You need to understand some important points about the Subscribe system to market with Facebook, which can be very confusing at first. The word subscribe is the word that Facebook uses to explain a connection. You and your Friends are subscribed to one another. You’re still called Friends, but the function is being subscribed.
After you go through the process of turning on your Subscribe button, you won’t be able to see the Subscribe button on your Timeline. This aspect is the most frustrating part of teaching people how to turn on the button! The button is there; you just can’t see it if you’re logged in as yourself.
The easiest way to turn on your Subscribe button is to go to www.facebook.com/about/subscribe and click the big green Allow Subscribers button.
Another way to turn on your Subscribe button is to follow these steps:
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Click the drop-down arrow at the top-right of any Facebook page and click Account Settings.
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In the left sidebar, click Subscribers.
Now you are on a page with several sections. The top section is called Allow Subscribers.
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Select the check box to allow subscribers.
No matter how you turn on your Subscribe button, you need to continue the process and edit your settings for comments and notifications. Here are a few interesting points about the Subscribe button:
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When subscribers click your Subscribe button, they can choose which types of your public updates they get: Life Events, Status Updates, Photos, Games, Comments and Likes, Music and Videos, and Other Activity.
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Only people who allow subscribers have a Subscribe button on their Profiles. If you don’t see the button on a person’s personal Timeline, you can’t subscribe to his updates without being his Friend. You see the Add Friend button instead. Sometimes, you see two buttons: Add Friend and Subscribed. When both buttons appear, you know that you’ve subscribed to this person’s Public updates, and can make a Friend request.
How do people subscribe to your updates? After you allow subscribers, a Subscribe button shows up on your Profile. Someone would need to visit your Timeline to click the Subscribe button, or click the Subscribe button if your Profile shows up in the ticker, or if Facebook decides to suggest you in the right column above the ads the Subscribe button is there, too.
Facebook might change these ways, or add to them in the future. Facebook has also created a nice interface where you can see all the people who have turned on their Subscribe button.
Subscribers can see only the things on your personal Profile that you share publicly.
Avoid heavy sales-type marketing techniques in your Public posts. Even though the subscribe system is like having an opt-in newsletter, you still need to remember that Facebook is a social platform.