Facebook Groups are a great way of growing a community with a focus on your business sector. But how do you moderate a Facebook Group and why would you need to?
How are Facebook Groups useful for business?
We’ve previously shared the reasons why Facebook is a good marketing channel for business, and why you should consider using social media to promote your brand. This time we are turning the spotlight on Facebook’s group feature and discussing how to ensure that your group is a success.
Facebook Groups are increasingly popular as a business marketing tool. They create a community around a specific topic and allow group members to discuss, problem solve and network in a closed and moderated forum. Groups can be based around geographic locations, business sectors, or topics, but are best used as an indirect marketing channel. That is to say that the main objective for your group should not be to sell to the members.
For instance a fabric retailer may set up a group about sewing, an accountant may launch a group about small business finances, or a physiotherapist may set up a running discussion group.
As with every marketing activity the group should focus on the needs of the users, and be of direct benefit to them. No-one is going to stick with a group that overtly sells to them at every occasion. As a business you can benefit from the group as it can position you as an expert in your field, and build your brand’s reputation over time.
Why moderate your Facebook Group?
We regularly see Admin posts on Facebook Groups highlighting inappropriate content and behaviour. This can range from group members posting overt self-promotion (sometimes called ‘peacocking’), replying to a post with unrelated content, aggressive comments or harassment, or many other types of post which can range from being unkind to downright rude.
So how do you moderate a Facebook Group to ensure that your community stays on topic, friendly and constructive?
Select a group type
In the first instance ensure that your group is set up as the right type to meet your needs. The two group types are:
- Public: anyone on or off Facebook can see who’s in the group and what they post.
- Private: only members can see who’s in the group and what they post.
The privacy settings are really important as they will impact on people’s willingness to join and post in the group. It may also govern the type of information they share in the group.
A public group will be easily found in search, and Admins can choose to make a private group visible or hidden. A hidden group would therefore be by invitation only.
On one occasion we noticed that a private group descend into inappropriate over-sharing as group members realised that their friends and family were unable to see what they were posting in the group and saw this as a licence to get everything off their chests!
For more information about the different types of Facebook Groups visit this help page.
Set the group up fully
Complete all the fields for the group, particularly the About section as this will help new users find the group and explain the group’s purpose. Add a cover image and any other details you can. A well maintained group will look more professional and is more likely to create engagement.
Facebook has a ‘group rules‘ feature which allows you to add a list of rules to the initial membership questions, so that anyone requesting to join the group has to accept the rules as a condition of entry. This means that you will have established a common understanding from the outset, and consequently can refer back to those rules if any problems arise later.
Key documents can be added to the ‘files’ section for ease of reference.
Choose your admin style
Generally groups generate their own momentum, however based on our experience the most successful Facebook Groups operate under strong leadership from an Admin, or ideally Admin team. You may assume that everyone will be sensible and not abuse the network but in reality sadly that is not always the case.
In a post, set out clearly the group’s purpose and repeat the ground rules. Pin the post to the top of the group so that it is the first post any new members (and returning members) will see when they visit the page. This effectively becomes your constitution and you will be able to refer back to the rules should you need to do so.
Anyone who appears to post something not in keeping with the spirit of the group should be made aware of the rules and given a warning. A second misdemeanour and the member should be removed and banned from the group. This may sound harsh, but once your Facebook Group gains hundreds or even thousands of members it will become an impossible task to enter into negotiations with everyone who has broken the rules.
Be fair, consistent and respectful, and your group’s members will appreciate the time and effort you put into running the group.
Moderate group members
You have the option of allowing anyone to join unvetted, or you can turn membership approval on, which means that you will need to approve anyone that you let in to the group.
In both group types any group member can add their friends using the field on the right hand side. Moderators can invite anyone you’re not friends with to join the group by clicking ‘Invite by Email’ which is situated in the top right of your group page.
Every request to join should be vetted to make sure that your group retains authenticity. A quick check of each profile should indicate when the person joined Facebook, where they are located and how many friends they have. Clearly you should reject anything that looks like a fake Facebook profile or anyone not in keeping with your group. By this I mean if your group is geographically focussed or is just for a specific type of person.
In order to filter out some rouge requests you can ask those wanting to join to answer some brief questions. You may want to ask where they are based, their reason for joining the group, or anything else that will filter out spammers.
Create an admin team
As a group grows it can quickly become a large task to vet new members and moderate posts, so a team approach shares the workload out.
Bear in mind that there are different levels of Admin rights and it’s important to select the right levels for each individual you add to the team.
Only an ‘Admin’ can change the group settings, and add or remove Admins and Moderators. A Moderator can do everything else.
For general management of the group the Moderator role should be enough for most team members. Be careful not to add anyone as an Admin who may remove you as the group owner or you could be ejected from your own group! More detail on the two roles can be found here.
Have admin-only discussions
A great tip for the smooth running of your Facebook group is to set up a separate, secret Facebook group just for the Admins to discuss matters in private. This will prove invaluable to discuss how to approach an issue whether it is agreeing new rules, member requests or how to respond to a post that is in breach of your group rules.
This will allow you to have open discussions away from the eyes of the main group members. Once a decision is made it can then be transferred over to the main group and the Admins will be seen as one united team.
If someone moves on, remember to update their Admin/Moderator permissions and remove them from your private group.
Moderate group posts
If you notice posts that aren’t in keeping with your group’s ethos, are off-topic or have caused offence then the Admin team needs to act quickly. Members might also flag a post for Moderators to review.
You can also set up alerts in your Facebook group so that you will be notified of any posts or comments that might need your attention. These can either be based on specific keywords that you determine, or engagement alerts. You will receive engagement alerts if posts or comments are getting a certain number of reactions/comments/replies based on criteria that you set.
If a post or comment is determined to be problematic there are several ways in which you can respond. The choice will depend on your chosen style of group management, but also the severity of the issue.
- Remove post – use this approach if the post is simply not relevant, offensive or blatantly selling. You may want to message the poster to let them know what you have done and why, and refer back to your group’s rules.
- Close comments – it’s possible to switch comments off for a post. This is useful when a post itself is useful, but the comments have gone off-topic or got out of hand. Again, let the original poster know why you have taken this step.
- Delete comments – It may be that the post and the majority of comments are acceptable but a single or few comments are not. In this case delete the specific comments but allow the remainder to stand. Let the person making the comment know what you have done and why.
- Remove or block member – you can remove a member from your group, and also remove their activity from the past 7 days to delete their contributions for that time period. Blocking the person will mean that they are unable to re-apply to join the group.
- Temporary ban – It’s now also possible to temporarily ban a member from commenting in the group. This means that they will stay a member, and can see all the content but will not be able to post or comment while the ban in is place.
Moderate your Facebook Group with style
Remember the original purpose of your business Facebook Group, and try to ensure that you stay true to purpose at all times. A Facebook Group is a great way to connect with your target audience and establish yourself as an expert in your field and show your personality. Try not to dominate discussions and encourage others to post and comment without your intervention. There’s no need to comment on every single post.
If you set up your Facebook Group using the tips above you will start with everything in your favour to make your group a success.
Do you have any other tips for moderating Facebook Groups? Let us know. If you need help managing your social media marketing activity contact us today.
This article was updated in March 2021