see future posts
Facebook has included an option that allows you to set who can see future posts on your timeline. This will lessen the need for a future account audit. You can set this by:
- Clicking on the Lock icon in the top-right hand side of the screen.
- Selecting Who can see my stuff?
- Pressing the downward facing blue arrow under Who can see my future posts? and setting it to the desired level of security.
In order to ensure your profile is optimized for Graph Search, carrying out this audit would be a great idea. As we stated above, you don’t have to make everything private, after all, this is a social network. Just make sure that anything that is unbecoming of the professional you are is removed or hidden from prying eyes. If you would like a little help ensuring both you and your business are ready for the next big Facebook feature, contact us today.
