Most of you have probably seen at least one – if not 10 – movies where a frightened person or criminal hides money in a sealed bag in a toilet tank. No one will ever think to look for something valuable there, right? Who looks in a dirty, disgusting, damp compartment?

But of course their pursuers do look there, and of course they find what was being hidden. So Facebook has apparently decided to follow that reverse-psychology method by hiding your most valuable online commodity in a metaphorical commode. Say what? It’s true – the list of people and businesses that “like” your business page have been relegated to a dark and dingy hiding place in your settings, under the unattractive “banned users” label.

As a social media strategist, I work with businesses that are curious about who is following them, and it’s one of the most common questions I receive. Yet hardly anyone has any idea where to find this information, other than observing it incidentally (in their notifications) as people like their page. But in order to find a complete list, it will take you 3-4 clicks through a maze of menus to find your valuable fans hiding under a rock labeled “banned users.”

Why would Facebook bury this info in a labeled negative space? Would you expect to find something positive under “banned users”? And why are they hidden in the first place? For those businesses that want to understand their audience, do a giveaway, or give a return “like”, it seems crazy for Facebook to hide this valuable information.

But that is the current state of affairs, so let’s make it easy for you to find these gold nuggets of info and help you use them to your advantage.

First, while on your business page, select “Settings” from the far right menu bar.

Then select “Banned users”  – I know, it’s crazy but the info is actually hiding under there!

Your Banned Users list is likely empty, but what you want to do next is use the drop down menu and select “People who like this” or “Pages that like this”

Now you have complete access to all those people and businesses who have signaled they’d like to stay in touch with your business.

The moral of the story is don’t let Facebook flush one of your most valuable assets – the people and businesses that want to know what you are up to! Know where to find this info and utilize those lists to cultivate your valued relationships. So I’d love to hear from you about other things Facebook is “hiding” from you, and I’ll be happy to track them down – go!