What is a Facebook List?

A Facebook list is a means to segment your audience when posting using your individual profile. Facebook suggests lists for you, such as Family, Close Friends, School, Geographical Area, etc. But it is possible for you to create your own lists as well.

Many people have asked me how to separate their family/friends/business, and believe that having multiple profiles is the way to go. This is not true! You can lose your account if you create multiple profiles. This has happened to me in the past. Don't let it happen to you, regardless of how long you may have gotten away with it. It's a real pain in the rear to have to reconstruct a robust friends list on the remaining account. I still haven't recovered all the connections I had on my 'business' profile. It is just not worth it.

Use lists to separate your friends/family/business associates and tailor your posting audiences to those that would be most interested in the topic on which you're posting. Lists are also a great way to see more than your Home Feed will show you, as well as the fact that it will be in chronological order. Just know that if a list gets large (150+) your content starts getting curated by Facebook again (i.e., they don't show you everything).

A detailed explanation of how to create and manage lists will be coming in Part II of this Facebook Primer.