So You’re Thinking About Creating A Facebook Group

One of the many benefits of social media is its ability to help grow communities. We are now able to connect with people across the globe who have similar interests or characteristics to us. Whether you’re part of a professional group, brand ambassador program, or members of the same HOA, a Facebook group can be a great place to connect with other people. Moderating one of these Facebook groups may seem cumbersome, but it is much easier than you think + a great place to gather together your supporters.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when creating and moderating your group:

1. Know the group’s purpose. Before creating the group, decide its goals + function.
2. Pick the right name. Having a creative name can be fun, but make sure it accurately reflects the purpose or identity of the group.
3. Determine how open you want the group to be. Depending on your group’s purpose, you may want to create a secret group. Close groups give you more control over the people in the group, whereas public groups are much harder to monitor. Depending on your mission, any type can be a good option.
4. Fill out the information section of the page so people understand its purpose and objectives.
5. Set rules and guidelines. Every group should have guidelines that tell not only what types of posts are allowed but what type of commenting behavior is expected. Your guidelines must also fit in Facebook’s behavior guidelines as well.
6. Enforce the rules. There is no point in having guidelines if you aren’t going to enforce them. Don’t be afraid to delete posts or comments, and to remind people of the rules. You are the “owner” of the group so it is up to you to make sure you are creating a safe and civil space. Don’t be afraid to kick people out who violate that.
7. Keep important information pinned to the top of the page. Whether that is guidelines or other resources members may need. Easy access will keep you from having to answer a million questions about it.
8. Choose other admins wisely. You don’t have to do it all on your own. Pick other like-minded individuals to help you moderate the group. If you don’t want them to have the power to make major changes, you can add them in other functions like moderator or editor.
9. Be present. As a group moderator, you shouldn’t go AWOL for long periods of time. People are counting on you. This is one reason to have other admins/moderators.
10. Encourage the conversation to flow. Whether that is posing questions every so often or allowing members to share and converse. If you want to build a strong community, you have to let that community interact and bond.

Every Facebook community is different and will respond better to different levels of moderation. Following the suggestions listed above, you can create a group that hopefully leads to a meaningful community that can help support your business, cause, or idea.

Tell us about your favorite Facebook group in the comments!