• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Social Media Examiner

Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle

  • 🔥 Free Newsletter
  • ⭐ FREE Web3 Course
  • 🗓️ Our Events
    • Social Media Marketing World (Mar 13-15)
    • Other Industry Events
  • 💡 Society
  • ⚙️ Tools
  • 🎙️ Podcasts
    • Social Media Marketing Podcast
    • Social Media Marketing Talk Show
    • Web3 Business Podcast
    • Our YouTube Channel
  • 🎯 Partner With Us
    • Podcast Sponsorship
    • Email Sponsorship
      • Email Newsletter
      • Dedicated Email Blast
    • Event Sponsorship
      • Social Media Marketing World
    • Tools Sponsorship
  • 👋 About Us
    • Our Story
    • Articles
      • Web3
      • Instagram Marketing
      • Facebook Marketing
      • YouTube Marketing
      • LinkedIn Marketing
      • TikTok Marketing
      • Expert Interviews
  • Search
  • Social Media Marketing World10th annual. Biggest industry event. Get the recordings!IMPROVE YOUR MARKETING

    How to Improve Your Facebook Group Community

    by Lynsey Fraser / April 15, 2019

    Want to improve the value of your Facebook group? Looking to encourage more meaningful conversations?

    In this article, you'll discover five Facebook Groups features you can use to guide engagement and conversations among your members.
    How to Improve Your Facebook Group Community by Lynsey Fraser on Social Media Examiner.

    #1: Use Rules and Moderators to Keep Group Content On-Topic

    When you set up your Facebook group, it's important to share the group's purpose and make sure group members are aware of it when they join.

    Define the purpose or intention for how your group will be used; what kinds of information, topics, and content will be shared; and what your group hopes to do for its members. If members join your group believing it will offer useful advice on publishing a book, they'll be disappointed if they find lots of posts from authors promoting their own books.

    After you outline your group's values or mission, make sure you convey this information in the group description and share it when new members join the group. The description will be visible to non-members if your group is public or closed and they'll be able to see what your group has to offer.

    How to improve your Facebook group community, example of Facebook group description and rules by The Write Life Community

    Now let's look at two ways to align content and conversations with your group's mission.

    Enlist Moderators

    Managing a Facebook group gives you an opportunity to develop a unique community. If you post the same content on your Facebook page that you do in your group, you're not increasing the value it provides and giving people a reason to join. Groups provide an opportunity to focus on a topic or shared interest and explore it in much greater depth than on a public Facebook page, and your content should reflect this.

    To ensure posts and comments stay focused on your purpose, you need to moderate them. As with group admins, moderators can also approve, deny, or remove posts.

    To assign the moderator role to a valued member of your group, click the Members tab and find the relevant member. Click the … button next to their name and select Make Moderator from the drop-down menu.

    How to improve your Facebook group community, Facebook group menu option to make a member a moderator

    In the pop-up window, click Send Invite. The member will then receive an invitation to become a group moderator. Once they accept, they can start helping moderate posts and comments in the group.

    How to improve your Facebook group community, example of the Facebook message when a member is selected to be a group moderator

    Set Up Rules for Group Interactions

    When adding new members to the group, you can make a set of rules or community guidelines available to clarify the function of the group. Creating a set of rules allows you to outline the expectations for how group members should interact and clarify the behavior you expect.

    3 Days of World-Class Training—Zero Travel!

    Social Media Marketing World

    Travel to Social Media Marketing World off the table? Get all of the great content at a fraction of the price with an On-Demand ticket.

    That’s full access to recordings of every keynote, workshop, and session—the ones people travel thousands of miles to see. Don't wait. Get your On-Demand ticket and enjoy actionable content that you can watch anytime, anywhere.

    GET YOUR ON-DEMAND TICKET NOW

    To add rules to your group, navigate to the Moderate Group tab and click Create Rules.

    How to improve your Facebook group community, Facebook menu option to create rules to moderate your group

    Then click the Get Started button on the right.

    How to improve your Facebook group community, Facebook option to get started creating rules for your group

    In the pop-up window, you can choose from a list of pre-written rules for groups.

    How to improve your Facebook group community, example of Facebook group pre-written rules

    If you prefer to create a custom rule, click Write Your Own Rule and add a title and description.

    How to improve your Facebook group community, option to write your own Facebook group rule

    If you discover that a post has violated one of your group rules, an admin or moderator can remove it. To do so, open the post and click the down arrow button in the upper-right corner. Then select Remove Post from the drop-down menu.

