Facebook is the most popular social media network around the world. Almost everyone owning a smart phone have setup their Facebook account on their mobile phone for on the go access. But, many of us do not even know how to utilize this platform to its extreme. For example, Facebook search which can be used for specific categorization for finding the most suitable result is limited to just the search bar at the top of the app for many users.
We often feel overwhelmed when not able to get to the results quickly. We even scroll through search pages without even knowing that there is so much we can do to shorten the result to just fewer number. Are you sailing the same boat? If yes, you definitely need to know the mantra for making successful search on Facebook.
Facebook search graph is easy to comprehend. You will take no time in understanding the way this search optimization works on Facebook. For example, if you are searching for a name, the results from your friend list with that specific name will appear first. The one with the maximum number of common friends will appear at next. As you go down in the list, the name with no friends will start appearing. This happens by default. Isn’t Facebook smart? However, you can control the result priority by using the necessary tricks.
Let’s Start with Basic Facebook Search
For using the basic Facebook search, you type the keyword or the phrase in the search bar located at the top of the Facebook platform. The results will appear in an order that it needs to be. As mentioned above, the order will depend on your query.
Let’s take another example. If you search for a place, the closest location will be parked on the top of the list. As you will scroll down, you will see the results populated with groups, pages, public posts and much more. But the results can certainly be minimized to a limited number by applying few filters. You can call it the advanced search.
Moving to Advanced Facebook Search
Once you have made the basic search on Facebook, you will find few filters on the left panel of the screen. These are very helpful in narrowing your results to few pages or even few numbers. When you are on the ‘ALL’ or “POST’ List, you get five filters to make your search results more relevant: Posts from, Post type, Posted in group, Tagged location and Date posted.
If you are looking for some specific video from some specific source, you have the filters for that too. You can use the filters like Source, Tagged Location and Date Posted to bring your results to the manageable limit.
As you jump from one tab to another looking for places or marketplace, you are provided with different filters. So, why scroll through hundreds and millions of results when you can bring the number to just one or two pages by using these filters.
Looking for Someone You Just Met
Has it ever happened to you that you gelled well with someone you met at your friend’s party and forget to ask for his contact details? What if you have his name and nothing else? It happens very often with all of us. The first thing we do is that we start looking for the Facebook Profile to match with the person we just met.
But, this way we end up bumping into profiles of irrelevant faces and contacts. If you are looking for a name with not much information, do the following.
- Type the name in the search bar
- The search result will show ‘ALL’ by default. Click on ‘People’ right under the search bar
- Choose the Mutual Friend who invited both of you
- You can also select City where you met
Once you do all that, it becomes easy to find the person who are looking for.
Looking for Upcoming Events your Friends Might Visit
If your friends on Facebook have liked certain event or have selected that they would be visiting that event, Facebook search makes it easy for you to find it.
- If you are looking for a specific event, type the name in the search bar. If not, look for something that relates to the event. For example, if you are looking for a stand-up comedy event, type stand-up comedy in the search bar
- Click on Events right under the search bar
- Choose popular with friends sitting on the left of the screen
- Choose location and date for narrower results
Know your Friends even Closer
Usually to know what our friends like or dislike, we scroll through their profile page for finding leads for their personal likes and dislikes. However, it is much easier than we have thought. If you wish to know which of your friends support the same sports team as you do, type My friends who have liked [Sports Team Name]. The next thing would be to hit enter for getting the most relevant results.
How About Popular Nearby Restaurants You Never Knew About
If you are looking for a restaurant that you have never visited before, find it on Facebook Search with just a few keywords in the search bar. For example, if you are looking for a Chinese restaurant, search for Chinese Restaurant nearby. You can also check the ratings and the customers reviews on the restaurant’s Facebook page. Isn’t Facebook an easy and reliable network to find the most relevant search result in just the matter of time.
The Conclusion
Facebook has everyone’s digital signature on the internet. Not being on Facebook is like being absent online. With such a huge customer base and millions of information shared every minute, it becomes difficult to find specific search results easily.
However, Facebook Search has made it easy for us to look for the results by applying relevant filters with not much hassle. It is imperative to know how these filters work to better utilize the plethora of possibilities surrounding Facebook and those connected through Facebook.
