Everything You Need to Know About Facebook Groups: 2019 Update
I started my own Facebook Group about two years ago and it has become a fundamental part of Markeko’s community.
Especially in building a strong community, creating more credibility for my content and connecting with my #markekotribe.
So why are Facebook Groups important now?
Simply because…
Facebook organic reach is at an all time low!
Just look at the graph below:
Publishing content without putting money ($$$) behind it just doesn’t make sense any more.
After the 2018 Cambridge Analytics scandal, Facebook reinforced its commitment to show more and more friends’ and family’s content instead of content published through Fan Pages.
And protect user privacy more and more, as per Zuckerberg’s latest blog post.
Meaning your organic reach from your Fan Page will only continue to decrease!
Yeah… unfortunately, expect your organic reach to continue to go down.
However, Facebook continues to be a powerful social media with 2.23 billion people logging into Facebook each month. And +1 billion people using Instagram plus WhatsApp.
So Facebook is not going anywhere. Your Fan Page might be dying, but users are still interacting through other channels: Messenger and Facebook Groups!
Facebook Groups are becoming more important than Fan Pages
More than 200 million people have joined Facebook groups in the past couple of years, making them a worthwhile asset to invest your time in it.
Starting a Facebook group from scratch can seem overwhelming, but when used effectively, groups tend to have increased levels of engagement and reach.
Yes!
Facebook Groups tends to have a higher engagement and reach level than a Fan Page.
Using a Facebook group as part of your marketing strategy can:
- Provide value to consumers
- Help you to build your community
- Allows you to promote your products
- Answer questions your community might have
- Connect with your community in a more powerful way
My recent attendance to the Facebook Community Leadership Circle conference just reinforced this statement!
I recently attended the Facebook Community Leadership Circle conference in Berlin, Germany, this past December to launch a new chapter here in Guatemala. (Great people btw!)
The conference was great and made me realize the importance Facebook Groups have become in its new strategy to protect privacy and build a better community around its tools.
However,
it also made me realize the importance the lack of content out there to help people better use of Facebook Groups.
So if you are new to Facebook Groups or want to just improve your community, keep reading this blog post!
So, what exactly is a Facebook group and what important aspects do you need to know about Facebook groups in 2019?
What is a Facebook Group?
If you’re an avid Facebook user, you’re probably a member of at least one Facebook group (or more…)
A Facebook group is a place for you to promote your business, services, or specific topics. Essentially, it’s like a forum with members of same interests discussing topics, sharing images, tips, videos and supporting each other.
Building a community around a Facebook group can help you:
- Share experiences
- Support and be of immediate help
- Share your expertise
- Test products/services
- Generate feedback from group members
- Improve your product offerings
It’s honestly the best way to interact with your community!
What is the Difference between Facebook Fan Page and Facebook Group?
Facebook Fan Pages were originally created as official pages for celebrities, athletes, bands, and people in the public eye.
These days, anyone can make a Fan Page.
Typically, they are non-personal profile pages which can be used by businesses, websites, organizations, among others. Multiple people can run a Facebook Page and any user can follow or like them.
Here is what a Facebook Page looks like:
A Facebook Fan Page boasts the following features:
- Posts can be promoted
- Groups can be linked to the page in the top right hand corner
- Followers can message the page admins via messaging function in the top right hand corner
- Information page, featuring business information, contact information, operating hours, and location
- Verification status with blue tick next to page name
- Analytics containing engagement and post reach
- Page posts are featured on the homepage
Facebook Groups
Similar to Facebook Pages, you are required to have a Facebook profile to create a group.
But, unlike pages…
admins are listed on the page in the about section, so members can view your profile:
Facebook Groups can boast the following aspects:
- Group rules
- A description of the group and who it’s for
- Admin moderating tools
- Events calendar
- Learning units
- Announcements
Groups even lets you ask questions before people join it. A key difference in filtering and improving your community!
Here is an example of what the questions for those seeking to join the Blueprint Certification Prep Group are:
The main difference between Facebook Fan Pages and Facebook Groups are that groups are more interaction led.
Yes!
You get a lot more interaction and interest with your content.
On a Fan Page, followers can add comments to posts and react to them, whereas in a Facebook Group, members can form discussions with each other.
Groups incentives discussions! Not just random comments.
Just look at the difference in interaction between my Fan Page and Facebook Group.
Even though at first sight you might think that the Fan Page gets more interaction, as reach is +13K on the Fan Page and +3K on the Group:
And there is more interaction in the Fan Page above versus the Group below:
However, most of the Fan Page reach and interaction is paid.
The Facebook Group is all organic! Zero dollars spend!
So a group can have better results over time as you will have more FREE reach and interactions.
And it’s just a better way to connect with your community.
Open, closed or secret Facebook Group
Still not sure what type of group you should open?
Find all of the differences between the three type of groups you can start below:
Facebook Groups Topics
Topics were a feature rolled out in June 2016.