    How to improve your Facebook group community, Facebook menu option to remove a post from your group

    Now select the rules that the post has violated. You can also add a descriptive note to the activity log if you want. Select the checkbox at the bottom of the window if you want to share the note with the member.

    How to improve your Facebook group community, example of Facebook option to identify which rule(s) a post violated, as well as option to notify the member

    When you're done, click Remove. The poster will then receive a notification that their post was removed, specifying which rules it violated.

    #2: Enable Badges to Recognize Notable Members

    Recognizing group members who are valuable contributors is important, and badges are one way to do that. When you activate this feature (available for groups with 50+ members), badges appear next to the members' names when they post in your group, highlighting the contributions they've made.

    Some badges are temporary, such as Conversation Starter, which recognizes members whose posts received the most engagement over the previous month. Admins and group moderators, on the other hand, always have badges.

    How to improve your Facebook group community, example of the Facebook group badge 'Conversation Starter' next to group members' name and the pop-up identifying other group members who share that badge

    To activate badges for your group, click the More button and then select Edit Group Settings from the drop-down menu.

    How to improve your Facebook group community, menu option to edit Facebook group settings

    Now scroll down to the Badges section and click Manage Badges.

    How to improve your Facebook group community, option to manage badges under Facebook group settings

    Select the badges you want to activate for your group and click Save.

    #3: Encourage Member-to-Member Relationships With Mentorship

    Facebook offers you the option to set up a mentorship program within your group. The program will match group members with mentors who have the background or expertise to help them achieve their personal or professional goals.

    When you activate this feature, a Mentorship tab appears in your group where prospective mentors and mentees can sign up.

    How to improve your Facebook group community, Facebook group mentorship option and dashboard example

    To set up a mentorship program, click the More button and select Edit Group Settings. Then scroll down to Sections and click Add next to Mentorship.

    How to improve your Facebook group community, option to add the mentorship section to your Facebook group

    Tools Resource Guide

    Looking for something to make your life easier?

    Discover the tools we recommend to drive engagement, save you time, and boost sales across your entire marketing funnel or business.

    Whether you need help planning content, organizing social posts, or developing your strategy, you’ll find something for every situation.

    FIND YOUR NEXT FAVORITE TOOL

    Next, select the mentorship program that will provide the most value to members. Facebook offers pre-designed mentorship programs you can choose from such as skill building and career advancement.

    How to improve your Facebook group community, example Facebook mentorship category options

    If you don't see what you need, scroll to the bottom of the window and suggest a program that you'd like Facebook to add.

    How to improve your Facebook group community, option to suggest a group mentorship category option to Facebook

    After you make a selection, Facebook will outline the steps for participants to follow to make the relationship successful. They'll receive weekly prompts to interact, as well as conversation starters to facilitate communication. Click Turn On to activate the program you've selected.

    How to improve your Facebook group community, option to review and turn on your Facebook group mentorship program

    Make sure you announce the Mentorship program to group members. Facebook has a pre-formatted post you can customize to make your announcement. If you know of members in your group who would do well in this role, send them a message and ask them to take part.

    How to improve your Facebook group community, example of a group announcement for a Facebook mentorship program

    Pro Tip: Follow up with a Facebook Live video or video post to share why you've added mentorship to your group. Include a call to action for mentors to sign up or for members to reach out for help.

    #4: Learn More About New Members by Asking Pending Membership Questions

    When adding new members to your Facebook group, you can ask three questions to gain insights about what content they're looking for from the group and what they hope to gain from being a member.

    To create pending member questions, click the More button and select Edit Group Settings. Under Membership Requests, click Ask Questions.

    How to improve your Facebook group community, example of Facebook group membership request setting to ask new members questions

    From here, you can add up to three questions. You might ask why prospective members want to join your group and find out what issues or information they're interested in.

    How to improve your Facebook group community, example of Facebook group member request settings allowing for new member questions

    Now when prospective members request to join your group, they'll be asked to provide this information. Only group admins and moderators will be able to view their answers.

    How to improve your Facebook group community, example of Facebook group new member questions by Freelance B2B Writers

    11 Tips to Encourage Facebook Group Conversations

    When you manage a Facebook group, one of your roles is to facilitate conversations and connections with members. You want to develop a community where members can learn from and support one another. How you structure your content and what you include in your posts are key to getting members to engage.

