Can you imagine a world before Facebook? If the concept seems fuzzy, it might be because the Social Media giant has not only linked with most websites and news organizations, but also changed the way that each of us uses and thinks of Social Media. Celebrities, politicians, and businesses are frequent Facebook users. Often thought of as the “Google” of Social Media, Facebook is a great way to people search and find long lost friends or lovers, seek out a suspected Catfish, spy on an ex, look up employees/ coworkers and more.

If you need information about someone or want to find a particular individual’s Facebook page, the following tips will save you time and improve accuracy. So, hold onto your keyboard and get ready to become a world class Facebook sleuth!

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TIP #1: FIND YOUR FRIENDS

First, access your “Find your friend” page <https://www.facebook.com/friends/requests/?fcref=ffi>, to seek out the person you are looking for.

After opening the page, you will be shown “suggestions” of people to the left, but advert your gaze to the right side of the page for people search. (see image) There you will see options including “Name”, “Hometown”, “High School”, “College or University”, “Employer” and “Graduate School”.
If you are searching someone who wants to be found and is transparent online, then entering a few factoids (such as their name and city) might give you the results you want. The problem is that many people operate covert online. While they might use their birth or married names, they are often changed or their city not accurate. Try different options and combinations. Don’t assume they have listed their past schooling or consider their hometown to be the same one you do.
Drawback? If someone has a common, frequently used name and you don’t have many additional details about them, you might end up with hundreds (thousands!) of matches to look through.

TIP #2: SEARCH FIELD

If the “Find Your Friends” page was not a success, click the “Home” button” at the top of your Facebook screen. This will lead take you to your feed and status area. Above this, you will find a search field, as indicated by the magnifying glass option (see image). If you do choose to search for someone using this search field, do not expect immediate results. Rather, you will next be taken to a new page with options to fine tune your search (see image)

This is where your sleuth abilities comes in handy. Look to the left for “Filter Results”.

Decide if you want to search for posts from “anyone”, “your friends and groups” or even a source of your choice. You can search any group or just the groups you below to. If someone with the name your looking for has been tagged in any photos or mentioned in posts, their name and Facebook page will pop up. You can even fine tune your results for a specific year or tagged geographic location.

If you still don’t find what you’re looking for, search again and choose from the “posts”, “people”, “photos”, “videos”, “pages”, “places”, “groups”, “apps”, and “events” to filter results even more.

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TIP #2: NAMES AND NICKNAMES:

While you might know an old friend as “Charles”, their social media friends might know the same person as “Charlie”. Don’t limit your search success by assuming an individual uses the name or details you expect or know them by. Try multiple options and nicknames, if they have any. Consider searching for maiden names, married names, and a combination of both (some people use both birth and married last names online)

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TIP #3: USERNAME

Facebook users have the ability to create a custom URL using a name or username after “facebook.com/__________“. If the individual you are seeking out has a specific username moniker that they frequently use online, try importing it after the forward slash to see if that brings up the person you are in search of. 

TIP #5: GOOGLE

Another option is to search for someone on Google and add “Facebook”, in addition to their name. This will provide you with Facebook links for people having that name. From there, employ the same techniques. Look for links with usernames or monikers that might be best associated with whom you’re looking for.
Drawback? Once again, you might find dozens of links and none of them whom you’re looking for. Not seeing the correct link does not mean that person isn’t on Facebook, only that you haven’t found them yet!

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TIP #4: BROWSE OTHER SEARCH ENGINES
Perhaps you find someone’s abandoned Twitter or Google Plus account, but not their Facebook profile. If you’re looking for a currently used Facebook, take the information given on their old public social media pages and use it. It is highly likely they might retain the same friends on their Facebook profile that they used to on other accounts. Look up some of their best friend(s) on Facebook and on those friend’s pages, search out the person you’re looking for in that friend’s “friend list” (try first, last, and/ or both). It is often easier to pinpoint a sought after Facebook profile this way.

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TIP #5: GO TO THE EXPERTS

If you still aren’t having luck in your personal search, consider opting for a master search like Social Catfish . Sites like Social Catfish give you the ability to scan the entire Internet for any linked accounts to match any of the items you’re looking for. This will typically produce superior results and save you from the frustration of not finding what you’re looking for.

If you’re looking for someone, chances are they are out there on social media (somewhere). Now, it’s just a matter of finding them…

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