Facebook Groups Topics makes it easier for you to organize your group.
If you or a member of your group are searching for a particular post, Facebook Groups Topics makes it simpler to find them.
Using topics is straightforward.
Let’s say you wanted to assign a Facebook post to a group topic. To do this, you click on the tag symbol next to the date:
You can then add up to five topics relating to your post.
You can also create a topic by selecting the button at the top right-hand corner of your group:
Topics can be managed via this tab on your Facebook group dashboard:
From here, you can edit, delete or pin a topic by selecting the three dot menu on the right hand side of the topic name.
Using Facebook Groups Topics helps you to organize your content, especially if you’ve published a lot of posts.
Additionally, it can be handy for highlighting posts with important member discussions, especially if you plan on commenting on them.
Facebook Groups Learning Units
Facebook Groups Learning Units feature is perfect for e-learning businesses or those who plan on launching learning resources, such as a paid product.
To use this feature, your group needs to be classified as social learning, otherwise it won’t appear.
The Units feature appears on the left hand side of a group page:
To members of a group, they also appear before posts and announcements:
Group admins can organize content into units for training purposes, delivering value to members and enhancing their user experience.
In our Group, it really helps with organizing topics for people to better prepare for their exams:
- Campaign Structure
- Pixel
- Facebook Auction and Buying Options
- and so on…
How to add units to your group?
To add a unit to your group, click on the unit’s tab on the left hand side of the group page.
From here, you’ll be able to add a unit by clicking on the blue button under your cover image. You can also make units the default group landing page instead of discussion:
You can then add a unit name and description in addition to making the unit optional or not:
Facebook Groups Learning Units are ideal for:
- Categorizing content
- Generating courses by testing material ideas
- Generating leads by noting extra resources in the unit’s content
Facebook Group Policies Tips
A Facebook group policy allows you to create a set of rules which members of your group must abide by.
This was one of the most discussed topics in the Facebook Community Leadership conference.
How do you manage your community better?
By having good community policies!
Many popular Facebook Groups Policies include:
- Treating other members of the group with respect
- No self-promotion unless a post indicates so
- You only have access to the group while you’re a member of X
An example of group policies from the Facebook Blueprint Certification Prep group:
Policies can be pinned to the top of your group or placed in the about section so that all members know to follow the rules.
Some groups don’t have policies but use announcements to determine specific codes of conduct.
How to create group policies?
To create policies, select moderate group from the left-hand side of your group page:
Select create rules on the left-hand side of your tab:
You can now create up to ten rules. Facebook offers rule examples, so you can use these, modify them or write your own from scratch:
Once you’ve added your rules, you can edit or delete them whenever you require by clicking on the top right-hand corner of each rule:
Facebook Admin Versus Moderator
Every Facebook group can have an admin and moderator.
Essentially, a Facebook admin has more of a significant role than a moderator:
Think of the admin as the ‘manager’ of the group, being in charge of the group settings and viewing analytics.
Moderators help to run the group, and can block and remove people, oversee content and approve member requests, as well as ensuring members follow the rules of the group.
Facebook Group Insights
Facebook Group Insights are the analytics for the group. They showcase group growth and engagement data.
If you’re a group admin, you can access group insights by clicking on the left hand side of your page:
Group insights will show you an overview of data, including how many new members you’ve received, posts, comments and reactions, and top contributors to the group:
This data can be exported via downloads. You can also choose to export all of the data recorded or one of the following sections – growth, engagement, member details.
The growth section metrics are important for understanding the rate at which your group is growing, how many members you’ve had to block, and any declined members.
In your members tab, you can view the demographics of your group members:
- Age
- Gender
- Top countries.
The metric you might be most interested in is engagement.
Knowing how many comments and reactions you’re getting on your posts, in addition to discovering popular days and times of engagement can help you to plan your content.
By viewing your Facebook Group Insights, you can schedule your content to publish on the most popular days and times for engagement, and determine which content has the most popular interactions.
Leverage the Facebook Group Community
If you want to learn more about how to properly use Facebook Groups or join your local community make sure you take advantage of all of Facebook resources.
Facebook Groups you should join (by region):
- Facebook Power Admins US
- Facebook Power Admins UK
- Facebook Power Admins Brazil
- Facebook Power Admins LATAM
Facebook Community Leadership Circles
- Facebook Community Leadership Circles – homepage
- Facebook Community Leadership Circles – find your local community
- Facebook Groups
- Facebook Group Admins
Facebook Resources
Using a Facebook Group for your Business – Conclusion
Facebook groups are just an amazing way to built your community!
Plus…
They are the future of community engagement.
Regardless of how large your Facebook group is, building a community has become a fundamental step for any business.
It’s the best way to build trust and authority.
I’ve manage a group for +2 years now and think it has become a fundamental part of my business and community.
If you are thinking about doing another Fan Page, maybe start looking into building a group.
Make sure you follow us on social media and join our Facebook Group!