    Here are some tips for encouraging conversation within a group:

    • Welcome new members and ask them to introduce themselves. Also encourage existing members to welcome them.
    • Outline a common problem and ask members to comment with their solutions or advice for solving the problem.
    • Use themes to encourage sharing. For instance, if your theme is “Self-Care Sunday,” prompt members to share their own advice or upload images of what they're doing to take care of themselves. Recurring themes based on days of the week or month help build awareness.
    • Share a story or experience and include a call to action asking members to contribute their own experiences on the topic.
    • Use polls to survey the group and ask for feedback.

    How to improve your Facebook group community, example of Facebook live for #SMMW19 Volunteers

    To highlight the individual contributions, develop a content feature or theme and invite notable members to share their expertise with the group. Here are some ways you can do that:

    • Spotlight a new member each month and tell their story.
    • Highlight member achievements that are relevant or inspirational to the group.
    • Host Facebook Live videos with notable members and discuss their background and achievements.
    • Invite group members to be featured experts and ask them to create content on their relevant topic.
    • Ask members to nominate others for recognition. For example: “Tag a person in the group who has helped you or inspired you this week.”
    • Enlist go-to experts to help solve members' issues or contribute ideas.

    Review Group Insights to Refine Group Conversation Efforts

    Review your Facebook Group Insights to view the engagement rate of your group, find out how your content is performing, and identify whom your active members are.

    When you open the Group Insights tab, you see an overview of your group's performance including growth, engagement with content, and active members. Similar to your Facebook page, you can select a specific time period to refine the data.

    How to improve your Facebook group community, example of Facebook group insights and post engagement chart

    Dive deeper into each section to see more detailed information. Look at your top content for the last month to find out what your group finds value in and engages with. Use these insights to tailor your content based on what resonates with your group.

    How to improve your Facebook group community, example of the metrics showing top posts for a Facebook group

    You can also view your top contributors. Nurture these relationships and acknowledge the contributions these members make within your community.

    How to improve your Facebook group community, example of the metrics showing top contributors for a Facebook group

    Also review metrics such as popular times of the week and day to post or when your members are most active.

    How to improve your Facebook group community, example of Facebook group metrics showing popular days and popular times

    Keep in mind that not everyone in your group will want to engage with you. Some members might simply gain value from the content posted within the group. They're more comfortable being observers rather than active community members.

    Conclusion

    Your role as a Facebook group admin is to create a safe, inclusive atmosphere where members can connect and share experiences, and be guided and supported by a community. Using the Facebook Groups features mentioned above will help you encourage member-to-member relationships, celebrate member contributions, and facilitate sharing ideas.

    What do you think? Which of these tactics will you try in your group? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

    More articles on Facebook Groups:

    • Discover how to create and use units in Facebook groups.
    • Learn four ways to collect emails from your Facebook group.
    • Find out how to better serve your Facebook group members.

    Get Your FREE Course: Web3 for Beginners

    Web 3 for Beginners

    Curious about Web3, but don't know where to start or who to trust?

    Introducing Web3 for Beginners, a course taught by Michael Stelzner, the founder of Social Media Examiner.

    Learn the basics of Web3 and apply it to your business with this FREE comprehensive course.


    CLICK HERE TO GET FREE ACCESS

    Tags: Facebook, Facebook Group

    About the authorLynsey Fraser

    Lynsey is a Facebook Technical Services Partner and certified API developer. She is a Facebook platform specialist and runs Sydney based Social Media training consultancy FloSocial.
    Other posts by Lynsey Fraser »

    Get Social Media Examiner’s Future Articles in Your Inbox!

    Get our latest articles delivered to your email inbox and get the FREE Social Media Marketing Industry Report (39 pages, 50+ charts)!

    Industry Report Cover

    Worth Exploring:

    Facebook

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Instagram

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    YouTube

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Linkedin

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Web3

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Social Media Marketing Industry Report

    Get Free Report →

    Social Marketing Trends

    The data you've been missing!

    Need a new plan? Discover how marketers plan to change their social activities in the 14th annual Social Media Marketing Industry Report. It reveals what marketers have planned for their social activities, content marketing, and more! Get this free report now and never miss another great article from us. Join more than 400,000 marketers!

    Enter your email to get
    our free report:


    Footer

    Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
    Copyright © 2023 Social Media Examiner®
    All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy.

    Helpful Links

    • About us
    • Our content via email
    • Our podcasts
    • Our YouTube channel
    • Our live show
    • Our industry report
    • Sponsorship opportunities
    • RSS
    • Accessibility